CURATED COLLECTION

Redefining Success and Failure

The standard definitions were written by people who wanted something from you — here are better ones.

50 quotes found

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We need to celebrate success and highlight failure in African leadership.

—Mo IbrahimAuthor & Thinker

Contemporary ERA • North Africa

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Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.

—Bill GatesEntrepreneur & Philanthropist

Late Modern ERA • North America

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I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small ones.

—Helen KellerAuthor

Early Modern ERA • North America

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Fortune is kind to him who knows how to make use of her.

—Giovanni BoccaccioWriter & Poet

Medieval ERA • Southern Europe

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However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.

—Stephen HawkingTheoretical Physicist

Digital Age ERA • Western Europe

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A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.

—Bruce LeeMartial Artist & Philosopher

Post-War ERA • East Asia

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All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.

—Baruch SpinozaPhilosopher

Renaissance ERA • Western Europe

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He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

—Friedrich NietzschePhilosopher

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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The tree that wants to grow must send its roots deep into the earth.

—Sundiata KeitaKing

Medieval ERA • West Africa

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One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.

—Marie CuriePhysicist & Chemist

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

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Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master.

—Leonardo da VinciPolymath

Renaissance ERA • Southern Europe

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A true artist is never satisfied with his work.

—Benvenuto CelliniSculptor, Writer & Artist

Renaissance ERA • Southern Europe

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If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person.

—Simone de BeauvoirExistentialist Philosopher & Feminist

Post-War ERA • Western Europe

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Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

—Elon MuskEntrepreneur & Engineer

Digital Age ERA • North America

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There are no second acts in American lives.

—F. Scott FitzgeraldNovelist & Essayist

Early Modern ERA • North America

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Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.

—Eleanor RooseveltDiplomat & Activist

Post-War ERA • North America

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Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.

—HerodotusHistorian

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

—Samuel BeckettNovelist & Playwright

Late Modern ERA • Western Europe

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Hide not your talents, they were made for use. What's a sundial in the shade?

—Benjamin FranklinPolymath & Statesman

Enlightenment ERA • North America

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No excellent company can be created without excellent culture and excellent people.

—Zhang RuiminAuthor & Thinker

Late Modern ERA • East Asia

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