Brené Brown (1965) US writer and professor
Source: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Quotes about success page 8
Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
As quoted in The Films of Barbra Streisand (2001) by Christopher Nickens and Karen Swenson
Variant: Success makes so many people hate you. I wish it wasn't that way. It would be wonderful to enjoy success without seeing envy in the eyes of those around you.
Gretchen Rubin (1966) American writer
Source: The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
“Success is buried on the other side of rejection.”
Anthony Robbins (1960) Author, actor, professional speaker
Philip K. Dick book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Source: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Andy Andrews (1959) author and corporate speaker
Source: The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success
“Success in love isn't about looks, it's about attitude.”
Sherry Argov (1977) American writer
Source: Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl—A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship
“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?”
Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker
On his election to Académie Française (1955) Variant translation: Of course I believe in luck. How else does one explain the successes of one's enemies?
Colin Powell (1937) Former U.S. Secretary of State and retired four-star general
As quoted in The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell (2003) by Oren Harari, p. 164.
2000s
John Steinbeck book Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Source: Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
Said to Samuel J Woolf, Berlin, Summer 1929. Cited with additional notes in The Ultimate Quotable Einstein by Alice Calaprice and Freeman Dyson, Princeton UP (2010) p 230
1920s
Variant: If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.
Steven Pressfield (1943) United States Marine
Source: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles
“Character is that which can do without success.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Steve Martin (1945) American actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright, and producer
Source: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
“Success always leaves footprints.”
Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
“Sometimes success demands a certain refined insanity.”
Isobelle Carmody book The Keeping Place
Source: The Keeping Place
“Failure is success in progress”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
“True success requires sacrifice.”
Rick Riordan The Mark of Athena
Variant: Good luck is a sham. True success requires sacrifice.
Source: The Mark of Athena
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
1910s
Variant: If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew. (Address to the French Philosophical Society at the Sorbonne (6 April 1922); French press clipping (7 April 1922) [Einstein Archive 36-378] and Berliner Tageblatt (8 April 1922) [Einstein Archive 79-535])
Variant translation: If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will say I am a man of the world. If it's proven wrong, France will say I am a German and Germany will say I am a Jew.
Variant: If relativity is proved right the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist. If relativity is proved wrong the French will call me a Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German and the Germans will call me a Jew.
Context: By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of readers, today in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be represented as a bête noire, the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English!
“Don't confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.”
Erma Bombeck (1927–1996) When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent le…
“FOCUS - Follow One Course Until Successful”
Robert T. Kiyosaki (1947) American finance author , investor
Source: Why We Want You To Be Rich
“What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?”
Elizabeth Gilbert Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Source: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“Judge your success by the degree that you're enjoying peace, health, and love.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (1940) American writer
Source: Life's Instructions For Wisdom, Success, And Happiness
“The difference between insanity and genius is measured only by success and failure.”
Masashi Kishimoto (1974) Japanese manga artist
Cameron Dokey (1956) American writer
Source: The Storyteller's Daughter: A Retelling of the Arabian Nights
Niccolo Machiavelli book The Prince
Variant: It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.
Source: The Prince (1513), Ch. 6
Context: It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.
“Most of the successful people in Hollywood are failures as human beings.”
Marlon Brando (1924–2004) American screen and stage actor
“The secret to success is to do the common things uncommonly well.”
John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) American business magnate and philanthropist
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.”
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
As quoted in The Lost Art of General Management (2004) by Rob Waite, p. 96
Context: Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.
Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?”
“Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.”
Malcolm Gladwell (1963) journalist and science writer
“The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents.”
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) Spanish artist
“To do more for the world than the world does for you - that is success.”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist
Source: Ford News, March 1926
“Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright
H. W. Shaw (Josh Billings), as quoted in Scientific American, Vol. 31 (1874), p. 121, and in dictionaries of quotations such as Excellent Quotations for Home and School (1890) by Julia B. Hoitt, p. 117 https://archive.org/stream/excellentquotat00hoitgoog/excellentquotat00hoitgoog#page/n138/mode/1up and Many Thoughts of Many Minds: A Treasury of Quotations from the Literature of Every Land and Every Age (1896) by Louis Klopsch, p. 266 https://archive.org/stream/manythoughtsman00klopgoog/manythoughtsman00klopgoog#page/n268/mode/1up. <br class="br">Misattributed
“The line between failure and success is so fine… that we are often on the line and do not know it.”
Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher fue el escritor del jarron azul
“If you want to double your success rate, triple your failure rate.”
Cory Doctorow book Pirate Cinema
Pirate Cinema
Variant: you want to double your success rate, triple your failure rate.
“Success is falling down 7 times but getting up 8!”
Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist
“For some unknown reason, success usually occurs in private, while failure occurs in
full view.”
Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer
Source: The Sweetest Thing
“A good title is the title of a successful book.”
Raymond Chandler (1888–1959) Novelist, screenwriter
Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat
Source: Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection
“The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one's destiny to do, and then do it.”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist
Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist
Source: It's a Magical World: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection
“The doorway to success swings outward not inward.”
Robin S. Sharma (1965) Canadian self help writer
Source: The Greatness Guide: Powerful Secrets for Getting to World Class
Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American writer and lecturer
As quoted in A Joke, a Quote, & the Word : Feed Your Body, Soul and Spirit (2006) by Ronald P. Keeven, p. 147
“The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs… one step at a time.”
Joe Girard (1928–2019) American salesman
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Attribution debunked in Langworth's Churchill by Himself. The earliest close match located by the Quote Investigator is from the 1953 book How to Say a Few Words by David Guy Powers. <br class="br">Misattributed <br class="br">Variant: Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. <br class="br">Source: 1953, How to Say a Few Words by David Guy Powers, Quote p. 109, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York. Referenced by Quote Investigator http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/06/28/success
“The moment you stop worrying about success is when success will happen.”
Glenn Beck (1964) U.S. talk radio and television host
“Dress for success. Image is very important. People judge you by the way you look on the outside”
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
“The play was a great success, but audience was a dismal failure.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright
“The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American author
Source: Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller - Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century
“Success always demands a greater effort.”
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Source: Their Finest Hour
“For the few little successes I may seem to have, there are acres of misgivings and self-doubt.”
Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) American poet, novelist and short story writer
“success requires no apologies, failure permits no alibis.” If”
Napoleon Hill book Think and Grow Rich
Think and Grow Rich
Variant: Success requires no explanations. Failure permits no alibis.
“Working really hard is what successful people do…”
Malcolm Gladwell (1963) journalist and science writer
Source: Outliers: The Story of Success
“True success comes only when every generation continues to develop the next generation.”
John C. Maxwell (1947) American author, speaker and pastor
“Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) American businessman and philanthropist
William James Is Life Worth Living?
"Is Life Worth Living?"
1890s, The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American novelist and screenwriter
Quoted, This Side of Paradise (1920)
“Success, after all, loves a witness, but failure can't exist without one.”
Junot Díaz book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Source: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao