Skip to content

Failure Quote by Ai Weiwei

“It [success] is really by mistake.” quote by Ai Weiwei — Download Open image

“It [success] is really by mistake.”

About This Quote

Source Interview: 2014 Art Basel, Ai Weiwei, 2014

Success often comes from unintended outcomes and happy accidents rather than deliberate planning.

In simple terms: Success can be accidental.

Key Takeaway

Embrace unpredictability.

Themes

creativity serendipity success

Mood

reflective inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

entrepreneurship
artistic projects
research breakthroughs
personal growth

Key Concepts

Chaos theory emergent outcomes

Questions to Reflect On

How can you harness chance?
What role does intention play?

A Different Perspective

Accidental success may lack reproducibility.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.9 out of 5 (8 ratings)

Failure Mistake Really Really Mistake Success Success Really

More by Ai Weiwei

I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.

Image

If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?

Image

Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…

Image

China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.

Image

This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…

Image

By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.

Image

I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…

Image

I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.

Image

I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…

Image

It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road…

Image

Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…

Image

Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.

Image

Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes

More Failure quotes

When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…

Image

Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…

Image

No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.

Image

“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…

Image

Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…

Image

If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.

Image

First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...

Image

God's love never fail :)

Image

Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…

Charlaine Harris

Image

“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”

Image

I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…

Image

Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.

Image

Browse all 27,122 Failure quotes