Depending on who you talk to, success/failure means many things to many different people by varying degrees. Some believe success is accomplishing one’s goals, others gathering wealth, or a high rank position, or honors. There’s a great Ted talk given by Alain de Botton, called A kinder, Gentler, Philosophy of Success where he sets forth the idea the that we base our success on other people’s expectations and are extremely suggestible in redefining success as society deems necessary.
When I was younger, success was all about money. How much I could buy? Later on success also became about prestige. Who can I impress? How popular am I? As I get older and hopefully wiser, success has become: what kind of a positive legacy can I leave behind? What kind of impact can I make on this world? What can I do to push humanity forward? How many people can I positively affect? To me and many other people, failure does not mean not achieving those things. Failure means doing nothing, becoming complacent, or being apathetic, not caring, having no direction or goals. As long as I’m striving to achieve those goals, I feel I’ve succeeded.
Quotations on success/failure was my bread in butter when I was motivating my sales team to achieve greatness. Only life quotes were more popular. I’ve written many articles on the various tools needed to have a happy, insightful, and fulfilling life. Most have a direct connection to success/failure in regards to what someone wants out of life. I try to keep my articles general to appeal to as many people as possible as we all have different goals in life. Not everyone is motivated by the same things. There are plenty of poor people that are content and happy and there are a lot of wealthy individuals that commit suicide each year.
In this article, I will list some of my favorite, profound, and insightful quotes having to do with success and or failure.
Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it.
– Wilferd A. Peterson 1900 – 1995; American author.
Environment plays a huge role in your success or failure. Success breeds success. We become or emulate others around us. Associate with the wrong people that aren’t interested in the same things as you and you will subconsciously start to mimic their behavior and way of thinking.
If you want to be successful in whatever you’re dreaming of, it would be wise to be around people that are after similar goals or have similar interests as you. Keep company with people that are uplifting, positive, and ambitious. These qualities will rub off on you as your qualities rub off on others around you. Bear in mind that your behavior, attitudes, and life outlook also rubs off on others so always try to be positive, confident, and supportive of others. See my article on communications.
Keep away from negative people. People that make a lot of bad decisions, that don’t have balance in their lives, who belittle yours or others ambitions. Surround yourself with people that make you feel good, great, and make you believe that you can accomplish anything you want.
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
– Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) 1942 -; American Professional Boxing heavyweight champion known as the greatest boxer of the 20th century.
Nothing worthwhile is easy. If everyone could accomplish what you’re dreaming of, then it wouldn’t be much of a dream. Hard work is one of the foundations of success. Why should you get to achieve something while countless others fail? Hard work is the difference. Whatever your goal, countless others are also trying to achieve it. Whoever works the hardest deserves the reward. Nobody is going to hand it to you. You have to make it happen. Hardship is temporary but quitting lasts forever.
Ambition beats genius 99 percent of the time.
– Jay Leno (James Douglas Muir Leno) 1950 -; American stand-up comedian, actor, writer & TV host.
You must live and breathe what you’re after. You must want it more than anything. Genius doesn’t translate to much if you don’t take action.
The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.
– Denis Waitley 1933 -; American motivational speaker & writer.
Most people have a vague idea of what they want or of what success really is. Without a goal to shoot for or a way to measure their progress, most people quickly get lost or lose all motivation of their goals or success. Everyone must first truly define what it is that they are looking for before setting their sails.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
– Colin Powell 1937 -; American retired 4 star general, statesman, & 65th U.S. Secretary Of State.
The only thing I would add to this quote would be to first figure out a direction, find out what it is that you’re truly looking for, or what is your goal? After that, all is needed is to work backwards by planning, putting in your hard work and persevering because you will fail along the way. Failure isn’t failure but learning lessons. Failure is part of success and will determine or test your convictions of achieving your goal.
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
– Abraham Lincoln 1809 – 1865; American politician, 16th President of the U.S. during the American Civil war & instrumental in abolishing slavery.
You can’t wait for things to happen to you. You have to be proactive! Take action! There are many people that have the same goals as you. The one that works the hardest is the one that’ll end up with the prize. You can’t wait for things to happen, you have to make things happen. First figure out what it is that you really want and then work backwards towards achieving it in regards to qualification, assets, knowledge, and information required.
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
– Abraham Lincoln 1809 – 1865; American politician, 16th President of the U.S. during the American Civil war & instrumental in abolishing slavery.
Contrary to what we’ve been taught our whole lives to be selfless. I’m going to give you a little insight here. Be a little selfish! Your time is limited and very precious. Don’t let others keep you from achieving your goals. Sure, it’s good to be nice but not at the expense of your goals. You can better help yourself and others around you by accomplishing your goals and achieving success than you can wasting time giving someone a ride or running menial tasks. You will never please everybody. Please yourself first.
