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. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Success and failure
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“I love to see my friends achieve their goals and succeed at what they set out to do. Witnessing their happiness and fulfillment brings me joy. I'm a people person, so I enjoy engaging with others and asking questions to learn more about them. Seeing people live out their dreams and fulfill their destinies also makes me smile, whether they are friends or strangers.”
Tamika Scott (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Each time I mess up I try to go back to practice and fix it. Track and field is 90% mental. So if you’re negative and hard on yourself it’s harder to move on and harder to succeed in the sport.”
Kendra Harrison (born 1992) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Catching up with hurdles queen Kendra Harrison", 30th August, 2018
“If you're putting in the work, working harder, and working towards your goal, you will always succeed.”
Nonkululeko Mlaba (born 2000) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: SA's Mlaba on World Cup heartbreak and chasing a dream, Dec 2024, BBC Sport by Ffion Wynne & Robin-Duke Madlala
“If you fall I love with the process and remain passionate in everything you do, that’s going to make you succeed at the end of the day.”
Tumi Sekhukhune (born 1998) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The challenging part is trying to make them aware of the process, dedication, hard work and sacrifice you have to make to succeed in this game.”
Brady Barends (born 1989) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was assured by every son of a bitch I checked with — all the military experts and the CIA — that the plan would succeed.”
John F. Kennedy (attributed) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment to Richard Nixon, about the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, as quoted in The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (1978) by Richard Nixon
“Ah! many are the conditions which at first are hard, But are afterwards relieved and lose their harshness Oftentimes hope succeeds to hopelessness Many times does sunlight succeed to darkness.”
Rumi (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment.”
Charles Darwin (misattributed) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: This related misquote appeared in The Living Clocks (1971) by Ritchie R. Ward.
“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.”
Nikos Kazantzakis (misattributed) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Michael Korda, Success! (1977), p. 284
“Without a doubt, we will succeed in moving forward, only if we have the capacity to reap the benefit of positive, scientific and social accomplishments of Western civilization.”
Mohammad Khatami (attributed) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (Islamic summit 1997)
“The saddest failures in life are those that come from the not putting forth of power and will to succeed.”
Edwin Percy Whipple (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To succeed in the world, it is much more necessary to possess the penetration to discern who is a fool than to discover who is a clever man.”
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (attributed) first seen 1917 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in, C. N. Douglas, ed., Forty Thousand Quotations: Prose and Poetical (1917)
“Intent" is not a thought, or an object, or a wish. "Intent" is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated. It operates in spite of the warrior's indulgence. "Intent" is what makes him invulnerable. "Intent" is what sends a shaman through a wall, through space, to infinity.”
Carlos Castaneda (1925–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When he was in the settlement Dostoievsky was already especially attracted by these resolute men whom no obstacle could turn from their purpose. He tried by every means in his power to understand their psychology, but he did not succeed. P. 19”
Lev Shestov (1866–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let others drink thee freely, and desire Thee and their lips espous'd, while I admire And love thee, but not taste thee. Let my muse Fail of thy former helps, and only use Her inadult'rate strength: what's done by me Hereafter shall smell of the lamp, not thee.”
Robert Herrick (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because we are so accustomed to talking about race in terms of black and white, we often fail to recognize and contest expressions of racism that target people of color who are not black.”
Angela Davis (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For want of me the world’s course will not fail; When all its work is done the lie shall rot; The truth is great and shall prevail When none cares whether it prevail or not.”
Coventry Patmore (1823–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ther are not two sides to any question that really concerns a man, but only one, and this side only a fool can fail to see if he tries.”
Coventry Patmore (1823–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Press on! there's no such word as fail! Press nobly on! the goal is near,— Ascend the mountain! breast the gale! Look upward, onward,—never fear! Why shouldst thou faint? Heaven smiles above, Though storm and vapor intervene; That sun shines on, whose name is Love, Serenely o'er Life's shadow'd scene.”
Park Benjamin Sr. (1809–1864) said by 1864 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Though I never get possession, ’Tis a pleasure to adore; Hope, the wretch’s only blessing, May, in time, procure me more.Constant courtship may obtain her, Where both wealth and merit fail; And the lucky minute gain her— Fate and fancy must prevail.At Diana’s shrine, aloud, By the bow and by the quiver, Thrice she bowed, and thrice she vowed, Once to love—and that forever.”
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) said by 1762 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whenever you have to deal with a boy who is a rebel, remember that you must not fail at some time or other to get him to face the question, Are you going to be a fighter or a quarreller?”
Kurt Hahn (1886–1974) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by Sir Robert Birley in Kurt Hahn: A Life Span in Education and Politics, ed. Herman Röhrs, 1966, tr. 1970, , Foreword, p. xv.
“Why did the generals who have been so ready to term me a complaisant and incompetent yes-man fail to secure my removal? Was that all that difficult? No, that wasn't it; the truth was that nobody would have been ready to replace me, because each one knew that he would end up just as much a wreck as I.”
Wilhelm Keitel (1882–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Excerpt from "The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Keitel" - Page 52 - by Wilhelm Keitel - 1966
“So let God know what you're doing just by doing it — or feel good about yourself. But don't rely on men and women to inspire you to do good — because we will probably often fail you with our own imperfections! We all should be trying to improve ourselves, regardless of how much better off or worse off we are than the person next to us, because we can all get better.”
Ysabella Brave (born 1979) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Doing Good — for the right reasons!" (13 March 2008)
“In the beginning the entire creation seems to hinder, obstruct and try to keep you away from experiencing the Creator. It is the way of things that only the unrelenting, indomitable individual can escape and experience God. The curious masses always fail. Later on, all things help, not hinder, the valiant ones.”
Barry Long (1926–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Often the true causes of our discomfort are so integral to our environment that we fail to recognize them.”
Tim Hurson (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every outer purpose is doomed to “fail” sooner or later, simply because it is subject to the law of impermanence of all things.”
Eckhart Tolle (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Prayer become manifest in action, and action has to be backed up by prayer. Only then can we elicit a response from the Buddhist deities and all Buddhism. Those who pray and take action for kosen-rufu are the Buddha's emissaries. They cannot fail to realize lives in which all desires are fulfilled.”
Daisaku Ikeda (1928–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An open-handed slap is justified – if all other alternatives fail and there has been plenty of warning. If a woman is a bitch, or hysterical, or bloody-minded continually, then I'd do it.”
Sean Connery (1930–2020) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview in Playboy magazine (1965).
“We must stand together to counter Islamization. We must speak the truth and defend our civilization. If we fail to do so, we will end up either enslaved or dead.”
Geert Wilders (born 1963) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: DECKER: 5 Questions with Geert Wilders", The Washington Times (14 September 2012)
“Do not say before hand what you are going to do; for if you fail, you will be laughed at.”
Pittacus of Mytilene (651–571 BC) said by 571 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All solutions that ignore the maintenance of Jewish supremacy in Israel will fail. Unless the elimination of Jewish supremacy becomes the major goal of a real 'peace process', all other solutions will simply perpetuate the conflict.”
Joseph Massad (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All honor to him who shall win the prize," The world has cried for a thousand years; But to him who tries, and who fails and dies, I give great honor and glory and tears.Give glory and honor and pitiful tears To all who fail in their deeds sublime; Their ghosts are many in the van of years, They were born with Time in advance of Time.”
Joaquin Miller (1837–1913) first seen 1884 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: For Those Who Fail" in Memorie and Rime (1884), p. 237.
“Being a husband is a whole-time job. That is why so many husbands fail. They can't give their entire attention to it.”
Arnold Bennett (1867–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today, I should think of something about myself that really annoys me, and I should try to change it. Then, when I fail to change it, I can be annoyed by that as well. Then, I can be annoyed about how easily I get annoyed. Then I can get angry.”
John S. Hall (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It may seem sometimes that the whole world is against me and the reason I have failed in life is because of fate—that I was destined to fail, and there was nothing I could have done. But that's not true. There was plenty I could have done. Why didn't I do something?”
John S. Hall (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Failing to plan is planning to fail. Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each Semester. You can always change your plan, but only once you have one!”
Randy Pausch (1960–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“General Advice: Never break a promise, but re-negotiate them if need be. If you haven’t got time to do it right, you don’t have time to do it wrong. Recognize that most things are pass/fail. Feedback loops: ask in confidence.”
Randy Pausch (1960–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One can imagine having a procedural rule that anything ambiguous should be treated as the Taj Mahal unless we see that it is labelled "fog"…The motorist replies: "What sort of rule is this? Surely the best guarantee I can have that the fog is fog is if I fail to see the sign saying 'fog' because of the fog.”
Michael Frayn (born 1933) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: James Fenton (ed.) The Original Michael Frayn (Edinburgh: Salamander Press, 1983) p. 67.
“Other trades may fail. The agitator is always sure of his market.”
Mary Augusta Ward (1851–1920) said by 1920 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Brethren, is not this the Saviour that you need? one who can save you from the utmost depths of depravity, in the utmost corner of the earth, on the utmost inch of time? One who can save you amidst the utmost urgency of fierce temptations, and who in the uttermost extreme of exhausted nature, when heart and flesh do faint and fail, completes the work, and seals the salvation for evermore?”
James Hamilton (1814–1871) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like other human freedoms, the freedoms embodied in market institutions are justified inasmuch as they meet human needs. Insofar as they fail to do this they can reasonably be altered. This is true not only of the rights that are involved in market institutions. It is true of all human rights.”
John Gray (philosopher) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You need the willingness to fail all the time. You have to generate many ideas and then you have to work very hard only to discover that they don’t work. And you keep doing that over and over until you find one that does work .”
John Backus (1924–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He, who does not know the entries, the exits will fail him.”
Muhammad al-Taqi (811–835) said by 835 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we train men for war, we lose some part of every man we train -- even if we win the war. When we train men to be better nurturers, even men who fail the course will have won. And so will every child they ever meet. Training men to love is a nation’s best investment.”
Warren Farrell (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Worldwide, boys are 50 percent more likely than girls to fail to meet basic proficiency in any of the three core subjects of reading, math, and science.”
Warren Farrell (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You fail, Death-Lord! You destroy the instrument, but not its music. With all your power you have gained only a broken shell." In that moment, when the harp had been silenced, arose the songs of birds, the chiming of brooks, the humming of wind through grass and leaves; and all these voices took up the strands of melody, more beautiful than before. And the Lord of Death fled in terror of life.”
Lloyd Alexander (1924–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Brittle beauty, that Nature made so frail, Whereof the gift is small, and short the season; Flowering to-day, to-morrow apt to fail; Tickle treasure, abhorred of reason: Dangerous to deal with, vain, of none avail; Costly in keeping, past not worth two peason.”
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516–1547) said by 1547 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I want to be understood by my country, but if I fail to be understood – what then?, I shall pass through my native land to one side, like a shower of slanting rain.”
Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930) first seen 1926 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Back Home!", first version (1926); translation from Patricia Blake (ed.) The Bedbug and Selected Poetry (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975) p. 36
“Men will mock the signs of the end of the age by saying, "These signs have always been around." This will be because they fail to understand that God is not subject to the dimension of time (2 Peter 3:44).”
Ray Comfort (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To be a Jew in the twentieth century Is to be offered a gift. If you refuse, Wishing to be invisible, you choose Death of the spirit, the stone insanity. Accepting, take full life. Full agonies: Your evening deep in labyrinthine blood Of those who resist, fail, and resist: and God Reduced to a hostage among hostages. The gift is torment.”
Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source