A wise man fights to win, but he is twice a fool who has no plan for possible defeat.
—Louis L’Amour (1908–88) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat.
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
For by superior energies; more strict affiance in each other; faith more firm in their unhallowed principles, the bad have fairly earned a victory over the weak, the vacillating, inconsistent good.
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Poet
I give the fight up: let there be an end, a privacy, an obscure nook for me. I want to be forgotten even by God.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof shit detector. This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have had it.
—T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935) British Soldier, Scholar, Writer
We learn little from victory, but a great deal from defeat.
—Japanese Proverb
Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.
—Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Rancher, Humorist
I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.
—Lou Holtz (1893–1980) American Stage Performer
There is only one reason for an individual to side-step to the useless side: the fear of a defeat on the useful side.
—Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Austrian Psychiatrist
If you live long enough, you’ll see that every victory turns into a defeat.
—Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86) French Philosopher, Writer, Feminist
Intent is not a thought, or an object, or a wish. Intent is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated. It operates in spite of the warrior’s indulgence. Intent is what makes him invulnerable. Intent is what sends a shaman through a wall, through space, to infinity.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Believe you are defeated, believe it long enough, and it is likely to become a fact.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
Victory is sweetest when you’ve known defeat.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
The defeats and victories of the fellows at the top aren’t always defeats and victories for the fellows at the bottom
—Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German Poet, Playwright, Theater Personality
When a man has fulfilled all four of these requisites—to be wide awake, to have fear, respect, and absolute assurance—there are no mistakes for which he will have to account; under such conditions his actions lose the blundering quality of the acts of a fool. If such a man fails, or suffers a defeat, he will have lost only a battle, and there will be no pitiful regrets over that.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
—Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80) French Philosopher, Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter, Political Activist
The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
When the frustration of my helplessness seemed greatest, I discovered God’s grace was more than sufficient. And after my imprisonment, I could look back and see how God used my powerlessness for His purpose. What He has chosen for my most significant witness was not my triumphs or victories, but my defeat.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
My lowest days as a Christian [and There Were Low Ones—Seven Months Worth Of Them In Prison, To Be Exact] have been more fulfilling and rewarding than all the days of glory in the White House.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
The injustice of defeat lies in the fact that its most innocent victims are made to look like heartless accomplices. It is impossible to see behind defeat, the sacrifices, the austere performance of duty, the self-discipline and the vigilance that are there—those things the god of battle does not take account of.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
Defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Defeat doesn’t finish a man—quit does. A man is not finished when he’s defeated. He’s finished when he quits.
—Richard Nixon (1913–94) American Head of State, Lawyer
Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
—George Edward Woodberry (1855–1930) American Literary Critic, Poet
Who asks whether the enemy were defeated by strategy or valor?
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author