--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the best way to learn to succeed is to…" description: "\"If the best way to learn to succeed is to fail as fast as possible, then the second-best way is to watch someone else fail as fast as possible. Watchin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/475/cory-doctorow-1928_acquire_if-the-best-way-to-learn-to-succeed-is-t_1821793.png" --- # If the best way to learn to succeed is to fail as fast as… ![“If the best way to learn to succeed is to fail as fast as possible, then the second-best way is to watch someone else fail as fast as possible. Watching someone else screw up is a kind of rehearsal for your own eventual downfall. A close observation of someone else's attempt to resolve a…” quote by Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/475/cory-doctorow-1928_acquire_if-the-best-way-to-learn-to-succeed-is-t_1821793.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/475/cory-doctorow-1928_acquire_if-the-best-way-to-learn-to-succeed-is-t_1821793.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/475/cory-doctorow-1928_acquire_if-the-best-way-to-learn-to-succeed-is-t_1821793.png) > “If the best way to learn to succeed is to fail as fast as possible, then the second-best way is to watch someone else fail as fast as possible. Watching someone else screw up is a kind of rehearsal for your own eventual downfall. A close observation of someone else's attempt to resolve a difficulty is a great way to acquire real-world insight into whether and when to deploy their method in your own times of trouble.” [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Failing quickly teaches lessons; observing others fail offers rehearsal for your own challenges. **In simple terms:** Fast failure teaches; watching others fail rehearses. Key Takeaway Learn from both personal and observed failures. Themes learning failure observation resilience Mood cautious analytical Type advice reflective When to use this quote - startup pivots - project management - personal development - team leadership Key Concepts growth mindset risk assessment learning by example Questions to Reflect On - How can you translate observed failures into your own strategies? - What safeguards prevent copying mistakes? A Different Perspective Only observation without reflection may lead to misapplied lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Best way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-way/) [Downfall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/downfall/) [Fail Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail-fast/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Rehearsal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rehearsal/) [Resolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resolve/) [Screw ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screw-ups/) [Second best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-best/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Times of trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-of-trouble/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [If you don't watch yourself fail, you're never going to be able to fix those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-rodman/if-you-don-t-watch-yourself-fail-you-re-never-going-to-be-able-to-fix/) [Trinity Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-rodman/) > [Success is a learnable skill. You can learn to succeed at anything. If you want to be a great golfer, you can learn how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-harv-eker/success-is-a-learnable-skill-you-can-learn-to-succeed-at-anything-if/) [T. Harv Eker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-harv-eker/) > [Dont be afraid to fail because only through failure do you learn to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-be-afraid-to-fail-because-only-through-failure-do-you-learn-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/to-learn-to-succeed-you-must-first-learn-to-fail/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [In the business world today, failure is apparently not an option. We need to change this attitude toward failure - and celebrate the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/in-the-business-world-today-failure-is-apparently-not-an-option-we/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [Success is a learnable skill. You can learn to succeed at anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-harv-eker/success-is-a-learnable-skill-you-can-learn-to-succeed-at-anything/) [T. Harv Eker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-harv-eker/) > [The best people know that there are two phases in every crisis: the one where you manage it and the other where you learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mccormack/the-best-people-know-that-there-are-two-phases-in-every-crisis-the/) [Mark McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mccormack/) > [It takes courage to look like an idiot possibly and fall and fail but that's what it takes to learn to succeed so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-assaraf/it-takes-courage-to-look-like-an-idiot-possibly-and-fall-and-fail-but/) [John Assaraf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-assaraf/) > [We must learn to succeed in conditions of low fuel and energy prices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-medvedev/we-must-learn-to-succeed-in-conditions-of-low-fuel-and-energy-prices/) [Dmitry Medvedev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-medvedev/) > [If you # fail , learn. If you succeed, relish your # success . You can only know the sweet taste of # victory after many bitter struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-fail-learn-if-you-succeed-relish-your-success-you-can-only/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Obstacles are not the devils way to make you fail, they are Gods way to make sure you learn enough to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-smithson/obstacles-are-not-the-devils-way-to-make-you-fail-they-are-gods-way/) [Shannon Smithson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-smithson/) > [Don't be afraid to fail because only through failure do you learn to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-be-afraid-to-fail-because-only-through-failure-do-you-learn-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is an absolute prerequisite for success. You learn to succeed by failing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/failure-is-an-absolute-prerequisite-for-success-you-learn-to-succeed/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [If you want to be an entrepreneur, fail as fast as you can. The longer you go without that experience, the more afraid you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffry-a-timmons/if-you-want-to-be-an-entrepreneur-fail-as-fast-as-you-can-the-longer/) Jeffry A Timmons > [Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/test-fast-fail-fast-adjust-fast/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) ## More by Cory Doctorow > [“For me -- for pretty much every writer -- the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/for-me-for-pretty-much-every-writer-the-big-problem-isn-t-piracy-it-s/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“Kurt smiled a shy smile. "You're just trying to cheer me up," he said. "Course I am," Andy said. "You deserve to be full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/kurt-smiled-a-shy-smile-you-re-just-trying-to-cheer-me-up-he-said/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/right-and-you-point-out-something-important-which-is-that-people-who/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [The other one I did was 'I, Robot.' I take apart Isaac Asimov's Robots world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-other-one-i-did-was-i-robot-i-take-apart-isaac-asimov-s-robots/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“When in problem, or in doubt, run in cirles, scream and shout”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/when-in-problem-or-in-doubt-run-in-cirles-scream-and-shout/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“the problem with reading off a screen isn’t resolution, eyestrain, or compatibility with reading in the bathtub: it’s that computers are seductive, they tempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-problem-with-reading-off-a-screen-isn-t-resolution-eyestrain-or/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [I'm 17 years old. I'm not a straight-A student or anything. 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You have to want to be good, but not feel good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/it-s-our-version-of-christian-guilt-it-s-impious-to-feel-good-about/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [The important thing about security systems isn’t how they work, it’s how they fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-important-thing-about-security-systems-isn-t-how-they-work-it-s/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [This is why I loved technology: if you used it right, it could give you power and privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/this-is-why-i-loved-technology-if-you-used-it-right-it-could-give-you/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Funny, for all surveillance, Osama bin Laden is still free—and we're not. Guess who's winning the "war on terror?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/funny-for-all-surveillance-osama-bin-laden-is-still-free-and-we-re/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [I had this really great amazing thing happen where I almost finished the book and I really needed to come up with an ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-had-this-really-great-amazing-thing-happen-where-i-almost-finished/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [It's the stupid questions that have some of the most surprising and interesting answers. Most people never think to ask the stupid questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/it-s-the-stupid-questions-that-have-some-of-the-most-surprising-and/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) [Explore all 195 Cory Doctorow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) ## More Acquire quotes > [Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/most-people-seek-after-what-they-do-not-possess-and-are-enslaved-by/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything, believe anything in order to acquire it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-badly-that-you-would-do-anything/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-know-it-all-no-matter-how-smart-you-are-no-matter-how/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [A better distribution of incomes would increase that efficiency by diverting a great fund of wealth from the useless to the useful members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/a-better-distribution-of-incomes-would-increase-that-efficiency-by/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Shamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/shamanism-is-a-path-of-knowledge-not-of-faith-and-that-knowledge/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) Browse all 1,020 Acquire quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the best way to learn to succeed is to fail as fast as possible, then the second-best way is to watch someone else fail as fast as possible. Watching someone else screw up is a kind of rehearsal for your own eventual downfall. 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