Those who are too afraid to make a mistake work for those who aren’t.
—Unknown
Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (1874–1956) American Business Executive
I had to shift from being afraid of making a mistake to being afraid of not making a mistake.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Rather than cripple, failure can strengthen. Depending on how we respond to them, blows can shatter us as if we were a cheap clay pot or temper us as they would steel.
—Unknown
Any man may make a mistake, but none but a fool will continue in it.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
There is no mistake in nature.
—Byron Katie (b.1942) American Speaker, Author
Not only is there little stigma attributed to going bankrupt among cutting-edge entrepreneurs, it’s even seen as a good source of business experience.
—Unknown
Some consider setbacks a badge of honor, unmistakable proof they’re bold risk takers. Far from hiding their blunders, they brag about them.
—Unknown
The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it; but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it.
—Anne Louise Germaine de Stael (1766–1817) French Woman of Letters
You can actually shift your thinking in such a way as to make a wrong decision or mistake an impossibility.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
We need to teach the highly educated man that it is not a disgrace to fail and that he must analyze every failure to find its cause. He must learn how to fail intelligently, for failing is one of the greatest arts in the world.
—Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958) American Inventor, Entrepreneur, Businessperson
All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s possible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.
—Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) Florentine Political Philosopher
The young fancy that their follies are mistaken by the old for happiness; and the old fancy that their gravity is mistaken by the young for wisdom.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
If I have an art form of leadership, it is to make as many mistakes as quickly as I can in order to learn.
—Unknown
You can never learn less; you can only learn more. The reason I know so much is because I have made so many mistakes.
—Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) American Inventor, Philosopher
You must cease from looking at human mistakes and look at successes; cease from seeing faults and see virtues.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Leader, Civil Rights Advocate, Author
Never mistake motion for action.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
The Providence that watches over the affairs of men, works out their mistakes, at times, to a healthier issue than could have been accomplished by their wisest forethought.
—James Anthony Froude (1818–94) British Historian, Novelist, Biographer, Editor
Imperfections are the essence of evolution.
—Unknown
If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.
—Frank Wilczek (b.1951) American Physicist, Nobel Laureate
Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.
—Dale Turner (1917–2006) American Priest, Columnist, Epigrammist
Would you like me to give you a formula for … success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure… You’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all… You can be discouraged by failure—or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you’ll find success. On the far side.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (1874–1956) American Business Executive
No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Obey your soul, have perfect faith in yourself. Never think of yourself with doubt or distrust, or as one who makes mistakes.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes.
—William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98) English Liberal Statesman, Prime Minister
Only those who are asleep make no mistakes.
—Ingvar Kamprad (1926–2018) Swedish Businessman
Risk takers: their goal in life is not to succeed, make money, be happy or be anything other than engaged.
—Unknown
Don’t say, “I am depressed”. If you want to say, “It is depressed,” that’s all right. If you want to say that depression is there, that’s fine; if you want to say gloominess is there, that’s fine. But not: I am gloomy. You’re defining yourself in terms of the feeling. That’s your illusion; that’s your mistake. There is a depression there right now, but let it be, leave it alone. It will pass. Everything passes, everything. Your depressions and your thrills have nothing to do with happiness. Those are swings of the pendulum. If you seek kicks or thrills, get ready for depression. Do you want your drug? Get ready for the hangover. One end of the pendulum swings over to the other.
—Anthony de Mello (1931–87) Indian-born American Theologian
Only those who do nothing at all make no mistakes…but that would be a mistake.
—Unknown
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