--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The distance between insanity and genius…" description: "\"The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.\" — Bruce Feirstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/bruce-feirstein-30061_genius_the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius_584631.png" --- # The distance between insanity and genius is measured only… ![“The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.” quote by Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/bruce-feirstein-30061_genius_the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius_584631.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/bruce-feirstein-30061_genius_the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius_584631.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/bruce-feirstein-30061_genius_the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius_584631.png) > “The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.” [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success separates genius from madness; without it, brilliance can seem irrational. **In simple terms:** Success validates genius. Key Takeaway Seek measurable outcomes. Themes creativity success risk Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - research - artistic pursuits Key Concepts innovation validation psychology Questions to Reflect On - What metrics define success for you? - Can failure still be valuable? A Different Perspective Success can be elusive and subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insanity/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [The difference between insanity and genius is measured only by success and failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masashi-kishimoto/the-difference-between-insanity-and-genius-is-measured-only-by/) [Masashi Kishimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masashi-kishimoto/) > [Writers ... I think ... live on that fine line between insanity and genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/writers-i-think-live-on-that-fine-line-between-insanity-and-genius/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [The space involving insanity and genius is calculated only by good results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/the-space-involving-insanity-and-genius-is-calculated-only-by-good/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [The only difference between insanity and genius is simply success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katelind/the-only-difference-between-insanity-and-genius-is-simply-success/) [Katelind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katelind/) > [There is a thin line between insanity and genius. I, myself, am in the middle, and quite frankly, I enjoy every second of it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/there-is-a-thin-line-between-insanity-and-genius-i-myself-am-in-the/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [There is a fine line between insanity and genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/there-is-a-fine-line-between-insanity-and-genius/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“In my business, one learns there is a fine line between insanity and genius. We would be wise to give this man a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/in-my-business-one-learns-there-is-a-fine-line-between-insanity-and/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Genius is measured not by static volume but by kinetic vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-disilvio/genius-is-measured-not-by-static-volume-but-by-kinetic-vision/) [Rich DiSilvio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-disilvio/) > [It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of Courage-to move in the opposite direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-takes-a-touch-of-genius-and-a-lot-of-courage-to-move-in-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The difference between courage and stupidity is measured only by success and survival,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-c-currie/the-difference-between-courage-and-stupidity-is-measured-only-by/) [Evan C. Currie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-c-currie/) > [We measured our success not just by how much money we made, but by how much we contributed to the community. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-greenfield/we-measured-our-success-not-just-by-how-much-money-we-made-but-by-how/) [Jerry Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-greenfield/) > [In my time and neighborhood (and in my soul) there was only one standard by which a woman measured success: did some man want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessamyn-west/in-my-time-and-neighborhood-and-in-my-soul-there-was-only-one/) [Jessamyn West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessamyn-west/) > [I love the United States, but I see here everything is measured by success, by how much money it makes, not the satisfaction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-akers/i-love-the-united-states-but-i-see-here-everything-is-measured-by/) John F. Akers > [Leadership success is measured by the success of your successor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/leadership-success-is-measured-by-the-success-of-your-successor/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [I think all those people I did stories about measured their own success by the joy their work was giving them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kuralt/i-think-all-those-people-i-did-stories-about-measured-their-own/) [Charles Kuralt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kuralt/) ## More by Bruce Feirstein > [Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flame-thrower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/never-settle-with-words-what-you-can-accomplish-with-a-flame-thrower/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flamethrower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/never-settle-with-words-what-you-can-accomplish-with-a-flamethrower/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [Bond is a classic archetype character, a character that's embedded in our heads forever, one of a lone warrior setting out to avenge a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/bond-is-a-classic-archetype-character-a-character-that-s-embedded-in/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [I had grown up loving movies and had always wanted to write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/i-had-grown-up-loving-movies-and-had-always-wanted-to-write-them/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [Our enemies are real. But so are the moral questions and long-term political implications of drone strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/our-enemies-are-real-but-so-are-the-moral-questions-and-long-term/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [Whenever you do anything with Bond, you've got Cubby Broccoli and Sean Connery looking over your shoulder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/whenever-you-do-anything-with-bond-you-ve-got-cubby-broccoli-and-sean/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [The space involving insanity and genius is calculated only by good results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/the-space-involving-insanity-and-genius-is-calculated-only-by-good/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [To paraphrase Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a married man in possession of a vast fortune must be in want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/to-paraphrase-jane-austen-it-is-a-truth-universally-acknowledged-that/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [Games have has as much an impact on Hollywood filmmaking as MTV music videos did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/games-have-has-as-much-an-impact-on-hollywood-filmmaking-as-mtv-music/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [Real Men no longer drive Corvettes. Despite being able to squander gas with the best of them, even today's least enlightened Real Man finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/real-men-no-longer-drive-corvettes-despite-being-able-to-squander-gas/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [I would say I'm a casual gamer. I'm not hardcore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/i-would-say-i-m-a-casual-gamer-i-m-not-hardcore/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [The great thing about games is that it's tremendously collaborative, and it opens you up to this other world of thinking and storytelling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/the-great-thing-about-games-is-that-it-s-tremendously-collaborative/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [In the case of 'Blood Stone,' the producers, EON, Michael Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, David Wilson and Gregg Wilson, had an idea for a story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/in-the-case-of-blood-stone-the-producers-eon-michael-wilson-barbara/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [Yes, I play computer games. I think you've got to embrace the latest technology. For someone to dismiss games as not important would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/yes-i-play-computer-games-i-think-you-ve-got-to-embrace-the-latest/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) > [I started as a journalist for magazines in New York City, so it was always storytelling. And moving into movies was a natural transition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/i-started-as-a-journalist-for-magazines-in-new-york-city-so-it-was/) [Bruce Feirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) [Explore all 17 Bruce Feirstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/) ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Feirstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius-is-measured-only-by-success/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Genius" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius-is-measured-only-by-success/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/bruce-feirstein-30061_genius_the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius_584631.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/bruce-feirstein-30061_genius_the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius_584631.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/bruce-feirstein-30061_genius_the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius_584631.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.” — Bruce Feirstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bruce Feirstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feirstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The distance between insanity and genius...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius-is-measured-only-by-success/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feirstein/the-distance-between-insanity-and-genius-is-measured-only-by-success/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```