“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.”

— Groucho Marx

Last update May 15, 2026. History

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Groucho Marx117

American comedian 1890–1977

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“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself”

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States

Cited as a piece of anonymous folk-wisdom from the 1940s onwards https://books.google.com/books?id=iNkWAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Learn+from+the+mistakes+of+others.+You+can%27t+live+long+enough+to+make+them+all+yourself%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22make+them+all+yourself%22. Not attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt until 2001 https://books.google.com/books?id=ctxi36FCi18C&pg=PA151&dq=%22Learn+from+the+mistakes+of+others%22+%22live+long%22+roosevelt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI_sD5mqDLAhWIKGMKHb8HAZ0Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=%22Learn%20from%20the%20mistakes%20of%20others%22%20%22live%20long%22%20roosevelt&f=false. <br class="br">Disputed

“You have to learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself.”

Hyman George Rickover (1900–1986) United States admiral

Variations of this quote have been attributed to a number of people, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Samuel Levenson, and Lao Tzu; there is no solid support for any such attribution.
Misattributed

“If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.”

Bill Clinton (1946) 42nd President of the United States

“Learn from the mistakes of others you won't have time to make them all your self”

Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer

Source: Simply Irresistible

“When it’s all set and done the purpose of life is to live the best way we can. We all make mistakes and should definitely learn from them.”

“Although we all make mistakes in life, the problems occur when we try to hide our mistakes, to cover them up rather than to learn from them and allow other people to learn from them.”

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Source: Think Big (1996), p. 175

“Don't confuse poor decision making with destiny. Own your mistakes. It's OK; we all make them. Learn from them so they can empower you!”

Steve Maraboli (1975)

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“We all learn to make mistakes
and run from them.”

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Misguided Ghosts (2009)
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“You must never feel badly about making mistakes… as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.”

Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth

Source: The Phantom Tollbooth

“I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. Of course, you only live one life, and you make all your mistakes, and learn what not to do, and that's the end of you.”

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Part 5: "The World of One Physicist", "The 7 Percent Solution", p. 255
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985)

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