"Success is..." Quotes

Success is something that I have always striven for in everything I do, therefore, I found failure very hard to deal with. I never knew to make of it, thinking maybe it was a sign that I was on the wrong path, until I came across a quote by Winston Churchill that said, "Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

That simple, but profound statement made me realize how truly great Thomas Edison was.  He  tried many times to create a light bulb, before he succeeded.  He is famous for saying, "I have not failed 1,000 times.  I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb."

And that is when I realized that much of success is in one's perspective, determination and willingness to roll with the punches.  Failure is only the end if you let it be.

I have compiled here a smattering of quotes concerning what success is and how to go about achieving it, for inspirational purposes.  Please read on, and be inspired!

Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. Booker T. Washington

What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose. Margaret Thatcher

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill

Success is the prize for those who stand true to their ideas! Josh Hinds

Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning. Denis Waitley

Success is creating a state of mind that allows you to obtain anything you really desire. Mark Victor Hansen

The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear. Brian Tracy

Success is not so much what we have as it is what we are. Jim Rohn

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.  Bill Gates

Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.  Oscar Wilde

Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it... Success is shy - it won't come out while you're watching.  Tennessee Williams

Success is dependent on effort.  Sophocles

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.  Dale Carnegie

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.  George S. Patton

Success is like death. The more successful you become, the higher the houses in the hills get and the higer the fences get.  Kevin Spacey

Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.  Al Bernstein

Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time.  Arnold H. Glasow

The first quality that is needed is audacity. Winston Churchill

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people. Theodore Roosevelt

• I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends. Abraham Lincoln

I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot...and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan

Many a one has succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat, he would never have known any great victory. Orison Sweet Marden

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.  Dale Carnegie

Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. Robert Schuller

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. Walt Disney

You don't have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years. Jim Rohn

The only competition you will ever have is the competition between your disciplined and undisciplined mind. James A. Ray

The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore. Dale Carnegie

Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. Anthony Robbins

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. Benjamin Disraeli

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. Walt Disney

Believe you can and you're halfway there. Theodore Roosevelt

Action is the foundational key to all success. Pablo Picasso

A good beginning makes a good end. Louis L'Amour

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. Ayn Rand

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. Theodore Roosevelt

You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.  Les Brown

An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.  SyndeyJ.Harris

The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time.  JoeGirard

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate accomplishments.  Napoleon Hill

Pray that success will not come any faster than you are able to endure it.  Elbert Hubbard

Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. Winston Churchill

Action is the foundational key to all success. Pablo Picasso

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. Ayn Rand

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones. Theodore Roosevelt

Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content. Louis L'Amour

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others. Winston Churchill

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Theodore Roosevelt

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. Abraham Lincoln

Difficulties mastered are opportunities won. Winston Churchill

Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more. Louis L'Amour

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. George Edward Woodberry

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. Dale Carnegie

With self-discipline most anything is possible. Theodore Roosevelt

No idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered with a searching but at the same time a steady eye. Winston Churchill

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney

Never, never, never give up. Winston Churchill

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan

Sure I am of this, that you have only to endure to conquer. Winston Churchill

In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time. Anthony J. D'Angelo

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. Ross Perot

One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never! Winston Churchill

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. William Feather

The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.  Jim Rohn

We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm. Winston Churchill

Don't confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other. Erma Bombeck

To disbelieve is easy; to scoff is simple; to have faith is harder. Louis L'Amour

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill

If you can dream it, you can do it. Walt Disney

History is written by the victors. Winston Churchill

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. Winston Churchill

It's kind of fun to do the impossible. Walt Disney

Failure is success if we learn from it. Malcolm Forbes

A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality. Winston Churchill

How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten? Logan P. Smith

Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. Winston Churchill

In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. Paul Harvey

I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate. George Burns

If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it. Erma Bombeck

I've never seen a monument erected to a pessimist. Paul Harvey

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. David Brinkley

I never worry about action, but only inaction. Winston Churchill

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. Bill Cosby

Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it. Winston Churchill

The man who has done his level best... is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure. B. C. Forbes

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time. Winston Churchill

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see. Winston Churchill

For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison. Theodore Roosevelt

He might never really do what he said, but at least he had it in mind. He had somewhere to go. Louis L'Amour

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. Theodore Roosevelt

Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition. Abraham Lincoln

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground. Theodore Roosevelt

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong. Abraham Lincoln

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. Ayn Rand

The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents. Salvador Dali

The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult. Winston Churchill

The truly successful person inspires others to do more than they have thought possible for themselves. Denis Waitley

The trouble with many plans is that they are based on the way things are now. To be successful, your personal plan must focus on what you want, not what you have. Nido Qubein

The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats. Theodore Roosevelt

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. Abraham Lincoln

The price of greatness is responsibility. Winston Churchill

Ivorwen, 2010.

Looking for a writing platform? Join Here