Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Success and failure
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“I can now rejoice even in the falsification of a cherished theory, because even this is a scientific success.”
John Carew Eccles (1903–1997) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in the Introduction of Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge (1963) by Karl Popper
“In my time and neighborhood (and in my soul) there was only one standard by which a woman measured success: did some man want her?”
Jessamyn West (writer) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Life I Really Lived, part 7 (1979)
“I was an overnight success all right, but thirty years is a long, long night.”
Ray Kroc (1902–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are keenly in sympathy with the representatives of Labour. We have too few of them in the House of Commons. ...The Liberal party, high and low, have discovered, if they ever forgot it, that the real road to success...lies in adhering to the old principles of the party.”
Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836–1908) first seen 1903 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Liberals in Belmont (2 January 1903), quoted in John Wilson, C.B.: A Life of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1973), p. 394
“Boris Johnson has real contempt for Londoners. He hates that we celebrate each other's heritage; he hates that we try to pass on a healthy environment to our children; he hates that we look after our most vulnerable neighbours; and most of all he hates that we all expect to share in our city's financial success.”
Siân Berry (born 1974) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Calling on her voters to give Ken Livingstone their second preference in the 2008 London Mayoral election
“How do you achieve success? By two words: Correct decisions”
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh (born 1938) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: May 2009.
“# Treat everyone you encounter as if the success of your spiritual life depends upon the quality of your interactions with them.”
Bhakti Tirtha Swami (1950–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is getting what we started to get, not the thing got, which spells success.”
Henry S. Haskins (1875–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Long-term success depends upon trust.”
Ted Malloch (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We prepare for success by acquiring virtues.”
Ted Malloch (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Success comes because you have found your ecological niche and can flourish by doing your own valuable thing.”
Ted Malloch (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.”
George Washington (1732–1799) first seen 1759 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter of Instructions to the Captains of the Virginia Regiments (29 July 1759)
“Paul [McKenna] and I have been working on making each other’s hair fall out for years now, with some success.”
Derren Brown (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The road to success is paved with ethical intentions and commitments, not shortcuts.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ethical business practices are the backbone of a resilient and responsible economy, driving both trust and long-term success. With ethics as our guide, and integrity in stride, we build a future wide, where trust and profit reside.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No wonder lawyers, who control the legal system, have fought so hard, and with great success, against "no fault" insurance. No fault, no lawsuits. No lawsuits, no lunch.”
Andrew Tobias (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Generally, a betting system for which each wager depends only on present resources and present probability of success is known as a Markov betting system.”
Richard Arnold Epstein (1927–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of the most helpful things I introduced (and of very considerable consequence to Canadians) was my ultimate success in persuading my colleagues (after continuing battle)to reduce the qualifying age for aged pensioners from seventy to sixty-five over a five year period.”
Judy LaMarsh (1924–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A man's success in business today turns upon his power of getting people to believe he has something that they want.”
Gerald Stanley Lee (1862–1944) said by 1944 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The economic success of the Reagan Administration was largely dependent upon the pyramiding of massive debt and the siphoning of capital from the rest of the world.”
Robert Gilpin (1930–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To a very high degree the measure of success in battle leadership is the ability to profit by the lessons of battle experience.”
Lucian Truscott (1895–1965) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Command Missions, A Personal Story, New York, 1954,
“I think we've come to where we are because of those positive ties and working together for working families. That's our priority and continues to be. It's been there since our founding and we've now achieved the best success we've ever had electorally. So I think you want to continue with what's working”
Jack Layton (1950–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Marx set out to resolve the contradictions and to correct the errors in classical political economy. In this he thought he had succeeded very well. Judging by the sound and the fury of the controversy surrounding his interpretations, he either succeeded too well or deluded himself to the success of his enterprise.”
David Harvey (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The success of any freedom of information regime depends on two main factors: A tightly drawn law with a clear statement of intent that makes clear statement of intent that makes clear a presumption of openness, and a bold regulator who is tough and not afraid to exert his authority and challenge government interests.”
Heather Brooke (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have been told, to-day, that it was a woman that agitated Great Britain to its very centre, before emancipation could be effected in her colonies. Woman must go hand in hand with man in every great and noble cause, if success would be insured.”
Ernestine Rose (1810–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“C is quirky, flawed, and an enormous success.”
Dennis Ritchie (1941–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One growing threat to the stability of the U.S. economy, and therefore to its capability to continue to direct the global order, paradoxically emerges from its success in establishing capitalism around the world.”
Herbert Schiller (1919–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People write or speak sentences in order to produce an effect, and the success of a sentence is measured by the degree to which the desired effect has been achieved.”
Stanley Fish (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And what is the reaction of the British political class? Well the Lib Dems, still think that the Euro is a success! I don't quite think where Cleggy gets this from, I don't know. Perhaps he is considering an alternative career as a stand up comedian, once he's out of politics.”
Nigel Farage (born 1964) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Another segment of a speech held in a UKIP meeting on 21 February 2012. When Nigel Farage explains on the reactions on Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem politicians on the failing Euro currency - Nigel Farage met Angel M…
“When people stand up and talk about the great success that the EU has been, I'm not sure anybody saying it really believes it themselves anymore.”
Nigel Farage (born 1964) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the European Parliament, 9 May 2012. Farage: We face the prospect of mass civil unrest, even revolution
“I think men and women who write poetry or write music or paint are finally responsible for what they do. They are entitled to praise for any success they achieve and they should not complain of just criticism.”
Geoffrey Hill (1932–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Success is whatever humiliation everyone has agreed to compete for.”
James Richardson (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Greatness has nothing to do with results or with success.”
Georg Brandes (1842–1927) said by 1927 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'After this success, Ghazi (Victor in a Holy-war) was written amongst the royal titles. Below the titles (tughra) entered on the Fath-nama, I wrote the following quatrain: For Islam's sake, I wandered in the wilds, Prepared for war with pagans and Hindus, Resolved myself to meet the martyr's death, Thanks be to Allah! a ghazi I became.”
Babur (1483–1531) said by 1531 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Babur-Nama, translated into English by A.S. Beveridge, New Delhi reprint, 1979, pp. 574-75
“It may seem like hindsight now, but I just knew that Doctor Who was going to be an enormous success. Don't ask me how. Not everybody thought as I did. I was universally scoffed at for my initial faith in the series, but I believed in it. It was magical.”
William Hartnell (1908–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The secret of success in battle lies often not so much in the use of one's own strength but in the exploitation of the other side's weaknesses.”
Samuel Youd (1922–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Success necessarily emasculates the spirit of rebellion. From the point of view of the true rebel the noblest cause is a lost cause.”
R. W. K. Paterson (born 1933) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You cannot look at the success of black people by seeing who is on the front of Ebony magazine or by looking at Oprah. When you consider that only 1 percent of all business revenue comes from black-owned businesses, you have to ask yourself if this class disparity is the kind of society we want.”
Elaine Brown (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mr. Darwin labours to show, and with no small success, that all true classification in zoology and botany is, in fact, genealogical, and that community of descent is the hidden bond which naturalists have been unconsciously seeking, while they often imagined that they were looking for some unknown plan of creation.”
Charles Lyell (1797–1875) said by 1875 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It might seem daunting to think that effort and chance, as much as innate talent, are what counts. But I find it encouraging because, while our genetic makeup is out of our control, our degree of effort is up to us. And the effects of chance, too, can be controlled to the extent that by committing ourselves to repeated attempts, we can increase our odds of success.”
Leonard Mlodinow (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What I have learned, above all, is to keep marching forward because the best news is that since chance does play a role, one important factor in success is under our control: the number of at bats, the number of chances taken, the number of opportunities seized.”
Leonard Mlodinow (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Neither Dexter nor I knew the first thing about running a small business. We were entrepreneurs the way Abbott and Costello were watercolorists. And so naturally it came to pass that Pieces of Mind was a hands-down, thumbs-up, flat-out success.”
James K. Morrow (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Government is the most successful idea in the world, but for all its success and importance it is something imperfect. There is no ideal state. After thousands of years it is still a mixture of good and evil.”
Elmer Eric Schattschneider (1892–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A recurrent theme of this book is that luck plays a large role in every story of success; it is almost always easy to identify a small change in the story that would have turned a remarkable achievement into a mediocre outcome.”
Daniel Kahneman (1934–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Expressive writing" encourages us to see our misfortunes not as flaws that make us unfit for worldly success (or otherworldly heaven), but as the seeds of our growth.”
Susan Cain (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love, the secret and unofficial heart of pair-bonding behavior, is a force to be reckoned with but never predicted. Love supersedes all other directives and cancels previous obligations. The shared look of love is love’s preview, presenting a foretaste of the joys and sorrows to come, and setting into motion the automatic mating machinery upon which the success and stability of the State depends.”
Robert Sheckley (1928–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Busy with the ugliness of the expensive success we forget the easiness of free beauty lying sad right around the corner, only an instant removed, unnoticed and squandered.”
Dejan Stojanovic (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is very clear in Poland that the non-restrictive anti-smoking campaign has been a huge success, and it seems that conclusions should be drawn from it.”
Jerzy Vetulani (1936–2017) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Vetulani, Jerzy (20 February 2009): Wódka groźniejsza niż egzotyczne ziółka. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish).
“To stimulate the brain or not to stimulate? Whether 'tis nobler to take the exam after the sleepless night, with the brain darkened, but not stimulated, or in the chemicals to seek help? To waste a year or to pay health for quick success? I will not advise you.”
Jerzy Vetulani (1936–2017) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Vetulani, Jerzy (2010): Mózg: fascynacje, problemy, tajemnice. Homini, Kraków, pp. 221–229.
“It takes twenty years to make an overnight success.”
Eddie Cantor (1892–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in James Nicholas, A Book of Wisdom and Delight: How to Fall in Love With Life (2008) p. 162.