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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“The outstanding faults of the economic society in which we live are its failure to provide for full employment and its arbitrary and inequitable distribution of wealth and incomes.”
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My deepest regret from my years in public service is the failure of the United States and the international community to act sooner to halt these crimes.”
Madeleine Albright (1937–2022) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment on the Rwandan Genocide in Madam Secretary (2003), p. 147.
“Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable of living in this way. Therefore not only does the system alienate humanity, but at the same time alienated humanity supports this system as its own involuntary masterplan, as a degenerate image of its own degeneration, as a record of people's own failure as individuals.”
Václav Havel (1936–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is clearly necessary to invent organizational structures appropriate to the present multicultural age. But such efforts are doomed to failure if they do not grow out of something deeper, out of generally held values.”
Václav Havel (1936–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is wrong to condemn people for doing a thing and then offer no alternative but failure. A person could get mad about that.”
Wendell Berry (1934–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who grumble at the little thing that has fallen to their lot to do will grumble at everything. Always grumbling, they will lead a miserable life, and everything will be a failure. But those who do their duties as they go, putting their shoulders to the wheel, will see the light, and higher duties will fall to their share.”
Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Between our fear of failure And our ultimate potential We are called to action, A line must be drawn. Commit to Realization And experimentation, Stay centered in the Uncreated Source of Creation, Leave the critics behind. Let Love draw the line.”
“Of course, recognising our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no need for disappointment at the failure of the model to give perfect agreement with observation; it has served its purpose, for it has distinguished what are the features of the actual which require new conditions for their explanation.”
Arthur Eddington (1882–1944) said by 1944 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When a device as simple as a door has to come with an instruction manual—even a one-word manual—then it is a failure, poorly designed.”
Donald Norman (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A book on radical feminism that did not deal with love would be a political failure. For love, perhaps even more than childbearing, is the pivot of women's oppression today.”
Shulamith Firestone (1945–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My whole life has been a waste - I've been a failure.”
Mike Tyson (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'll never be happy. I believe I'll die alone. I would want it that way. I've been a loner all my life with my secrets and my pain. I'm really lost, but I'm trying to find myself. I'm really a sad, pathetic case. My whole life has been a waste. I've been a failure. I just want to escape.”
Mike Tyson (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hell is not a place you go, if you ain't a christian, it's the failure, of your life's greatest ambition.”
Immortal Technique (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering, “What if?” I would keep putting my dream to the test — even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there. If you can't live here, get back to YOUR roots and LEARN to live here!”
Alex Haley (1921–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I yield to no one precedence in love for the South. But because I love the South, I rejoice in the failure of the Confederacy.”
Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) first seen 1880 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Essay on John Bright, Virginia University Magazine, 19:354-370 (March 1880)
“It’s all responsibility and no control,” 6 says. “The classic path to failure.”
“Ambition, I’ve found, can lead only to failure. I do not read the reviews. No, I am not singing for you.”
Conor Oberst (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well, I could have been a famous singer If I had someone else's voice But failure's always sounded better Let's fuck it up, boys, make some noise!”
Conor Oberst (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Man's sin is in his failure to live what he is. Being the master of the earth, man forgets that he is the servant of God.”
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) said by 1972 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The World's Religions (1976) by Sir James Norman Dalrymple Anderson, p. 61
“Booze, pot, too much sex, failure in one's private life, too much attrition, too much recognition, too little recognition. Nearly everything in the scheme of things works to dull a first-rate talent. But the worst probably is cowardice.”
Norman Mailer (1923–2007) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Sunday Herald [Scotland] (11 November 2007)
“The failure of so-called progressive culture or the left is that people were closed within a bubble. And now it is promoted even more in what are called silos—in the right, the left, the middle, by our online identities, by our bookmarks, by where we go...”
Barbara Kruger (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.”
Thomas Sowell (born 1930) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Thomas Sowell Reader, New York: NY, Basic Books (2011) p. 144, Forbes magazine, "The survival of the left" (Sept. 8, 1997)
“All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.”
Enoch Powell (1912–1998) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Enoch Powell, Joseph Chamberlain (1977), p. 151
“No democracy has ever long survived the failure of its adherents to be ready to die for it....My own conviction is this, the people must either go on or go under.”
David Lloyd George (1863–1945) first seen 1918 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address, conference of trade union delegates, London (18 January 1918), in The Times (19 January 1918), p. 8. Reported in Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1989), p. 252, no. 1,340
“We see a successful, elegant man now, but as a child, an adolescent, his life was not a done deal. Sidney respected his mistakes. When failure came, he never said, "This is too difficult, too hard," he had the resiliency to try again. His life is somewhere between astounding and unbelievable.”
Bill Cosby (born 1937) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment on Sidney Poitier, as quoted in a press release at AARP (24 July 2008)
“A society, in the process of moving forward, often appears to be tearing itself apart. Certainly, an age of rapid change, such as ours, produces many paradoxes. But perhaps the most tragic paradox of our time is to be found in the failure of nation-states to recognize the imperatives of internationalism.”
Earl Warren (1891–1974) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Writing in Saturday Review (23 October 1971), p. 16
“There is one thing beyond the reach of perversity. The inevitable failure of history, she will judge us”
Benito Juárez (1806–1872) first seen 1864 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the letter to Maximiliano de Habsburgo in 1864
“I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying [no hard work]. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. (p. 20, 24)”
Michael Jordan (born 1963) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jordan, Michael. I Can't Accept Not Trying : Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. p. 129
“People have committed suicide because of their failure to realize the passions for love, power, fame, revenge. Cases of suicide because of a lack of sexual satisfaction are virtually nonexistent.”
Erich Fromm (1900–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I talk about going to his Inauguration and smiling when he took the oath, 'cause I was so afraid he was going to "wreck the economy and muck up the drinking water"… the failure of my pessimistic imagination at that moment boggles my mind now.”
Sarah Vowell (born 1969) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Referring to George W. Bush on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (21 February 2006)
“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”
Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But failure is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you are alive and growing.”
Buzz Aldrin (born 1930) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A sense of humor judges one's actions and the actions of others from a wider reference and a longer view and finds them incongruous. It dampens enthusiasm; it mocks hope; it pardons shortcomings; it consoles failure. It recommends moderation.”
Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[About Algol 68] The best we could do was to send with it a minority report, stating our considered view that, "… as a tool for the reliable creation of sophisticated programs, the language was a failure.”
C. A. R. Hoare (1934–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The shame is compounded by the failure of developed countries to commit enough of their wealth and resources to helping poor populations from developing countries.”
Laisenia Qarase (1941–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Go into the silence. Give your soul time to calm. Let the hurly-burly die down, the crash of passion, the struggle of doubt, the pain of failure, the ranklings of wrong, the clamor of ambition. Cease from self. Be still.”
Frank Crane (1861–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The usual devastating put-downs imply that a person is basically bad, rather than that he is a person who sometimes does bad things. Obviously, there is a vast difference between a "bad" person and a person who does something bad. Besides, failure is an event, it is not a person — yesterday ended last night.”
Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Failure has been correctly identified as the line of least persistence.”
Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Heaven knows that I have done all that a mortal could do, to save the people, and the failure was not my fault, but the fault of others.”
Davy Crockett (1786–1836) said by 1836 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in David Crockett: The Man and the Legend (1994) by James Atkins Shackford, p. 106
“Hurricane [Katrina] hit the Gulf Coast and destroyed much of the Gulf Coast — that was an act of God … Now what happened to New Orleans, that was a complete failure of the federal government. Complete negligence by the feds.”
James Carville (born 1944) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a speech to LSU students at the Manship School of Communications' Holliday Forum on January 27, 2006.
“I was too green to know that all cynicism masks a failure to cope – an impotence, in short and to despise all effort is the greatest effort of all...”
John Fowles (1926–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even though hunters have a formidable armoury and great skill, most of their hunting trips... end in failure.”
David Attenborough (born 1926) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Steven den Beste wrote a long, intelligent and insightful essay on who the enemy is. I think he is right to see Afghanistan, Iraq, and the suppression of Al-Qaeda as phases of longer, wider war — a clash of civilizations driven by the failure of Islamic/Arab culture (though I would stress the problem of the Islamic commandment to jihad more than he does).”
Eric S. Raymond (born 1957) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Imperialists by necessity?" (19 September 2002)
“Much of the securitization took the form of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) with senior credit tranches certified by rating agencies as AAA. It was the failure to properly price such risky assets that characterized the crisis.”
Alan Greenspan (1926–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Consistent failure to attain goals throughout life results in defeatism, low self-esteem or depression.”
Theodore Kaczynski (1942–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Be prepared mentally for some amount of chaos and failure. Waste and frustration often attend the earliest stages.”
E. O. Wilson (1929–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War isn't civilized. War is failure. It's the ultimate result of a breakdown in public policy, and soldiers are the machines that handle that breakdown. In warfare, you're taught to do whatever you have to, to stay alive.”
Jesse Ventura (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I was at the World Bank, it would often be said in the face of obvious failure that our strategy was correct, it just wasn't implemented well.”
Joseph Stiglitz (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is impossible not to notice that our world is tormented by failure, hate, guilt, and fear.”
William Saroyan (1908–1981) first seen 1946 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Robert E. Sherwood (1946)