hitch one's wagon to a star

Verb

hitch one's wagon to a star (third-person singular simple present hitches one's wagon to a star, present participle hitching one's wagon to a star, simple past and past participle hitched one's wagon to a star)

1. (Canada, US, idiomatic) To commit to an aspirational goal or course of action that will lead to fulfillment.
   • [Emerson] was not afraid to be homely and racy in expressing thought of the highest spirituality. "Hitch your wagon to a star" is a good instance of his favorite manner.1891, Henry Augustin Beers, “The Concord Writers 1837-1861”, in Initial Studies in American Letters
   • Well, he was done, he solaced himself. He had hitched his wagon to a star and been landed in a pestiferous marsh.1909, Jack London, chapter 41, in Martin Eden