Failure quotes
931 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
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Browse quotes that often appear alongside failure — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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"I have never worked for fame or praise, and shall not feel their loss as I otherwise would. I have never for a moment lost sight of the humble life I was born to, its small environments, and the consequently little right I had to expect much of myself, and shall have the less to censure, or upbraid myself with for the failures I must see myself make."
"Courage is the ability to go from failure to failure with enthusiasm."
"Every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward"
"The whole world is one family."
"A minister of state is excusable for the harm he does when the helm of government has forced his hand in a storm; but in the calm he is guilty of all the good he does not do."
"I don't like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and it isn't of much value. Life hasn't revealed its beauty to them."
"What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature."
"Failure is not the opposite of success; it's part of success."
"(A unified) 'Europe' is the result of plans. It is, in fact, a classic utopian project, a monument to the vanity of intellectuals, a programme whose inevitable destiny is failure: only the scale of the final damage done is in doubt."
"Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure."
"Being a successful trader also takes courage: the courage to try, the courage to fail, the courage to succeed, and the courage to keep on going when the going gets tough."
"Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else's."
"Being brave means knowing that when you fail, you don't fail forever."
"Failure: Is it a limitation? Bad timing? It's a lot of things. It's something you can't be afraid of, because you'll stop growing. The next step beyond failure could be your biggest success in life."
"It's okay to fail; it's not okay to quit."
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."
"Goods and possessions are no gain in his eyes. He stays far from wealth and honor. Long life is no ground for joy, nor early death for sorrow. Success is not for him to be pround of, failure is no shame. Had he all the world's power he would not hold it as his own. If he conquered everything he would not take it to himself. His glory is in knowing that all things come together in One and life and death are equal."
"Losers quit when they fail. Winners fail until they succeed."
"Don't be afraid of failure, be afraid of not trying in the first place."
"Playing things too safe is the most popular way to fail."
