40+ Inspiring Failure Quotes & Sayings | Lessons in Defeat

Failure is an inevitable part of life, but how we handle it defines our path forward. These quotes remind us that failure is not the end, but a stepping stone towards growth, success, and greater wisdom.

Quotes About Learning from Failure

• If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail.
• I haven’t failed at anything, I’ve just found all the wrong ways of doing it!
• Every time you fail, just remember…that single failure just brought you one step closer to the solution.
• Success is the child of hard work, determination and perseverance. Failure is the consequence of laziness, irresponsibility and lack of commitment. – Dr T.P. Chia
• Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. – Henry Ford
• Those who fail to prepare, are preparing to fail.
• Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something. – Morihei Ueshiba
• Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese Proverb
• Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. – Suzy Kassem
• Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill
• It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. – J.K. Rowling
• Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits. – Robert Louis Stevenson
• Every failure is a step to success. – William Whewell

Quotes on Overcoming Fear of Failure

• I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone. – Bill Cosby
• Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again. – Richard Branson
• Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. – Truman Capote
• Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success. – Robert T. Kiyosaki
• Do not be afraid of mistakes, providing you do not make the same one twice. – Eleanor Roosevelt
• Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. – Robert F. Kennedy
• Failure is success in progress. – Albert Einstein
• Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill
• The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. – Elbert Hubbard
• Success means getting up one more time than you’ve been knocked down.

Quotes to Motivate After Failing

• Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up. – Chinese Proverb
• Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement. – C.S. Lewis
• Don’t judge the people who try and fail. Judge only those who fail to try.
• You try, you fail. You try, you fail. But the only true failure is when you stop trying.
• The only real failure in life is the failure to try. – Anonymous
• It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. – Bill Gates
• The only time you truly fail is when you stop trying. – Unknown
• If plan A doesn’t work, remember there are 25 more letters. Keep calm.
• Failure is an event, not a person. – Zig Ziglar
• There is no failure except in no longer trying. – Elbert Hubbard
• Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail. – Confucius
• Failures are part of life. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you’ll never change. – Anonymous
• Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. – Zig Ziglar

Quotes About the Importance of Perseverance

• Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds. – Orison Swett Marden
• You cannot do wrong without suffering wrong. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. – Og Mandino
• Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. – Dale Carnegie
• The only true way to fail is to give up. Keep pushing, and you’ll find a way to succeed.
• Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo. – Jon Sinclair
• In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. – Bill Cosby
• Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill
• The harder you fall, the higher you bounce. – Anonymous
• There is no failure, only feedback. – Robert Allen
• Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end. – Denis Waitley

Failure is never the end—it’s a stepping stone on the path to success. Each failure teaches us valuable lessons, helps us grow, and brings us one step closer to achieving our goals. The important thing is to never give up and keep moving forward, no matter how many times we fall.