--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I learned to pick up each piece, one at a…" description: "\"I learned to pick up each piece, one at a time, from my pile of potential matches and try to fit it from any angle into the socket, then discard it and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/craig-clevenger-26929_angle_i-learned-to-pick-up-each-piece-one-at-a_773150.png" --- # I learned to pick up each piece, one at a time, from my… ![“I learned to pick up each piece, one at a time, from my pile of potential matches and try to fit it from any angle into the socket, then discard it and move on. Each failure is meaningless. It's not me, it's the pieces, and I have to, absolutely must, try each and every piece every possible way…” quote by Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/craig-clevenger-26929_angle_i-learned-to-pick-up-each-piece-one-at-a_773150.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/craig-clevenger-26929_angle_i-learned-to-pick-up-each-piece-one-at-a_773150.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/craig-clevenger-26929_angle_i-learned-to-pick-up-each-piece-one-at-a_773150.png) > “I learned to pick up each piece, one at a time, from my pile of potential matches and try to fit it from any angle into the socket, then discard it and move on. Each failure is meaningless. It's not me, it's the pieces, and I have to, absolutely must, try each and every piece every possible way until I find one that fits. They aren't failures, they're steps, small bits of progress.” [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning to treat each attempt as a separate piece to test from many angles, discarding mismatches, turns failures into incremental progress toward a fit solution. **In simple terms:** Treat each try as a separate piece, discard mismatches, keep trying. Key Takeaway Embrace iterative testing and persistence. Themes perseverance learning problem solving resilience Mood determined reflective Type motivational practical When to use this quote - job hunting - dating - software debugging - creative writing - product development Key Concepts systems thinking growth mindset trial and error Questions to Reflect On - What patterns emerge when you analyze repeated failures? - How can you balance persistence with strategic rest? A Different Perspective Progress can be slow and may feel repetitive, risking burnout without clear goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angle/) [Aren Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aren-failures-5934904/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-meaningless-5971686/) [Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures/) [Failures Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures-steps-5971687/) [Fit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fit/) [Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Failures aren't failures if you learn something from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/failures-aren-t-failures-if-you-learn-something-from-them/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach I project the condition of my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/teaching-like-any-truly-human-activity-emerges-from-one-s-inwardness/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat - I don't know how long you're supposed to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-somebody-is-really-trying-to-take-your-head-off-with-a-baseball/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [He was not as soft as when I'd first met him, not as young, but the angles of his face, his quick gestures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-was-not-as-soft-as-when-i-d-first-met-him-not-as-young-but-the/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“Distribution of weight is preferable to balancing everything on the head of a pin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psixaristw/distribution-of-weight-is-preferable-to-balancing-everything-on-the/) [Psixaristw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psixaristw/) > [I have known a very good, fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/i-have-known-a-very-good-fisher-angle-diligently-four-or-six-hours/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [The genius is a genius by the first look he casts on any object. Is his eye creative? Does he not rest in angles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-genius-is-a-genius-by-the-first-look-he-casts-on-any-object-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There's only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-s-only-a-very-small-representation-of-girls-among-you-too/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) > [Los Angles to me seems to be a little bit more forgiving. They're just as rowdy and they're just as excited but they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/los-angles-to-me-seems-to-be-a-little-bit-more-forgiving-they-re-just/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) ## More by Craig Clevenger > [A person’s life story is equal to what they have plus what they want most in the world, minus what they’re actually willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/a-person-s-life-story-is-equal-to-what-they-have-plus-what-they-want/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“Candle is an X-ray, it's a matter of wavelength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/candle-is-an-x-ray-it-s-a-matter-of-wavelength/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“...what they show tells you what they want to hide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/what-they-show-tells-you-what-they-want-to-hide/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“I bought a piece of God, ground to dust and mixed with alcohol in a glass bottle the colour of molasses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/i-bought-a-piece-of-god-ground-to-dust-and-mixed-with-alcohol-in-a/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“I do know that I fell in love with the moment of falling in love and I wanted to keep that moment alive forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/i-do-know-that-i-fell-in-love-with-the-moment-of-falling-in-love-and/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [Everything in the universe is everything else. A man is a killer is a saint is a monkey is a cockroach is a goldfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/everything-in-the-universe-is-everything-else-a-man-is-a-killer-is-a/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“If no God, there must at least be a pattern-making demiurge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/if-no-god-there-must-at-least-be-a-pattern-making-demiurge/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“I love you, I said, but not out loud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/i-love-you-i-said-but-not-out-loud/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“Everyone is the Umbrella Man and he is everyone. Every cough, sneeze, smile and wave means both everything and nothing. The signals are everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/everyone-is-the-umbrella-man-and-he-is-everyone-every-cough-sneeze/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [It's taken me years of practice to learn how to act natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/it-s-taken-me-years-of-practice-to-learn-how-to-act-natural/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“If I'm still conscious to face the consequences of my actions, then at the very least I will know that my actions were real,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/if-i-m-still-conscious-to-face-the-consequences-of-my-actions-then-at/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [When you’re in love, your brain secretes endorphins into your blood. Organic morphine leaks out of a gland in your skull, feels like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/when-you-re-in-love-your-brain-secretes-endorphins-into-your-blood/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [The combination to be on guard for is young and bored, or young and resentful. You can spot them at social gatherings, the grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/the-combination-to-be-on-guard-for-is-young-and-bored-or-young-and/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [Imagine the one god himself has reversed his clock and reversed your regrets. Imagine knowing the bone-deep truth that whatever impossibility would make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/imagine-the-one-god-himself-has-reversed-his-clock-and-reversed-your/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) > [“Desiree. It's like falling in love every night and having your heart broken every morning... Having more memory is just a way of distorting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/desiree-it-s-like-falling-in-love-every-night-and-having-your-heart/) [Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) [Explore all 21 Craig Clevenger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/) ## More Angle quotes > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [Los Angles to me seems to be a little bit more forgiving. They're just as rowdy and they're just as excited but they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/los-angles-to-me-seems-to-be-a-little-bit-more-forgiving-they-re-just/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) > [There's only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-s-only-a-very-small-representation-of-girls-among-you-too/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The genius is a genius by the first look he casts on any object. Is his eye creative? Does he not rest in angles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-genius-is-a-genius-by-the-first-look-he-casts-on-any-object-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I have known a very good, fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/i-have-known-a-very-good-fisher-angle-diligently-four-or-six-hours/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“Distribution of weight is preferable to balancing everything on the head of a pin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psixaristw/distribution-of-weight-is-preferable-to-balancing-everything-on-the/) [Psixaristw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psixaristw/) > [He was not as soft as when I'd first met him, not as young, but the angles of his face, his quick gestures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-was-not-as-soft-as-when-i-d-first-met-him-not-as-young-but-the/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat - I don't know how long you're supposed to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-somebody-is-really-trying-to-take-your-head-off-with-a-baseball/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach I project the condition of my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/teaching-like-any-truly-human-activity-emerges-from-one-s-inwardness/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Browse all 645 Angle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I learned to pick up each piece, one at a time, from my pile of potential matches and try to fit it from any angle into the socket, then discard it and move on. Each failure is meaningless. 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