--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It took mad failures for me to start to…" description: "\"It took mad failures for me to start to win.\" — Dave East" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/dave-east-10133_failure_it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to_3214857.jpg" --- # It took mad failures for me to start to win. ![“It took mad failures for me to start to win.” quote by Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/dave-east-10133_failure_it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to_3214857.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/dave-east-10133_failure_it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to_3214857.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/dave-east-10133_failure_it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to_3214857.jpg) > “It took mad failures for me to start to win.” [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects that many failures were necessary stepping stones that eventually led to success, emphasizing perseverance through setbacks. **In simple terms:** Failures are essential steps toward eventual victories. Key Takeaway Embrace setbacks as part of growth. Themes perseverance failure growth success resilience Mood motivational reflective Type inspirational pragmatic When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - music career - personal development - sports training Key Concepts learning from mistakes mindset shift risk taking Questions to Reflect On - What failures taught you the most? - How do you differentiate productive failure from wasted effort? A Different Perspective Not all failures lead to success; discernment is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures/) [Failures Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures-start-5485727/) [Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad/) [Mad Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad-failures-6021015/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Start Win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-win-4311163/) [Took Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took-mad-6021016/) [Win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/win/) ## Related quotes > [“START LOVING FAILURES THEN FAILURES WILL START HATING YOU”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul/start-loving-failures-then-failures-will-start-hating-you/) [Rahul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul/) > [Do NOT start with me. You will NOT win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-start-with-me-you-will-not-win/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's always great to play at home. I won here last year and it's great to start with a win like this today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-kuerten/it-s-always-great-to-play-at-home-i-won-here-last-year-and-it-s-great/) [Gustavo Kuerten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-kuerten/) > [It is possible to make a slow start and still win it - look at Spain in 2010, beaten by Switzerland in their first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-desailly/it-is-possible-to-make-a-slow-start-and-still-win-it-look-at-spain-in/) [Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-desailly/) > [Champions learn from their - I'm not going to say failures - but they learn from the losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-alcaraz/champions-learn-from-their-i-m-not-going-to-say-failures-but-they/) [Carlos Alcaraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-alcaraz/) > [“With a business, we take most failures less personally and understand they’re part of the process.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/with-a-business-we-take-most-failures-less-personally-and-understand/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [In life, there are only lessons, no failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/in-life-there-are-only-lessons-no-failures/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [There's a spectrum of those moments of connection and the moments we fail to connect, going from super-large successes to failures. Success would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/there-s-a-spectrum-of-those-moments-of-connection-and-the-moments-we/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [Failures are inevitable. Unfortunately, in film they live for ever and they're 40 ft wide and 20 ft high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/failures-are-inevitable-unfortunately-in-film-they-live-for-ever-and/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [President Obama's achievements and failures must be evaluated by comparison to those chief executives who have come before him and not be measured against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/president-obama-s-achievements-and-failures-must-be-evaluated-by/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The poorest of the poor don't vote in American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversible-policy-failures-overseen/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [Haste in every business brings failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herodotus/haste-in-every-business-brings-failures/) [Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herodotus/) > [The 'Okay-I'll-give-it-a-try-but-I-don't-think-it-will-work' attitude produces failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-joseph-schwartz/the-okay-i-ll-give-it-a-try-but-i-don-t-think-it-will-work-attitude/) [David Joseph Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-joseph-schwartz/) > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) ## More by Dave East > [Honestly, I want to make more music for the women. I rather have a show full of girls, but I still gotta talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/honestly-i-want-to-make-more-music-for-the-women-i-rather-have-a-show/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [A big part of what kept me focused on the music was already failing with basketball. I played basketball all of my life. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/a-big-part-of-what-kept-me-focused-on-the-music-was-already-failing/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [I've been able to provide for my family, move out of Harlem and travel the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/i-ve-been-able-to-provide-for-my-family-move-out-of-harlem-and-travel/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [You're born a certain way, but you don't gotta die like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/you-re-born-a-certain-way-but-you-don-t-gotta-die-like-that/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [I'm never gonna sell my soul or violate myself for no amount of dollars or fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/i-m-never-gonna-sell-my-soul-or-violate-myself-for-no-amount-of/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [I always had a gift with writing. I can really write. I always felt like I can write movies or somehow get into that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/i-always-had-a-gift-with-writing-i-can-really-write-i-always-felt/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [Wu-Tang was going through it. They didn't come from great homes or families. They really came from hard beginnings so it just made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/wu-tang-was-going-through-it-they-didn-t-come-from-great-homes-or/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [Nobody uses skits at all anymore, so it seems like I use a lot. That's how I grew up on tapes. Biggie tapes, Biggie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/nobody-uses-skits-at-all-anymore-so-it-seems-like-i-use-a-lot-that-s/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [If you're a fan of anything I do, I'm always telling a story. I'm into that - I like it when you don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/if-you-re-a-fan-of-anything-i-do-i-m-always-telling-a-story-i-m-into/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [I wouldn't tell nobody to sign no slave deal or sign your life away or nothing like that, but if the deal is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/i-wouldn-t-tell-nobody-to-sign-no-slave-deal-or-sign-your-life-away/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [I never felt like 'I'm an underground dude' or 'I can only be hot in New York.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/i-never-felt-like-i-m-an-underground-dude-or-i-can-only-be-hot-in-new/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [Islam really brought a discipline to my life that I didn't really have before. My old mindset was if they ain't helping me, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/islam-really-brought-a-discipline-to-my-life-that-i-didn-t-really/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [Deep down in my heart and what I've seen and what I've been around, there is nothing better than Islam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/deep-down-in-my-heart-and-what-i-ve-seen-and-what-i-ve-been-around/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [Since the '80s, Harlem has the place to go. Before the '80s, just as far as hip-hop go, Harlem has always been a strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/since-the-80s-harlem-has-the-place-to-go-before-the-80s-just-as-far/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [I always tell people, I never get writer's block because it's coming straight from my brain, like, real-life experiences. I'm like the news. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/i-always-tell-people-i-never-get-writer-s-block-because-it-s-coming/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) [Explore all 67 Dave East quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) ## 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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“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)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It took mad failures for me to start to win.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dave East" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to-win/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to-win/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/dave-east-10133_failure_it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to_3214857.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/dave-east-10133_failure_it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to_3214857.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/dave-east-10133_failure_it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to_3214857.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It took mad failures for me to start to win.” — Dave East", "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": "Dave East", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It took mad failures for me...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to-win/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/it-took-mad-failures-for-me-to-start-to-win/#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 } } ] } ```