Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it … Success is shy – it won’t come out while you’re watching.
—Tennessee Williams (1911–83) American Playwright
A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful.
—Paul Sweeney
No great thing comes to any man unless he has courage.
—James Gibbons (1834–1921) American Catholic Religious Leader, Clergyman
We mean by “politics” the people’s business — the most important business there is.
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–65) American Diplomat, Politician, Orator
You build a successful career, regardless of your field of endeavor, by the dozens of little things you do on and off the job.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Different people have different duties assigned to them by Nature; Nature has given one the power or the desire to do this, the other that. Each bird must sing with his own throat.
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) Norwegian Playwright
We only do well the things we like doing.
—Colette (1873–1954) French Novelist, Performer
You can have everything in life you want if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
A somebody was once a nobody who wanted to and did.
—Anonymous
In war there is no second prize for the runner-up.
—Omar Bradley (1893–1981) American Military Leader
Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.
—David Lloyd George (1863–1945) British Liberal Statesman
Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.
—Arnold Glasow (1905–98) American Businessman
Not that which men do worthily, but that which they do successfully, is what history makes haste to record.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
No matter what you do, do it to your utmost. I always attribute my success to always requiring myself to do my level best, if only in driving a tack in straight.
—Russell Conwell (1843–1925) American Baptist Minister, Orator, Philanthropist, Lawyer, Academic
Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
Work, every hour, paid or unpaid; see only that thou work and thou canst not escape thy reward. Whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn, or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to the senses, as well as to the thought. The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Every failure, obstacle or hardship is an opportunity in disguise. Success in many cases is failure turned inside out. The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity. Eliminate the negative attitude and believe you can do anything. Replace ‘if I can, I hope, maybe’ with ‘I can, I will, I must.’
—Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
Mistakes are stepping stones to success.
—Charles E. Popplestone
If you want to accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the spirit.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
Success requires persistence, the ability to not give up in the face of failure. I believe that optimistic explanatory style is the key to persistence.
—Martin Seligman (b.1942) American Psychologist, Author
Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.
—C. William Pollard (b.1938) American Businessman
Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility.
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Artist
Don’t let what you can’t do stand in the way of what you can.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
There is more genuine joy in climbing the hill of success, even though sweat may be spent and toes may be stubbed, than in aimlessly sliding down the path to failure. If a straight, honorable path has been chosen, the gaining of the summit yields lasting satisfaction. The morass of failure, if reached through laziness, indifference or other avoidable fault, yields nothing but ignominy and sorrow for self and family and friends.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified. He that labors in any great or laudable undertaking has his fatigues first supported by hope and afterward rewarded by joy.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
If you achieve success, you will get applause, and if you get applause, you will hear it. My advice to you concerning applause is this; enjoy it but never quite believe it.
—Robert Montgomery
Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value. He is considered successful in our day who gets more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he receives.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
All things lead to my success.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile
Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.
—Earl Nightingale (1921–89) American Motivational Speaker, Author
Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.
—Benjamin Haydon (1786–1846) English Painter, Writer
Who never climbs as rarely falls.
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92) American Quaker Poet, Abolitionist
The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring. And that is not happiness.
—F. H. Bradley (1846–1924 ) British Idealist Philosopher
Success is the necessary misfortune of life, but it is only to the very unfortunate that it comes early.
—Anthony Trollope (1815–82) English Novelist
Have the courage of your desire.
—George Gissing (1857–1903) English Novelist
Success is achieved by development of our strengths, not by elimination of our weakness.
—Marilyn vos Savant (b.1946) American Columnist, Author, Lecture, Playwright
Success doesn’t come to you — you go to it.
—Marva Collins (b.1936) American Educator
God may allow His servant to succeed when He has disciplined him to a point where he does not need to succeed to be happy. The man who is elated by success and is cast down by failure is still a carnal man. At best his fruit will have a worm in it.
—A. W. Tozer (1897–1963) American Christian Pastor, Preacher, Author, Editor
Our business in life is not to get ahead of others but to get ahead of ourselves – to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterdays by our today, to do our work with more force than ever before.
—Stewart B. Johnson
Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.
—Arthur Ashe (1943–93) American Tennis Player
Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.
—David M. Burns
Remember, you can earn more money, but when time is spent is gone forever.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Ability is a poor man’s wealth.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting — in the trying, not the triumph, Success is a personal standard — reaching for the highest that is in us — becoming all that we can be. If we do our best, we are a success. Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Don’t mistake activity for achievement.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
A failure establishes only this, that our determination to succeed was not strong enough.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
I couldn’t wait for success… so I went ahead without it.
—Jonathan Winters (b.1925) American Comedian, Film Personality, TV Personality
Many people dream of success. To me success can only be achieved through repeated failures and introspections. In fact, success represents 1% of your work that results from the 99% that is called failure.
—Soichiro Honda (1906–91) Japanese Inventor
Only a mediocre person is always at his best.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure towards success.
—Dorothea Brande (1893–1948) American Writer, Editor
We must have courage to bet on our ideas, to take the calculated risk, and to act. Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.
—Maxwell Maltz (1899–1975) American Surgeon, Motivational Writer
The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year.
—John Foster Dulles (1888–1959) American Lawyer, Diplomat, Politician
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.
—Colin Powell (b.1937) American Military Leader
Some men succeed by what they know; some by what they do; and a few by what they are.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
There could be no honor in a sure success, but much might be wrested from a sure defeat.
—T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935) British Soldier, Scholar, Writer
Money won’t make you happy, but everybody wants to find out for themselves.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
I have had enough success for two lifetimes. My success is talent put together with hard work and luck.
—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (b.1947) American Basketball Player, Author, Actor
Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people—your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way.
—Barbara Bush (1925–2018) American First Lady
All I would tell people is to hold on to what was individual about themselves, not to allow their ambition for success to cause them to try to imitate the success of others. You’ve got to find in on your own terms.
—Harrison Ford (b.1942) American Actor
If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed.
—Montesquieu (1689–1755) French Political Philosopher, Jurist
When a man has done all he can do, still there is a mighty, mysterious agency over which he needs influence to secure success. The only way he can reach it is by prayer.
—Russell Conwell (1843–1925) American Baptist Minister, Orator, Philanthropist, Lawyer, Academic
The great difference between those who succeed and those who fail does not consist in the amount of work done by each but in the amount of intelligent work. Many of those who fail most ignominiously do enough to achieve grand success but they labor haphazardly at whatever they are assigned, building up with one hand to tear down with the other. They do not grasp circumstances and change them into opportunities. They have no faculty for turning honest defeats into telling victories. With ability enough and ample time, the major ingredients of success, they are forever throwing back and forth an empty shuttle and the real web of their life is never woven.
—Og Mandino (1923–96) American Self-help Author
Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly. Taste the relish to be found in competition — in having put forth the best within you.
—Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967) American Industrialist
Success is in the details.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Success to me is having ten honeydew melons and eating only the top half of each one.
—Barbra Streisand (b.1942) American Musician, Actor, Songwriter
I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
We never know, believe me, when we have succeeded best.
—Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) Spanish Educator, Philosopher, Author
Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment. As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility, and commitment.
—Ross Perot (1930–2019) American Businessman
I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
Few rich men own their own property. Their property owns them.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
The bottom line is that if you become a master at handling problems and overcoming obstacles, what can stop you from success? The answer is nothing! And if nothing can stop you, you become unstoppable!
—T. Harv Eker (b.1954) American Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Author
Every successful man I have heard of has done the best he could with conditions as he found them…
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
The door to a balanced success opens widest on the hinges of hope and encouragement.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.
—Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British Head of State
The most natural beauty in the world is honesty and moral truth; for all beauty is truth. True features make the beauty of a face; and true proportions the beauty of architecture; as true measures that of harmony and music. In poetry, which is all fable, truth still is the perfection.
—Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (1621–83) British Statesman
If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.
—John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) American Philanthropist, Businessperson
Along with success comes a reputation for wisdom.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
—Unknown
I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Out of the hard and unusual struggle through which he is compelled to pass, he gets a strength, a confidence, that one misses whose pathway is comparatively smooth by reason of birth and race.
—Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American Educationist
I’ve learned that you can’t have everything and do everything at the same time.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do without thought of fame. If it comes at all it will come because it is deserved, not because it is sought after.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) American Aviator, Author
It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement.
—Mabel Newcomer (1891–1983) American Economist
You do not succeed because you do not know what you want, or you don’t want it intensely enough.
—Frank Hall Crane (1873–1948) American Stage and Film Actor, Director
I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.
—John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) American Oil Magnate, Philanthropist
If there is any great secret of success in life, it lies in the ability to put yourself in the other person’s place and to see things from his point of view—as well as your own.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
The prospect of success in achieving our most cherished dream is not without its terrors. Who is more deprived and alone than the man who has achieved his dream?
—Brendan Behan (1923–64) Irish Poet, Novelist, Playwright
Success often comes to those who have the aptitude to see way down the road.
—J. Laing Burns, Jr.
Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.
—Alice Walker (b.1944) American Novelist, Activist
Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The big shots are only the little shots who keep shooting.
—Christopher Morley (1890–1957) American Novelist, Essayist
Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes the furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The “sure thing” boat never gets far from shore.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.
—Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) Irish-born British Playwright, Poet, Elected Rep
Failure is success if we learn from it.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately triumph than to triumph in a cause that will ultimately fail
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) American Head of State
Happiness seems to require a modicum of external prosperity.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
My definition of success is to live your life in a way that causes you to feel a ton of pleasure and very little pain — and because of your lifestyle, have the people around you feel a lot more pleasure than they do pain.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
Success is more a function of consistent common sense than it is of genius.
—An Wang (1920–90) Chinese-born American Engineer, Inventor, Entrepreneur
Women who are confident of their abilities are more likely to succeed than those who lack confidence, even though the latter may be much more competent and talented and industrious.
—Joyce Brothers
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
—Unknown
Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
Success in business does not depend upon genius. Any young man of ordinary intelligence who is normally sound and not afraid to work should succeed in spite of obstacles and handicaps if he plays the game fairly and keeps everlastingly at it.
—James Cash Penney (1875–1971) American Entrepreneur
To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
—Bessie Anderson Stanley American Poet
The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.
—Ask Ann Landers (1918–2002) American Advice Columnist
Would you like me to give you a formula for … success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure… You’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all… You can be discouraged by failure–or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you’ll find success. On the far side.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (1874–1956) American Business Executive
Here is the basic rule for winning success. Let’s mark it in the mind and remember it. The rule is: Success depends on the support of other people. The only hurdle between you and what you want to be is the support of other people.
—David J. Schwartz (1927–87) American Self-help Author
Money, or even power, can never yield happiness unless it be accompanied by the goodwill of others.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Clarity precedes success.
—Robin Sharma (b.1964) Canadian Writer, Motivational Speaker
If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.
—Barack Obama (b.1961) American Head of State, Academic, Politician, Author
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) American Military Leader
The best augury of a man’s success in his profession is that he thinks it the finest in the world.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
The truth is that all of us attain the greatest success and happiness possible in this life whenever we use our native capacities to their greatest extent.
—Smiley Blanton
In my experience, there’s only one thing that will always steer you toward success: That’s to have a vision and to stick with it… Once I have a vision for a new venture, I’m going to ride that vision until the wheels come off.
—Russell Simmons (b.1957) American Music Promoter
Success, in a generally accepted sense of the term, means the opportunity to experience and to realize to the maximum the forces that are within us.
—David Sarnoff (1891–1972) American Broadcaster, Businessman
Man was designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
A true friend is one who overlooks your failures and tolerates your successes.
—Doug Larson (1926–2017) American Columnist
Every success is built on the ability to do better than good enough.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
Money is human happiness in the abstract; and so the man who is no longer capable of enjoying such happiness in the concrete, sets his whole heart on money.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
It all comes down to this: if your subconscious “financial blueprint” is not “set’ for success, nothing you learn, nothing you know, and nothing you do will make much of a difference.
—T. Harv Eker (b.1954) American Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Author
If, after all, men cannot always make history have a meaning, they can always act so that their own lives have one.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
All outward success, when it has value, is but the inevitable result of an inward success of full living, full play and enjoyment of one’s faculties.
—Robert Henri (1865–1929) American Painter, Teacher
Distinction is the consequence, never the object, of a great mind.
—Washington Allston (1779–1843) American Poet, Painter
You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly find fault with, you will not do much.
—Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) (1832–98) British Anglican Author, Mathematician, Clergyman, Photographer, Logician
Those who have succeeded at anything and don’t mention luck are kidding themselves.
—Larry King (b.1933) American TV Personality, Radio Personality, Journalist
Success in its highest and noblest form calls for peace of mind and enjoyment and happiness which come only to the man who has found the work that he likes best.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
When a man does all he can, though it succeeds not well, blame not him that did it.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
Success serves men as a pedestal; it makes them look larger, if reflection does not measure them.
—Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French Writer, Moralist
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
—Common Proverb
Every noble acquisition is attended with its risks; he who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other.
—Metastasio (1698–1782) Italian Poet, Librettist
Any kind of lasting success is rooted in honesty.
—Russell Simmons (b.1957) American Music Promoter
Morale is the greatest single factor in successful wars.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
Chance favors the prepared mind.
—Louis Pasteur (1822–95) French Biologist
Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.
—Lily Tomlin (b.1939) American Comedy Actress
He that would have the fruit must first climb the tree.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
Life’s irony is that as soon as worldly goods and worldly success are of no concern to you, the way is open for them to flow to you.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
Real success is not on the stage, but off the stage as a human being, and how you get along with your fellow man.
—Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925–90) American Singer, Musician, Dancer, Actor
Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
—David Frost (1939–2013) English Broadcaster, Writer
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure.
—Dan Quayle (b.1947) American Head of State, Politician, Elected Rep
Life is ever giving of Itself. We must receive, utilize and extend the gift. Success and prosperity are spiritual attributes belonging to all people.
—Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) American New Thought Writer, Teacher
Nothing succeeds like success.
—Common Proverb
Success is relevant to coping with obstacles… but no problem is ever solved by those, who, when they fail, look for someone to blame instead of something to do.
—Unknown
We do not know, in most cases, how far social failure and success are due to heredity, and how far to environment. But environment is the easier of the two to improve.
—J. B. S. Haldane (1892–1964) British Biologist, Geneticist
Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.
—Conrad Hilton (1887–1979) American Business Person
A successful man is he who receives a great deal from his fellow men, usually incomparably more than corresponds to his service to them. The value of a man, however, should be seen in what he gives, and not in what he is able to receive.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.
—Bernard M. Baruch (1870–1965) American Financier, Economic Consultant
Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grows.
—Ben Stein (b.1944) American Lawyer, Writer, Economist, Humorist
The method of the enterprising is to plan with audacity and execute with vigor.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
A clear and focused mind will last a lifetime. Getting your mind in shape is nothing less than the key to sustainable success in the world.
—Russell Simmons (b.1957) American Music Promoter
I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot…And I missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is precisely…Why I succeed.
—Michael Jordan (b.1963) American Sportsperson, Businessperson
Madame Curie didn’t stumble upon radium by accident. She searched and experimented and sweated and suffered years before she found it. Success rarely is an accident.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Success and failure are both difficult to endure. Along with success come drugs, divorce, fornication, bullying, travel, meditation, medication, depression, neurosis and suicide. With failure comes failure.
—Joseph Heller (1923–99) American Novelist
Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.
—Earl Nightingale (1921–89) American Motivational Speaker, Author
No one ever excused his way to success.
—Dave Del Dotto American Real Estate Investor
The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
Adversity has ever been considered the state in which a man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, then, especially, being free from flatterers.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Most of us serve our ideals by fits and starts. The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is dedication.
—Cecil B. DeMille (1881–1959) American Film Producer, Film Director, Screenwriter, Actor
An individual’s self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life.
—Joyce Brothers
We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–59) French Historian, Political Scientist
The successful always has a number of projects planned, to which he looks forward. Anyone of them could change the course of his life overnight.
—Mark Caine
The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.
—Arthur Brisbane (1864–1936) American Journalist, Editor
We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
The goose that lays the golden eggs likes to lay where there are eggs already.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
No one reaches a high position without daring.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
Doubt is the vestibule which all must pass before they can enter the temple of wisdom. — When we are in doubt and puzzle out the truth by our own exertions, we have gained something that will stay by us and will serve us again. — But if to avoid the trouble of the search we avail ourselves of the superior information of a friend, such knowledge will not remain with us; we have not bought, but borrowed it.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of both happiness and success.
—T. Harv Eker (b.1954) American Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Author
If a man be self-controlled, truthful, wise, and resolute, is there aught that can stay out of reach of such a man?
—The Panchatantra Indian Collection of Fables and Folktales
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
—Stephen King (b.1947) American Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Screenwriter, Columnist, Film Director
A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
Never mind what others do; do better than yourself, beat your own record each and everyday, and you are a success.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
When a man feels throbbing within him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?”
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
Do not let yourselves be discouraged or embittered by the smallness of the success you are likely to achieve in trying to make life better. You certainly would not be able, in a single generation, to create an earthly paradise. Who could expect that? But, if you make life ever so little better, you will have done splendidly, and your lives will have been worthwhile.
—Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) British Historian
Failure can be bought on easy terms; success must be paid for in advance.
—Cullen Hightower (b.1923) American Humorist
The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point in business. You’ve got to keep working that talent.
—Irving Berlin (1888–1989) American Songwriter, Composer
How a person masters his fate is more important than what his fate is.
—Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) German Philosopher, Linguist, Statesman
The man who has done his level best, and who is conscious that he has done his best, is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
One of the first businesses of a sensible man is to know when he is beaten, and to leave off fighting at once.
—Samuel Butler
We have fought this fight as long, and as well, as we know how. We have been defeated. There is now but one course to pursue. We must accept the situation.
—Robert E. Lee (1807–70) Confederate General during American Civil War
Success has a great tendency to conceal and throw a veil over the evil deeds of men.
—Demosthenes (384–322 BCE) Greek Statesman, Orator
Achievement is not always success while reputed failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
We carry with us the wonders we seek without us.
—Thomas Browne (1605–82) English Author, Physician
It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.
—Warren Buffett (b.1930) American Investor
The road to success is not to be run upon by seven-leagued boots. Step by step, little by little, bit by bit—that is the way to wealth, that is the way to wisdom, that is the way to glory. Pounds are the sons, not of pounds, but of pence.
—Charles Buxton (1823–71) British Politician, Writer
To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage, or of principle.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.
—Bob Dylan (b.1941) American Singer-songwriter
Success is the satisfaction of feeling that one is realizing one’s ideal.
—Anna Pavlova (1881–1931) Russian Dancer
Take Time
Take time to work … it is the price of success.
Take time to think … it is the source of power.
Take time to play, … it is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read, … it is the foundation of wisdom.
Take time to be friendly, … it is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream, … it is hitching your wagon to a star.
Take time to love & be loved, … it is the privilege of the Gods.
Take time to look around … it is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to laugh … it is the music of the soul.
—English Prayer
Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them.
—Robert R. Updegraff
It takes vision and courage to create; it takes faith and courage to prove.
—Owen D. Young (1874–1962) American Businessperson, Lawyer, Diplomat
The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
Success is all about consistency around the fundamentals.
—Robin Sharma (b.1964) Canadian Writer, Motivational Speaker
It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
Success is a matter of understanding and religiously practicing specific, simple habits that always lead to success.
—Robert Ringer (b.1979) American Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Author
That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
For every one of us that succeeds, it’s because there’s somebody there to show you the way out.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
Very few people are capable of sustained effort, and that’s the reason why we have comparatively few outstanding successes.
—Roger McDonald (b.1941) Australian Novelist, Poet, Screenwriter, Writer
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
—Vidal Sassoon (1928–2012) Anglo-American Hairstylist, Businessman
With each success your faith in the law will grow stronger, until you reach the point of total conviction. Then you will be invincible.
—Roger McDonald (b.1941) Australian Novelist, Poet, Screenwriter, Writer
There is no royal road; you’ve got to work a good deal harder than most people want to work.
—Charles E. Wilson (1886–1972) American Businessperson
Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
—Tom Peters (b.1942) American Management Consultant, Author
Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
He that is overcautious will accomplish but very little.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
Fixedness of purpose is at the root of all successful efforts, whether in things worldly or spiritual, and without it man cannot be otherwise than wretched, and dependent upon others for that support which should be found within himself.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Success with money, family, relationships, health, and careers is the ability to reach your personal objectives in the shortest time, with the least effort and with the fewest mistakes. The goals you set for yourself and the strategies you choose become your blueprint or plan. Strategies are like recipes: choose the right ingredients, mix them in the correct proportions, and you will always produce the same predictable results: in this case financial success. The success strategies for managing money and building wealth are called Money Strategies. By learning to use money strategies as a part of your day-to-day life, financial frustration and failure will become a thing of the past.
—Charles J. Givens (1941–98) American Self-Help Writer
Luck is preparation meeting opportunity.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.
—Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939) American Businessperson
If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
Success is like a ladder, and no one has ever climbed a ladder with their hands in their pockets.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
The real difference between men is energy. A strong will, a settled purpose, an invincible determination, can accomplish almost anything; and in this lies the distinction between great men and little men.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
Once our minds are ‘tattooed’ with negative thinking, our chances for long-term success diminish.
—John C. Maxwell (b.1947) American Christian Professional Speaker, Author, Clergyman
All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
Success requires first expending ten units of effort to produce one unit of results. Your momentum will then produce ten units of results with each unit of effort.
—Charles J. Givens (1941–98) American Self-Help Writer
Success is dependent on effort.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Unless a man has been taught what to do with success after getting it, the achievement of it must inevitably leave him a prey to boredom.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
In the real world, those of us who are most productive, successful, and satisfied focus not on fixing feelings or manipulating thoughts, but on what needs to be done—and then doing it—no matter what thoughts or feelings arise.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
—Robert F. Kennedy (1925–68) American Politician, Civil Rights Activist
The price of success is much lower than the price of failure.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy.
—Eudora Welty (1909–2001) American Short Story Writer, Novelist
Eighty percent of success is showing up.
—Woody Allen (b.1935) American Film Actor, Director
Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
When a man has done all he can do, still there is a mighty, mysterious agency over which he needs influence to secure success. The only way he can reach it is by prayer.
—Russell Conwell (1843–1925) American Baptist Minister, Orator, Philanthropist, Lawyer, Academic
Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.
—Unknown
Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement.
—Thomas N. Carruthers
When your physical environment is in alignment with your aspiration, success becomes the norm.
—Unknown
With confidence, you can reach truly amazing heights; without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp.
—Jim Loehr
Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.
—Joe Paterno (1926–2012) American Sportsperson
There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.
—Anonymous
Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.
—Bobby Unser (b.1934) American Automobile Racer
Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people’s lives.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
To get profit without risk, experience without danger, and reward without work is as impossible as it is to live without being born.
—A. P. Gouthey
Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
—Truman Capote (1924–84) American Novelist
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.
—James Bryant Conant (1893–1978) American Chemist, Educator
Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst; the last is a real tragedy!
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
There are no limits to your possibilities! Your successes will multiply and increase in proportion to your mastery of the law.
—Roger McDonald (b.1941) Australian Novelist, Poet, Screenwriter, Writer
With the catching ends the pleasures of the chase.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
A wise man will make more opportunities, than he finds.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
The secret of success in society is a certain heartiness and sympathy. A man who is not happy in company, cannot find any word in his memory that will fit the occasion; all his information is a little impertinent. A man who is happy there, finds in every turn of the conversation occasions for the introduction of what he has to say. The favorites of society are able men, and of more spirit than wit, who have no uncomfortable egotism, but who exactly fill the hour and the company, contented and contenting.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Many concerns now make part or the whole of their dividends from by-products that formerly went to waste. How do we, as individuals, utilize our principal by-product? Our principal by-product is, of course, our leisure time. Many years of observation forces the conclusion that a man’s success or failure in life is determined as much by how he acts during his leisure as by how he acts during his work hours. Tell me how a young man spends his evenings and I will tell you how he is likely to spend the latter part of his life.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
The gent who wakes up and finds himself a success hasn’t been asleep.
—Wilson Mizner (1876–1933) American Playwright, Entrepreneur
The men who have done big things are those who were not afraid to attempt big things, who were not afraid to risk failure in order to gain success.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
There is no royal road to anything. One thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures.
—Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–81) American Editor, Novelist
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Genius is often only the power of making continuous efforts. The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it—so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success. As the tide goes clear out, so it comes clear in. In business sometimes prospects may seem darkest when really they are on the turn. A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success. There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
Big shots are little shots who kept shooting.
—Christopher Morley (1890–1957) American Novelist, Essayist
Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.
—Grenville Kleiser (1868–1935) Canadian Author
Victory becomes, to some degree, a state of mind. Knowing ourselves superior to the anxieties, troubles, and worries which obsess us, we are superior to them.
—Basil King (1859–1928) Canadian Clergyman
What is success in this world? I would say it consists of four simple things — to live a lot, to love a lot, to laugh a lot, and from it all, to learn a lot.
—Richard J. Needham (1912–96) Canadian Humorist, Columnist, Writer
How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten?
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile
Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
The great successful men of the world have used their imagination…they think ahead and create their mental picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but steadily building – steadily building.
—Robert Collier (1885–1950) American Self-Help Author
The secret to success is to know something nobody else knows.
—Aristotle Onassis (1906–75) Greek Businessperson
I was made to work. If you are equally industrious, you will be equally successful.
—Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) German Composer, Musician
Success is peace of mind, a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming, and not just in a physical way: seek ye first the kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be yours as well.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
Success action is cumulative in its results.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined! As you simplify your life, the laws of the Universe will be simpler, solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
There are a lot of fellas with all the ability it takes to play in the major leagues, but they never make it, they always get stuck in the minor leagues because they haven’t got the guts to make the climb.
—Cookie Lavagetto (1912–90) American Sportsperson
The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
You don’t become enormously successful without encountering and overcoming a number of extremely challenging problems.
—Mark Victor Hansen (b.1948) American Public Speaker, Motivational Speaker, Writer
There’s always room at the top.
—Common Proverb
I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.
—Abraham Maslow (1908–70) American Psychologist, Academic, Humanist
A successful man is one who lays a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.
—Swami Chinmayananda (1916–93) Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher
Thank you, God, for bringing me success in my life.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
Again and again I therefore admonish my students in Europe and America: Don’t aim at success — the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run — in the long-run, I say! — success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
A first rate soup is better than a second rate painting.
—Abraham Maslow (1908–70) American Psychologist, Academic, Humanist
The real secret of success is enthusiasm. Yes, more than enthusiasm, I would say excitement. I like to see men get excited. When they get excited they make a success of their lives.
—Walter Chrysler (1875–1940) American Engineer, Industrialist