The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought into other people’s lives that you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.
—Harold Kushner (b.1935) American Jewish Religious Leader, Priest
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
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
What is defeat? — Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.
—Wendell Phillips (1811–84) American Abolitionist, Lawyer, Orator
We are not retreating — we are advancing in another direction.
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) American Military Leader
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
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
Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.
—Queen Victoria (1819–1901) British Royal
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.
—Tom Landry (1924–2000) American Sportsperson
Those who are prepared to die for any cause are seldom defeated.
—Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian Head of State
In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest.
—William McKinley (1843–1901) American Republican Statesman, 25th President
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
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
Defeat should never be a source of discouragement, but rather a fresh stimulus.
—Robert South (1634–1716) English Theologian
If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
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
Victory or defeat? It is the slogan of all-powerful militarism in every belligerent nation. And yet, what can victory bring to the proletariat?
—Rosa Parks (1913–2005) American Civil Rights Leader