Roosevelt's wisdom cuts against our modern paralysis—the tendency to postpone action until conditions improve, resources materialize, or we feel adequately prepared. What makes this formulation brilliant is that it doesn't counsel ambition or grand thinking; rather, it dissolves the excuse factory by insisting that the gap between intention and action needn't be bridged by waiting. A young parent working two jobs might use their limited evening hour not to lament missing prestigious volunteering opportunities, but to read to their child—recognizing that small, immediate goods matter more than perfect-conditions ideals. The quote's real gift is permission to be imperfect and local in your efforts, which often proves more transformative than grandiose plans deferred indefinitely.