Skip to content

A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly.

“A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly.” quote by Thomas Merton
Download Open image
“A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly.”

Thomas Merton

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Failing well teaches humility and growth, surpassing the hollow success of poor execution.

In simple terms: Fail well, succeed better.

Key Takeaway

Learn from mistakes.

Themes

failure growth humility success learning

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

  • career
  • personal development
  • education

Key Concepts

resilience self‑improvement character development

Questions to Reflect On

  • What does “failing well” look like?
  • How to avoid bad success?
A Different Perspective

Bad success can be superficial.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Thomas Merton

Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes

More Failing quotes

Browse all 5,634 Failing quotes