If you're climbing the ladder of life you go rung by rung one step at a time. Don't look too far up set your goals high but take one step at a time. Sometimes you don't think you're progressing until you step back and see how high you've really gone.
I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise than he was 6000 years ago.