Famous quotes

Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide

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Success and failure

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“Hierarchy has had six thousand years of trial. It will never succeed for long in any form. ... My opinion is that we are at the historical climax (the flash point) of the totalitarian period.”
George Jackson (activist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The critical act in formulating computational theories turns out to be the discovery of valid constraints on the way the world is structured -- constraints that provide sufficient information to allow the processing to succeed.”
David Marr (1945–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The emigres often work as a Trojan horse, lobbying on your behalf. They use external opportunities to succeed prodigiously in different occupations. And they can bring their skills and funds home to assist the country in its economic takeoff.”
Jagdish Bhagwati (born 1934) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the benefits of emigration of intelligent and skilled workers from India to other nations, as quoted in "Return Passage to India: Emigres Pay Back" by Celia W. Dugger, in The New York Times (29 February 2000); also c…
“Lincoln. His commitment to preserving the United States was so strong and so deep that he was willing to do whatever it took to succeed. Would you like to be in his shoes? Just think about that for a moment. Not just Lincoln. There are hundreds of examples in history.”
James M. McPherson (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Very few people can succeed in their careers without having to manage, supervise and lead other people...virtually everyone is part of a team, and at some point in their working lives they must take a leadership role – if only to chair a team meeting or a project in their boss’ absence.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is better to struggle at work you really enjoy than to succeed in work you find boring and which fails to excite you.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The best way to learn something is from experience – to actually try doing the task or activity. Great learnings can come when you face challenge and difficulty and when you might not succeed.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do you have what it takes to succeed in life, in work and in your relationships?”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is too easy and simplistic to feel that, if you have not succeeded yet, you will not succeed in the future. Overcoming fatalistic thinking is essential if you really want a great future.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Is it possible to successfully reject migration, to protect families, to defend Christian culture, to announce a programme of national unification and nation building, and to create an order of Christian freedom? Is it possible in all this to survive against the full force of an international headwind, and indeed to make it succeed?”
Viktor Orbán (born 1963) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Tusnádfürdő speech (27 July 2019)
“[Formal structures of formal organizations] never succeed in conquering the non-rational dimensions of organizational behavior.”
Philip Selznick (1919–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Women face trade-offs that men do not. Aspiring female leaders risk being liked but not respected, or respected but not liked, in settings that may require individuals to be both in order to succeed.”
Barbara Kellerman (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Osama bin Laden, for all his hatred of American culture.., religion, and... politics, was... fond of American dollars. How did money succeed where gods and kings failed?”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People who believe they can succeed see opportunities where others see threats.”
Marshall Goldsmith (born 1949) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Marshall Goldsmith, ‎Daniel Farb, ‎Bruce Gordon (2005), Secrets of a Leadership Coach Guidebook. p. 25
“To succeed at reengineering, you have to be a missionary, a motivator, and a leg breaker.”
Michael Hammer (1948–2008) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Michael Hammer in: Fortune, August 1993. Quoted in: QFINANCE: The Ultimate Resource, 4th edition. Bloomsbury Publishing - 2013.
“It is not enough for a leader to have a vision. A leader needs to attract followers, men and women who can commit themselves to the new ideal of customer focus. But if the mobilization process is to succeed, those followers must become leaders, too, finding their own sense of purpose in the shared challenge and spreading the call and vision of change.”
James A. Champy (born 1942) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cited in: Don Soderquist (2005), The Wal-Mart Way, p. 7
“The most challenging question confronting business leaders and managers in the new millennium is not "How do we succeed?" It’s: "How do we stay successful?”
Peter S. Pande (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The highest production and living standards cannot be achieved without a new and human spirit in the industrial world. No industry can succeed without the co-operation of capital, management and labour. Each must be encouraged. Each must be fairly rewarded. Between the three there must be mutual understanding and respect.”
Robert Menzies (1894–1978) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1949 election campaign speech delivered in Melbourne (10 November 1949)
“As long as I can make them laugh, it doesn’t matter how, I’ll be alright. If I succeed in that, the human beings probably won’t mind it too much if I remain outside their lives. The one thing I must avoid is becoming offensive in their eyes: I shall be nothing, the wind, the sky.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After having met God, my life that was so worthless before has been transformed, and the land of my hometown that used to be so worthless has now been transformed into the priceless Natural Temple, Wolmyeongdong. In the same way, I wish that everyone will transform and succeed!”
Jung Myung Seok (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The woman who has sprung free has emotional mobility. She is able to move toward the things that are satisfying to her and away from those that are not. She is free, also, to succeed.”
Colette Dowling (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lie and Lie until you succeed CAUSE IM A NICE GUY.”
Akshay Agrawal (born 1998) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He did not succeed in 1814-16 war with the British, but the Thapas love him nonetheless because he tried so hard to control those pesky imperialists, overseeing military battles and negotiating treaties himself while trying to beat down Hodgson.”
Manjushree Thapa (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men attribute to chance those events of the causes of which they are ignorant. If they succeed in divining these causes, chance disappears. To say that a thing has happened by chance, is to say that we have not been able to foresee it. I do not myself believe that any other acceptation can be given to this word. What to an ignorant man is chance, cannot be chance to one better instructed.”
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (1796–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I will try to develop an entirely new style and I am sure I will succeed.”
Otto Mueller (1874–1930) said by 1930 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If they succeed in destroying our books or even making many of them inaccessible, there will be a chilling effect on the hundreds of other libraries that lend digitized books as we do. This could be the burning of the Library of Alexandria moment—millions of books from our community's libraries—gone.”
Brewster Kahle (born 1960) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Four publishers are trying to destroy the Internet Archive and digital lending (March 21, 2023)
“I've always been a fan of the [Rocky] films, even the fifth, that I know some people didn't care for, I've always enjoyed them. I thought they were great. It really just got into the underdog story and how if you have your mind in the right direction, and your heart is full of the right kind of stuff, you'll succeed and you'll triumph over adversity, over really anything.”
Milo Ventimiglia (born 1977) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview: Milo Ventimiglia Gets In the Ring For Rocky Balboa", MovieWeb (13 December 2006).
“The Art of War is about how to take advantage of your neighbours, how to destroy people, how to succeed at the expense of other people.”
John Minford (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was convinced that if I was going to write anything, it should really be a story about how it feels to lead because you know, who knows who's out there, considering whether or not they have what it takes, considering whether or not they can succeed if they lead with empathy.”
Jacinda Ardern (born 1980) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jacinda Ardern on having imposter syndrome and why 'confidence gaps' can be good for leaders abc (June 1, 2025)
“It’s become somewhat fashionable to say that religion and science are growing together and are no longer incompatible. This convergence is, in my opinion, illusory. In fact, I don’t believe that any attempt to combine these very disparate bodies of ideas can succeed intellectually.”
John Allen Paulos (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The picture of the 'New Flower' ['Het Bloempje', 1880] is really one of those I did with much idea of having to express loveliness and youth both in human feeling and in the naturally plants of flowers, and If I may say don't you find, that I have succeed in this composition?”
Jozef Israëls (1824–1911) first seen 1824 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from his letter, 23 March 1906, to F.W. Gusaulus in Toledo, (TMA); as cited in Jozef Israëls, 1824 – 1911, ed. Dieuwertje Dekkers; Waanders, Zwolle 1999, p. 306
“You have the magical combo of luck and sheer pigheadedness it takes to succeed in business.”
Adam Rakunas wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A general may succeed for some time in persuading his superiors that he is a good commander: he will never persuade his army that he is a good commander unless he has the real qualities of one.”
Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (1883–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If [the Left] is overtaken by a loud minority who are, increasingly, bound by utter hatred towards anyone deemed to deviate from their sanctity of their cause, then there is no future. If they succeed, they'll turn the left into an ever diminished rump that, to the rest of the population, comes across as vicious, vindictive, and spiteful, and certainly not a cause they'll want to be part of.”
Owen Jones (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a Facebook post (11 February 2017) cited in Niamh McIntyre "Owen Jones quits social media, blaming 'frothing keyboard warriors'" The Independent (11 March 2017)
“The drawings [his watercolors] usually succeed in one day or at most two days or they develop difficult and usually don't finish well, then.. ..[I hope] the end will be as good as the beginning. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
Willem Roelofs (1822–1897) first seen 1867 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter to P. verLoren van Themaat, 30 March, 1867; in Haagsch Gemeentearchief / Municipal Archive of The Hague
“He is cunning, he is mighty, he never rests, he is ever plotting the downfall of the child of God; and if the child of God relaxes in prayer the Devil will succeed in ensnaring him.”
R. A. Torrey (1856–1928) first seen 1924 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Power and Peace in Prayer (1924)
“I think I am a tough mountaineer who, when he has the top in sight, is bounced off again [by mental break-downs], but some day I will succeed.. .I must do it, there is no other way for me. It is always such a pity that Jo [his wife] is cracked up so quickly, otherwise I didn't mind very much. (translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)”
Herman Kruyder (1881–1935) first seen 1881 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote of Kruyder in a letter to P.A. Regnault, from Limburg April 1930; as cited in Herman Kruyder 1881 – 1935: gedoemde scheppingen, ed. Mabel Hoogendonk; (ISBN 90-400-9905-7), Waanders, Zwolle 1997, p. 31
“No matter how powerful the forces against them, when people are prepared to stand up for what they believe, they succeed... [T]hat's the basis of my hope for the future of Russia.”
Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza (born 1981) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "A Russian Patriot and His Country, Part I" (10 April 2017), by Jay Nordlinger, National Review
“People should not be taking this very dangerous journey and, if they do, we also need to send a very strong message that you won't succeed. 'You are coming from France, which is a safe country. In almost every case you are claiming asylum in the UK but if you were a real, genuine asylum seeker then you could have done that in another safe country'.”
Sajid Javid (born 1969) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sajid Javid under fire over Channel migrant comments, BBC News, 21 February 2019
“If the Dear Lord would decide to help and bless us, and we would succeed in recovering our country, that the citizens would annually come to celebrate at this exact cairn, honouring our vow to the Lord. And this cairn serves as the eternal witness to it.”
Paul Kruger (1825–1904) first seen 1880 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On 13 December 1880, when some 6 000 to 8 000 armed SAR citizens were adjured by Kruger to add stones to a cairn, marking their resolution to restore the Transvaal's independence. The Paardekraal Monument of 1890 still …
“The militarizing of the Soviet Union was the largest, longest, and most ambitious effort to implement socialism in human history. It was also a state that survived only by all of society and sustaining a permanent state for seven decades. As soon as it began to relax, it collapsed. Is biggest and most intensive effort, there is strong reason to believe it will succeed elsewhere.”
Paul D. Miller (academic) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War has been the excuse people have made throughout history to take something away from others that didn't belong to them. And it's a never ending cycle. First one group takes away something from the other, then the other wants to take it back, only if they succeed, they take much more. And then it starts all over again. War is caused by greed.”
László Széchenyi (1879–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The social science is totally clear on this: violence does not optimize the chance of successful, progressive outcomes. [...] From all studies, the message is clear: if you practise non-violence, you are more likely to succeed.”
Roger Hallam (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are sneered at for not being the social and intellectual equals, after sixty years of Western civilization, of people with thousands of years of this same civilization; yet when we set out to try to lessen the distance between us we are treated as if the attempt were a crime. Why not give us the chance to try? Are some white people really afraid that we might succeed?”
Augusta Savage (1892–1962) first seen 1923 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: letter to the New York World newspaper (20 May 1923), included in Letters of Note: Art edited by Shaun Usher (2020)
“With so many people doing so much writing, great writing is hard to find ... If you succeed in attaining a position that allows you to do something great, if you do something that really is great, and if you realize that it’s great, there’s still one more hurdle: You have to convince others that it’s great. This will require writing.”
Leslie Lamport (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We cannot expect in the immediate future that all women who seek it will achieve full equality of opportunity. But if women are to start moving towards that goal, we must believe in ourselves or no one else will believe in us; we must match our aspirations with the competence, courage and determination to succeed.”
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921–2011) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a speech given by Rosalyn Yalow to students in Stockholm, Sweden, October 1977 as quoted in The Decade of Women (1980) by Suzanne Levine and Harriet Lyons
“It is my purpose in writing these Memoirs to adhere rigidly to truth, at least in its essence. Should I succeed in this, my work would be a very remarkable one, almost unique.”
Thomas Gordon Hake (1809–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you do project that guaranteed to succeed, think it could be horribly conservative things. So you can't just do things. You know tat hundred are just fun stuffs and they gonna fails!”
Joe Armstrong (programmer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“None could tread one step successfully in the Path without the help of the Lord. One could never succeed by one's personal effort and perseverance.”
Abu al-Hassan al-Kharaqani (963–1033) said by 1033 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Robots are... not going to be the singular route to achieving AGI, and successfully building robots that are performing well in a physical environment does not necessarily engender the solution of the problems of AGI. Whether robotics or virtual agents will be first to succeed in the quest of achieving AGI remains an open question.”
Joscha Bach (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source