16 Failure Quotes to Inspire Success

Many successful people throughout history have failed before achieving later—sometimes much later. Their inspirational quotes teach us that learning from failure is key to success, and through hard work and courage, we're laying the foundation to make a fresh start and ultimately succeed.

Here are 16 inspiring quotes about failure to encourage you to stop making excuses, pick up the pieces after defeat, and see the time you failed as an opportunity to make a fresh start.

1. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”―Maya Angelou

2. “When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.”—Ellen DeGeneres

3. “I was afraid of being a failure, of not having the best time or of being chicken. But every year I get older I think, What was I fearing last year? You forget. And then you move on."—Sandra Bullock

4. “Just because you fail once doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything.”―Marilyn Monroe

5. “It’s only when you risk failure that you discover things. When you play it safe, you’re not expressing the utmost of your human experience.”—Lupita Nyong'o

6. “We’re born with success. It is only others who point out our failures, and what they attribute to us as failure.”—Whoopi Goldberg

7. “When we give ourselves permission to fail, we, at the same time, give ourselves permission to excel.”—Eloise Ristad

8. “When I thought about why I was sometimes reluctant to push myself, I realized that it was because I was afraid of failure - but in order to have more success, I needed to be willing to accept more failure.”―Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

9. “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”—Japanese proverb

10. “I don’t believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.”—Oprah Winfrey

11. “I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”―Amelia Earhart

12. “Never let success get to your head. Never let failure get to your heart.”—Author unknown

13. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”―Suzy Kassem

14. “The phoenix must burn to emerge."—Janet Fitch, White Oleander

15. “Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I've met people who don't want to try for fear of failing.”—J.K. Rowling

16. “Giving up is the only sure way to fail.”—Gena Showalter

We celebrate success, often without recognizing that people who achieved had many a defeat along the way. Use these word to encourage you to see your greatest mistake part of your journey to realizing your greatest goal.