Letter to James Hessey (October 9, 1818)
Letters (1817–1820)
Context: I have written independently without Judgment. I may write independently, and with Judgment, hereafter. The Genius of Poetry must work out its own salvation in a man: It cannot be matured by law and precept, but by sensation and watchfulness in itself — That which is creative must create itself — In Endymion, I leaped headlong into the sea, and thereby have become better acquainted with the Soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks, than if I had stayed upon the green shore, and piped a, silly pipe, and took tea and comfortable advice. I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.
“I have failed at many things, but I have never been afraid.”
“Movement will fail sooner than usefulness.”
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), X Studies and Sketches for Pictures and Decorations
“Think like a queen. A queen if not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.”
Source: Bill & Dave, 2007, p. 393
“I hope I never need to believe in God. It would be an awful confession of failure.”
As quoted in "Critic Kenneth Tynan Has Mellowed But Is Still England's Stingingest Gadfly" by Godfrey Smith in The New York Times (9 January 1966)
“I was afraid I’d fail. So I didn’t work.”
Brothers and Sisters (p. 93; first published in The Little Magazine (1976) Vol. 10, Nos. 1 & 2)
Short fiction, Orsinian Tales (1976)
“I think the greatest taboos in America are faith and failure.”
The Guardian (London, July 7, 1989)
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.”
Variant: I can appect failure, but I cannot accept not trying.
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
