“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.”

— Nikos Kazantzakis

Michael Korda, in Success! (1977), p. 284
Misattributed

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

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Nikos Kazantzakis 222

Greek writer 1883–1957

Michael Korda (1933) British writer

Source: Success! (1977), p. 284; a portion of this — "In order to succeed we must first believe that we can" — has become widely attributed to Nikos Kazantzakis on the internet, but without citation of any sources.
Context: The American system demands success, and in order to succeed we must first believe that we can. Yet our society, with its intolerance of failure and poverty, traps millions of people in positions where any kind of success seems impossible to contemplate, and in which failure itself is a kind of passive rebellion against their own misery and the social system which created it in the first place.
To succeed it is necessary to accept the world as it is and rise above it.

“In order to understand information, we must define it; bit in order to define it, we must first understand it. Where to start?”

Hans Christian von Baeyer (1938) American physicist

Source: Information, The New Language of Science (2003), Chapter 3, In-Formation, The roots of the concept, p. 18

“We do not live to think, but, on the contrary, we think in order that we may succeed in surviving.”

José Ortega Y Gasset (1883–1955) Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist

“If we succeed, it will not be because of what we have, but it will be because of what we are; not because of what we own, but, rather because of what we believe. For we are a nation of believers. Underneath the clamor of building and the rush of our day's pursuits, we are believers in justice and liberty and union, and in our own Union. We believe that every man must someday be free. And we believe in ourselves.”

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, 36th president of the United States (in office from 1963 to 1969)

1960s, Inaugural address (1965)
Context: In each generation, with toil and tears, we have had to earn our heritage again. If we fail now, we shall have forgotten in abundance what we learned in hardship: that democracy rests on faith, that freedom asks more than it gives, and that the judgment of God is harshest on those who are most favored. If we succeed, it will not be because of what we have, but it will be because of what we are; not because of what we own, but, rather because of what we believe. For we are a nation of believers. Underneath the clamor of building and the rush of our day's pursuits, we are believers in justice and liberty and union, and in our own Union. We believe that every man must someday be free. And we believe in ourselves.

“In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race.”

Harry Blackmun (1908–1999) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Concurring in part and dissenting in part, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
Context: In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently.

“We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are.”

Leszek Kolakowski (1927–2009) Philosopher, historian of ideas

"The Idolatry of Politics", U.S. Jefferson Lecture speech (1986)

“In order to understand what the world would become, we must first know what it was.”

Eric Wolf (1923–1999) American anthropologist

Source: Europe and the People Without History, 1982, Chapter 2, The World in 1400, p. 24.

“I have always believed that for America to succeed, rural America must succeed.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

Statement by President Joe Biden on the Rural Infrastructure Tour https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/11/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-the-rural-infrastructure-tour/
2022, April 2022

“To be persuasive, We must be believable,
To be believable, We must be credible,
To be credible, We must be truthful.”

Edward R. Murrow (1908–1965) Television journalist

Speaking as the Director of USIA, in testimony before a Congressional Committee (May 1963) http://pdaa.publicdiplomacy.org/?page_id=6
Context: American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.

“To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.”

Michael Jordan (1963) American retired professional basketball player and businessman

“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.”

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Nikos Kazantzakis 222

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