--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Failures . . . believe that their lives…" description: "\"Failures . . . believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances ... by things that happen to them ... by exterior forces.\" — Earl Nightingale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/earl-nightingale-1728_believe_failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-sh_3189371.png" --- # Failures . . . believe that their lives are shaped by… ![“Failures . . . believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances ... by things that happen to them ... by exterior forces.” quote by Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/earl-nightingale-1728_believe_failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-sh_3189371.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/earl-nightingale-1728_believe_failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-sh_3189371.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/earl-nightingale-1728_believe_failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-sh_3189371.png) > “Failures . . . believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances ... by things that happen to them ... by exterior forces.” [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that people often blame external circumstances for their failures instead of taking personal responsibility. **In simple terms:** People blame outside forces for failures. Key Takeaway Own your choices and actions. Themes responsibility mindset self‑efficacy failure Mood reflective motivational Type self‑help inspirational When to use this quote - career setbacks - financial loss - relationship issues - health challenges Key Concepts psychology personal development agency Questions to Reflect On - What circumstances have you truly controlled? - How can you shift focus from blame to action? A Different Perspective External factors do influence outcomes, making sole blame unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Strangest secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangest-secret/) ## Related quotes > [Well, at different points of people's careers or lives or circumstances, things are different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d-antoni/well-at-different-points-of-people-s-careers-or-lives-or/) [Mike D'Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d-antoni/) > [I do not wish to kill nor to be killed, but I can foresee circumstances in which these things would be by me unavoidable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-do-not-wish-to-kill-nor-to-be-killed-but-i-can-foresee/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When I make decisions based on other circumstances, things don't necessarily go so well. 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All you have got to do is plant that seed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/achievement-requires-more-than-a-vision-it-takes-courage-resolve-and/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We've got to be of service first before we can expect money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-ve-got-to-be-of-service-first-before-we-can-expect-money/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/be-happy-now-don-t-wait-for-something-outside-of-yourself-to-make-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The strangest secret in the world is that you become what you think about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-strangest-secret-in-the-world-is-that-you-become-what-you-think/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Don't concern yourself too much with how you are going to achieve your goal - leave that completely to a power greater than yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/don-t-concern-yourself-too-much-with-how-you-are-going-to-achieve/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Throughout all history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. 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Be happy now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/learn-to-enjoy-every-minute-of-your-life-be-happy-now/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Do what experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/do-what-experts-since-the-dawn-of-recorded-history-have-told-you-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## More by Earl Nightingale > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mouth-it-may-surprise-your-eyes/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [People don't have great attitudes because of great success, they have great success largely because of great attitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/people-don-t-have-great-attitudes-because-of-great-success-they-have/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-more-intensely-we-feel-about-an-idea-or-a-goal-the-more-assuredly/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light.\[so we can see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-all-walk-in-the-dark-and-each-of-us-must-learn-to-turn-on-his-or/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We tend to minimize the things we can do, the goals we can accomplish, and for some equally strange reason we think other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-minimize-the-things-we-can-do-the-goals-we-can-accomplish/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [You can predict a person?s future and divine his bank balance if you know two things: the books he reads, the people he associates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/you-can-predict-a-person-s-future-and-divine-his-bank-balance-if-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The amount of money we receive will always be in direct ratio to the demand for what we do; our ability to do it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-amount-of-money-we-receive-will-always-be-in-direct-ratio-to-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“And the greatest teacher of them all, the carpenter from the plains of Galilee, gave us the Secret time and time again, "As ye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/and-the-greatest-teacher-of-them-all-the-carpenter-from-the-plains-of/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Do what experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/do-what-experts-since-the-dawn-of-recorded-history-have-told-you-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [A success is anyone who is doing deliberately a pre-determined job, because that's what he decided to do deliberately. But only one out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/a-success-is-anyone-who-is-doing-deliberately-a-pre-determined-job/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Achievement requires more than a vision - it takes courage, resolve and tenacity. All you have got to do is plant that seed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/achievement-requires-more-than-a-vision-it-takes-courage-resolve-and/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-biggest-mistake-that-you-can-make-is-to-believe-that-you-are/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We may avoid the laws of man, but there are greater laws that can't be broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-may-avoid-the-laws-of-man-but-there-are-greater-laws-that-can-t-be/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) [Explore all 213 Earl Nightingale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. 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And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Failures . . . believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances ... by things that happen to them ... by exterior forces.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Earl Nightingale" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-shaped-by-circumstances-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-shaped-by-circumstances-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/earl-nightingale-1728_believe_failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-sh_3189371.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/earl-nightingale-1728_believe_failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-sh_3189371.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/earl-nightingale-1728_believe_failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-sh_3189371.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Failures . . . believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances ... by things that happen to them ... by…” — Earl Nightingale", "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": "Earl Nightingale", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Failures . . . believe that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-shaped-by-circumstances-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-shaped-by-circumstances-by/#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 } } ] } ```