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
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatinaNederlands
Success and failure
LoveFriendshipHappinessHopeFearCourageDeathLifeTimeWarPeaceFreedomTruthWisdomKnowledgeScienceArtMusicNatureMoneyWorkPowerGodBeautyLaughterFamilySuccess and failureChangeDreamsBooks and reading
“It was this division of labour among specialists, unique to our species, that was the key to our ecological success, because it allowed the growth of technology.”
Matt Ridley (born 1958) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The American Pie success has been so wonderful for me, but it's also locked me into a certain type of role. It's limited my options.”
Jason Biggs (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A negative mind will never find success. I have never heard a positive idea come from a person in a negative state.”
“Self-perception is more important than any other factor in predicting success.”
“Spatial reality will be as vital to the success of a two-person startup as it is to the largest multinational conglomerate.”
“An important feature of our barrel stove was its simplicity. We designed it so that any homesteader, even one only partially skilled in metalworking, could build the entire unit in a welder-equipped workshop. Our stove's low cost and multiuse features contributed to its modest success.”
“By one road or another, by conviction, by its supposed inevitability, by its alleged success, or even quite unreflectively, almost all politics today have become Rationalist or near-Rationalist.”
Michael Oakeshott (1901–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No doubt I shall be told: "In the immense majority of cases this is an illusion." But it is of the essence of hope to exlclude the consideration of cases; moreover, it can be shown that there exists an ascedning dialectic of hope, whereby hope rises to a plane which transcends the level of all possible empirical disproof - the plane of salvation as opposed to that of success in whatever form”
Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Given Steve Jobs, for instance, is critical to Apple's success is there anything short of eating live babies on national TV that he should be fired for? Where would you draw that line or should he be held to the same rules and laws that the rest of us are held to?”
Rob Enderle (born 1954) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mark Hurd falls, could Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs be next? in TG Daily (10 August 2010)
“Frankly, it has frustrated me for years to watch Apple's success — while traditional bumbling PC companies continue to ignore the obvious point that yes, design and presentation actually do matter.”
Rob Enderle (born 1954) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Is HP trying to be the new Apple? in TG Daily (3 October 2012)
“What we now have is too much focus on short-term revenues and almost no focus on the long-term survival or success of the firm. This is why you don't see anything very innovative out of firms like Apple.”
Rob Enderle (born 1954) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Why Are Tech Companies Trying to Kill Us? in Tech News World (13 November 2017)
“Formal debate is a kind of game. In the time limit, the order of speakers, the alternation of sides, the give and take of rebuttal, the fixed rules of conduct, the ethics of the contest, the qualifications for success, and the final awarding of victory, debate has much in common with tennis.”
William Trufant Foster (1879–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You cannot allow your desire to be a winner to be diminished by achieving success before and I believe there is room for improvement in every sportsman”
Lionel Messi (born 1987) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I start early, and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success”
Lionel Messi (born 1987) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm lucky to be part of a team who help to make me look good, and they deserve as much of the credit for my success as I do for the hard work we have all put in on the training ground”
Lionel Messi (born 1987) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With all the controversy, I know that my play speaks for itself. I'm one of the best goalkeepers this country has ever seen. On a global stage, I have respect in the goalkeeping world. So all the negativity coming from the outside, I know I’m helping bring success to the U.S. women’s national team. And everything I do, I play to win and I speak the truth, and people either love me or they hate me.”
Hope Solo (born 1981) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Hope Solo: 'I speak the truth, and people either love me or they hate me'", seattlepi.com (August 29, 2012)
“In spite of the impressive success of quantum mechanics in describing atomic physics, it was immediately clear after its formulation that its relativistic extension was not free of difficulties.”
Luis Álvarez-Gaumé (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Marcel Duchamp's 'Nude descending the stairs' is the result of the desire for motion. Here he has also eliminated representative form. This avoids the connotation of ideas which would interfere with the success of the main issue - the sense of movement.”
Alexander Calder (1898–1976) said by 1976 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sect of the Freemasons shows itself insolent and proud of its success, and seems as if it would put no bounds to its pertinacity. Its followers, joined together by a wicked compact and by secret counsels, give help one to another, and excite one another to an audacity for evil things.”
Pope Leo XIII (1810–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The success of a ministry depends more upon one's capacity to relate and to care, than [on] one's theological background.”
Morton Kelsey (1917–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Morton T. Kelsey (Interview) Part 1 (2010, YouTube post date) video @7m 26s
“In the last two hundred years the exploitation of envy—its mobilization among the masses—coupled with the denigration of individuals, but more frequently of classes, races, nations, or religious communities, has been the key to political success.”
Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (1909–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was easy to sound that confident; less easy to believe it in his heart. They had got this far did not give them an automatic guarantee of success. The world did not work like that. It took pleasure in punishing the cocksure.”
Alastair Reynolds (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What we have done in Mangalore is a big success story in out fight against indecency. We are thankful to our Mangalore cadre for everything that they have done.”
Pramod Muthalik (born 1963) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Defending the 2009 Mangalore pub attack, as quoted in "Mangalore pub row: Sri Ram Sene men get bail", IBNLive (31 January 2009)
“'Success on that scale don't make for happiness. Look at Asquith. Why does he drink? I wouldn't want you to end up a drunkard like that.'”
Susan Howatch (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our soaring population may suggest success as a species, but the environmental price of modern civilization is high, and our prosperity may be short-lived.”
Sylvia Earle (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“on balance, if I had to choose the most interesting and important time in all of human history to live, it would be now. As never before, and perhaps as never again, the choices made in the near future will determine mankind's success, or lack of it. These are the "good old days" sure to be envied by those in the future.”
Sylvia Earle (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Newton's laws of motion and gravitation achieved their original success when applied to the solar system. The first definite evidence that they were applicable on a larger scale came from the study of binary stars towards the eighteenth century. In recent times the limitations of Newton's theory have become apparent. Even on the scale of the solar system, it has been challenged by Einstein's.”
Gerald James Whitrow (1912–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Bourgeois who has religious feelings sees very clearly the absolute necessity of serving two masters at the same time in order to achieve success in his business, which naturally comes before everything else.”
Léon Bloy (1846–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The success story of the word postmodernism demands to be written, no doubt in best-seller format; such lexical neoevents, in which the coinage of a neologism has all the reality impact of a corporate merger, are among the novelties of media society which require not merely study but the establishment of a whole new media-lexicological subdiscipline.”
Fredric Jameson (1934–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We should try to return to our youth, to work naively; this is what I see, and it is why I have such success, because our century has tried to return to the primitive. I work as if no art had ever been made, before me, as if I had never learned anything. I am the first man to do sculpture.”
Aristide Maillol (1861–1944) said by 1944 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Looking back on Rome's success, it is all too easy to conclude that its victories were preordained. It is almost as if Rome arose with consummate certainty from the seven hills, gaining such a height that seemingly it could not be challenged. But in almost every phase of Rome's history there were crises.”
Geoffrey Blainey (born 1930) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Each one of us, whatever may have been his individual initiative, ought also to attribute a considerable portion of his success to his contemporaries who are working at the same time as himself at the great common task.”
Marcellin Berthelot (1827–1907) said by 1907 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Success in financial inclusion entails reaching these users with products that can significantly improve financial lives.”
Ibukun Awosika (born 1962) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking in an interview about herself (April 18 2018)
“For a country that needs help, women are key to the success of Nigeria.”
Ibukun Awosika (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The First American Experiment began in the mid-1700s, and by its own criteria, at least, has been a smashing "success":”
Mark Satin (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Far-right states derive mass support from the perception of their success in dealing with internal or external enemies; economic matters, though certainly important, do not bear directly on state legitimacy as they do in far-left states.”
Brian Reynolds Myers (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The U.S. was never stronger, North Korea never weaker than in 1994, yet even then the fear of an artillery attack on Seoul prevented an air-strike on Yongbyeon. You can put it another way and say that the very success of the nuclear program, the fact that it has gone this far, proves that it was never necessary for North Korea's security in the first place.”
Brian Reynolds Myers (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He is a very strong headed person and that shows on-screen (in matches)... He got success at an early age and still he is so grounded and humble. He loves his game. I want to learn that from him”
Harbhajan Singh (born 1980) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Actress Geeta Basra on Singh, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Harbhajan Singh's Passion and Humility a Source of Inspiration for Girlfriend Geeta Basra", June 17, 2015.
“I've been studyin’ the political game for forty-five years, and I don’t know it all yet. I’m learnin’ somethin’ all the time. How, then, can you expect what they call “business men” to turn into politics all at once and make a success of it? p. 19”
George Washington Plunkitt (1842–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The politicians who make a lastin’ success in politics are the men who are always loyal to their friends, even up to the gate of State prison, if necessary; men who keep their promises and never lie. p. 35”
George Washington Plunkitt (1842–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I want to add that no matter how well you learn to play the political game, you won’t make a lastin’ success of it if you're a drinkin’ man. p. 77”
George Washington Plunkitt (1842–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...I want to make it clear that the success of a picture, as a picture, does not depend upon topographical interest of the subject, but on the ability of the photographer to convey impressions of beauty or interest by his manner of treating it.”
Arthur Hammond (1880–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do want to make it clear that the success of the picture does not depend entirely upon the beauty of the subject, but mainly upon the manner in which the picture-maker uses his pictorial material.”
Arthur Hammond (1880–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The areas of tones are called masses and, whatever the subject of picture may be, its success as a picture depends very largely on the effectiveness of the spacing and massing.”
Arthur Hammond (1880–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The success of the picture depends entirely upon the exposure; very little can be done in development to correct errors in timing, and it is the shadows that must be considered in judging the exposure.”
Arthur Hammond (1880–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To Renie, my five-star wife — who for thirty years has inspired me to do my utmost in the service of my country. To her love, courage, sacrifices, understanding, and guidance I attribute whatever success I may have achieved.”
Mark W. Clark (1896–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“80% of success in your career will come from just showing up. The world is run by those who show up…not those who wait to be asked.”
Steve Blank (born 1953) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Philadelphia University Commencement speech NPR: "The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever". May 14, 2011.
“Don't believe your own b.s. It's real easy to confuse funding with success.”
Steve Blank (born 1953) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Forbes "Lean And Meaningful: What Founders Still Need To Fix In The 21st Century". February 29, 2016 issue.
“Success is the accomplishment of any number of possible aims, dreams, aspirations or goals. It’s very personal and unique to you. Your greatest desire could be someone else’s idea of hell; you might want to be an award-winning chef while your best friend hates cooking.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Unless you think that the majority of people are living successful lives, chances are that at some point you will have to act differently from those around you. Success can take many forms and it is often about standing out from the crowd or being above average, spotting when the crowd moves one way and making sure that you move the other.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source