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Success and failure
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“I was not intrigued with the accouterments of success and fame, the furs, jewels, expensive automobiles and mansions... I can assure you that these things were not on my mind when I sat spellbound in that Pozzuoli movie house. It was what these performers on the screen were doing, not what they received for doing it.”
Sophia Loren (born 1934) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Sophia, Living and Loving: Her Own Story (1979) by A. E. Hotchner, p. 63.
“Work at these things, practice them, these are the things you ought to desire; they are what will put you on the path of divine virtue — yes, by the one who entrusted our soul with the tetraktys, source of ever-flowing nature. Pray to the gods for success and get to work.”
Pythagoras (583–491 BC) said by 491 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Divine Harmony: The Life and Teachings of Pythagoras by John Strohmeier and Peter Westbrook. (1999)
“The success of any great moral enterprise does not depend upon numbers.”
William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879) said by 1879 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Q: Does commercial success matter to you?”
Thom Yorke (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the first mission of Rainbow Six was actually coming together we really started to realize that we might have a hit on our hands, but hadn't really expected the runaway success.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“On the economic side I cannot perceive that Russian Communism has made any contribution to our economic problems of intellectual interest or scientific value. I do not think that it contains, or is likely to contain, any piece of useful economic technique which we could not apply, if we chose, with equal or greater success in a society which retained all the marks... of British bourgeois ideals.”
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The decadent international but individualistic capitalism in the hands of which we found ourselves after the war is not a success. It is not intelligent. It is not beautiful. It is not just. It is not virtuous. And it doesn't deliver the goods. In short we dislike it, and we are beginning to despise it. But when we wonder what to put in its place, we are extremely perplexed.”
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: National Self-Sufficiency", Finlay Lecture at University College Dublin (19 April 1933), quoted in The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, Volume 21: Activities, 1931–1939: World Crises and Policies in Britain an…
“My ambitions were always, I think, fairly level-headed. I felt I could earn my living like my dad, who went from jail guard in a small town to supporting his family doing something he really loved — that was my goal. And when people talk to me and Teller about success, the day we were paying our bills doing a magic and juggling show, I was done.”
Penn Jillette (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life”
Madeleine Albright (1937–2022) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On her upbringing, Madam Secretary (2003), p. 512
“The Samoan puts the burden of amatory success upon the man and believes that women need more initiating, more time for maturing of sexual feeling. A man who fails to satisfy a woman is looked upon as a clumsy, inept blunderer.”
Margaret Mead (1901–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings.”
Margaret Mead (1901–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Choose the positive. — You have choice — you are master of your attitude — choose the POSITIVE, the CONSTRUCTIVE. Optimism is a faith that leads to success.”
Bruce Lee (1940–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky. In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize! Plagiarize, Let no one else's work evade your eyes, Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, So don't shade your eyes, But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize... Only be sure always to call it please "research".”
Tom Lehrer (1928–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Patriotism is the cheapest form of self-exaltation. If one is in debt, if one has not made a success of life—still, says Hitler, one belongs to the RACE. 'All that is not Race, is dross!' is one of his exclamations. The Germanys are a superior race and it is ordained that this superior race shall conquer the earth.”
Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The order was made and sent out, without any reflection, and without thinking of the Jews as a sect or race to themselves, but simply as persons who had successfully, I say successfully instead of persistently because I know there were a plenty within my lines who envied them their success, violated an order, which violation innured greatly to help the rebels.”
Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) said by 1885 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our object now is to strengthen the ties that bind us to other nations. There may be a great many countries in the world, but there is only one civilization, and if a nation is to achieve progress, she must be a part of this civilization. The Ottoman Empire began to decline the day when, proud of her success against the West, she cut the ties that bound her to the European nations.”
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) first seen 1923 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the press (29 October 1923), quoted in Vakur Versan, 'The Kemalist Reform of Turkish Law and Its Impact', in Jacob M. Landau (ed.), Atatürk and the Modernization of Turkey (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1…
“Science is the most real guide for civilisation, for life, for success in the world. To search for a guide other than science is absurdity, ignorance and heresy.”
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Atatürkçülük, Volume I, General Staff of the Republic of Turkey, Millî Eğitim Basımevi, 1984, p. 283
“Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success and, above all, love.”
Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who work at a thing heart and soul not only achieve success in it but through their absorption in that they also realize the supreme truth—Brahman. Those who work at a thing with their whole heart receive help from God.”
Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With ever greater frequency they annihilate themselves, for success breeds contempt for those very qualities that purchased it.”
Steven Erikson (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Isn't he a huge business success that knows what he's talking about? No he isn't. His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them. He inherited his business, he didn't create it. And what ever happened to ? How about ? And then there's Trump Magazine and and , and ? A business genius he is not.”
Mitt Romney (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Think [Schindler's List] was about the Holocaust?... That was about success, wasn’t it? The Holocaust is about six million people who get killed. ‘'Schindler’s List’' is about 600 who don’t. Anything else?”
Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Eyes Wide Open: A Memoir of Stanley Kubrick (1999) by Frederic Raphael, p. 107
“I guess there's some sort of unspoken show business rule, [speaks in British accent] 'You do the theater, and then you move into television, and then, of course, that is your steppingstone to film stardom.' I've done it every which way. I've done theater for many, many years and then had some success in films. I would do television sporadically. I thought this was a good time to try it.”
Nathan Lane (born 1956) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his role in the television series Encore! Encore! — reported in Susan King, Los Angeles Times (October 27, 1998) "In Sitcom, Nathan Lane Isn't Taking Steppingstones In Order", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. D6.
“And I think anybody who’s occupied this office has to remember that success is determined by an intersection in policy and politics and that you can’t be neglecting of marketing and P.R. and public opinion.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "The Education of President Obama" by Peter Baker in The New York Times Magazine (12 October 2010)
“What we learned in the recent economic crisis is that we have each stake of each other success, America has a stake in indonesia's growing and development with prosperity that broadly shared by among Indonesians people because the raising middle class of Indonesia means new market for our goods.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks by the President at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia November 10, 2010
“Now, the premise that we’re all created equal is the opening line in the American story. And while we don’t promise equal outcomes, we have strived to deliver equal opportunity -- the idea that success doesn’t depend on being born into wealth or privilege, it depends on effort and merit. And with every chapter we’ve added to that story, we’ve worked hard to put those words into practice.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The point is, there are millions of Americans outside Washington who are tired of stale political arguments and are moving this country forward. They believe, and I believe, that here in America, our success should depend not on accident of birth but the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are victims of our own success. We have let technology lead the way, pushing ever faster to newer, faster, and more powerful systems, with nary a moment to rest, contemplate, and to reflect upon why, how, and for whom all this energy has been expended.”
Donald Norman (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The success of a party means little except when the Nation is using that party for a large and definite purpose.”
Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: First Inaugural Address (4 March 1913)
“You are a tongue of the debased, of the unreasonable, hating themselves even more than they hate other nations, a tongue of informers, a tongue of the confused, ill with their own innocence.But without you, who am I? Only a scholar in a distant country, a success, without fears and humiliations. Yes, who am I without you? Just a philosopher, like everyone else.”
Czesław Miłosz (1911–2004) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: My Faithful Mother Tongue" (1968), trans. Czesŀaw Miŀosz and Robert Pinsky
“Singapore's success story in the economic and social fields cannot but be a model for Malaysians rather than an object of envy.”
Mahathir Mohamad (born 1925) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“ASEAN’s resilience and success serves as a model and shining example to other developing countries on meaningful economic cooperation.”
Mahathir Mohamad (born 1925) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let your success inspire you to greater achievements.”
Mahathir Mohamad (born 1925) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The motive-force for the success of ASEAN lies in our firm belief in peace and in working together for the prosperity of all in the region.”
Mahathir Mohamad (born 1925) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Integrity is the hallmark of corporate success. Without it, whatever initiative you have or progress you make will become meaningless.”
Mahathir Mohamad (born 1925) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no simple solution to these problems. In the past there would have been no solution at all. Today, the constantly unfolding conquests of science give man the power over his world and nature which brings the prospect of success within the purview of hope.”
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Led Zeppelin is the greatest. Robert Plant is one of the most original vocalists of our time. As a rock band they deserve the kind of success they're getting.”
Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Queen's Freddie Mercury Shopping For An Image In London" by Scott Cohen in Circus Magazine (April 1975).
“You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man. And that is the most bitter type of loneliness, success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds. But it's prevented me from having the one thing we all need: A loving, ongoing relationship.”
Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Rock On Freddie" (1985).
“Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same.”
Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Audrey Hepburn : A Life in Pictures (2007) by Yann-Brice Dherbier and Pierre-Henri Verlhac
“Ignorance alone stands in the way of socialist success. The capitalist parties understand this and use their resources to prevent the workers from seeing the light. Intellectual darkness is essential to industrial slavery.”
Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926) said by 1926 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The use of quantity of money as a target has not been a success. I'm not sure that I would as of today push it as hard as I once did.”
Milton Friedman (1912–2006) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Financial Times [UK] (7 June 2003)
“One's religion is whatever he is most interested in, and yours is Success.”
J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) first seen 1910 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Twelve-Pound Look (1910)
“Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy the success.”
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.”
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Happiness, satisfaction, and success in life depend on making the right choices, the winning choices. There are forces in life working for you and against you. One must distinguish the beneficial forces from the malevolent ones and choose correctly between them.”
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Success makes people - people not related to you or to your field - like to take a dig at you.”
Shahrukh Khan (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've learned that success comes in a very prickly package. Whether you choose to accept it or not is up to you. It's what you choose to do with it, the people you choose to surround yourself with. Always choose people that are better than you. Always choose people that challenge yout and are smarter than you. Always be the student. Once you find yourself to be the teacher, you've lost it.”
Sandra Bullock (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Success always obsoletes the very behavior that achieved it.”
Peter Drucker (1909–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Absolute size by itself is no indicator of success and achievement, let alone of managerial competence. Being the right size is.”
Peter Drucker (1909–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Growth as a goal, to repeat, is delusion. William James, the American philosopher, talked of the "bitch goddess success." A philosopher of business today might well talk of the "bitch goddess growth.”
Peter Drucker (1909–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source