--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask…" description: "\"Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.\" — Earl Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/earl-wilson-12541_failure_success-is-simply-a-matter-of-luck-ask-a_2957236.png" --- # Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure. ![“Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.” quote by Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/earl-wilson-12541_failure_success-is-simply-a-matter-of-luck-ask-a_2957236.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/earl-wilson-12541_failure_success-is-simply-a-matter-of-luck-ask-a_2957236.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/earl-wilson-12541_failure_success-is-simply-a-matter-of-luck-ask-a_2957236.png) > “Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.” [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success often depends on chance, as failures can attest to the role of luck in achievement. **In simple terms:** Success is partly luck. Key Takeaway Recognize luck’s role and stay humble. Themes luck success failure Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - entrepreneurship - sports competitions - academic pursuits Key Concepts probability randomness effort Questions to Reflect On - How much of your success is skill vs. luck? - Can you control the variables that affect luck? A Different Perspective Attributing success solely to luck can diminish personal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-failure-1921822/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Luck Ask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck-ask-4485955/) [Matter Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-luck-654688/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-simply-746340/) ## Related quotes > [Success is a matter of luck,ask any failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lekan-wahab/success-is-a-matter-of-luck-ask-any-failure/) [Lekan Wahab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lekan-wahab/) > [Success is a matter of luck. If you want proof, ask any failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/success-is-a-matter-of-luck-if-you-want-proof-ask-any-failure/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Success is just a matter of luck, all you need to do is ask a failure. History may be written by academics but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-is-just-a-matter-of-luck-all-you-need-to-do-is-ask-a-failure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Successful people are very lucky. Just ask any failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urban-meyer/successful-people-are-very-lucky-just-ask-any-failure/) [Urban Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urban-meyer/) > [Success is not success in an individual endeavor. Success is simply to practice the dharma impeccably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/success-is-not-success-in-an-individual-endeavor-success-is-simply-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Sometimes success is simply being willing to give it your all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-beard/sometimes-success-is-simply-being-willing-to-give-it-your-all/) [Amanda Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-beard/) > [Success is simply never giving in to failure - either in mind or body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-backley/success-is-simply-never-giving-in-to-failure-either-in-mind-or-body/) [Steve Backley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-backley/) > [“It's not that difficult you see, To be all that you can be; For the true secret to success, Is simply this... ALWAYS do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-pierre/it-s-not-that-difficult-you-see-to-be-all-that-you-can-be-for-the/) [Danielle Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-pierre/) > [“Some day people will ask me what is the key to my success...and I will simply say, "good Karma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-crumley/some-day-people-will-ask-me-what-is-the-key-to-my-success-and-i-will/) [K. Crumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-crumley/) > [The secret of success is to be prepared and grab the opportunity when it comes. Success is simply matter of honor of commitment to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/the-secret-of-success-is-to-be-prepared-and-grab-the-opportunity-when/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [Success is not necessarily determined by material possessions or accomplishments. You can enjoy success simply by reaching the point where you are perfectly content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/success-is-not-necessarily-determined-by-material-possessions-or/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [The 1st secret to success is to simply master your ability to get started, to take the first step. If you want to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/the-1st-secret-to-success-is-to-simply-master-your-ability-to-get/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [No one ever attains success by simply doing what is required of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kendall-adams/no-one-ever-attains-success-by-simply-doing-what-is-required-of-him/) [Charles Kendall Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kendall-adams/) > [“Success will lie to you and tell you that your future is just an extension of your past, when at its best, success is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/success-will-lie-to-you-and-tell-you-that-your-future-is-just-an/) [Erwin Raphael McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/) > [“success for me is simply empowerment to realize your humanity and then perhaps you achieve contentment. Wealth, power and fame are trappings rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-v-angeles/success-for-me-is-simply-empowerment-to-realize-your-humanity-and/) [Joseph V. Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-v-angeles/) ## More by Earl Wilson > [If you think nobody cares if youre alive, try missing a couple of payments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/if-you-think-nobody-cares-if-youre-alive-try-missing-a-couple-of/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [If you wouldn't write it and sign it, don't say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/if-you-wouldn-t-write-it-and-sign-it-don-t-say-it/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Middle Age - later than you think and sooner than you expect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/middle-age-later-than-you-think-and-sooner-than-you-expect/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Home, nowadays, is a place where part of the family waits till the rest of the family brings the car back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/home-nowadays-is-a-place-where-part-of-the-family-waits-till-the-rest/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [A woman may race to get a man a gift but it always ends in a tie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/a-woman-may-race-to-get-a-man-a-gift-but-it-always-ends-in-a-tie/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [You may not be able to read a doctor's handwriting and prescription, but you'll notice his bills are neatly typewritten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/you-may-not-be-able-to-read-a-doctor-s-handwriting-and-prescription/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Feminists say 60 percent of the country's wealth is in the hands of women. They're letting men hold the other 40 percent because their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/feminists-say-60-percent-of-the-country-s-wealth-is-in-the-hands-of/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/an-economist-is-an-expert-who-will-know-tomorrow-why-the-things-he/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Experience is what enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/experience-is-what-enables-you-to-recognize-a-mistake-when-you-make/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [An exhaustive study of police records shows that no woman has ever shot her husband while he was doing the dishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/an-exhaustive-study-of-police-records-shows-that-no-woman-has-ever/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [To sell something, tell a woman it's a bargain; tell a man it's deductible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/to-sell-something-tell-a-woman-it-s-a-bargain-tell-a-man-it-s/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [The fastest way for a politician to become an elder statesman is to lose an election.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/the-fastest-way-for-a-politician-to-become-an-elder-statesman-is-to/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/snow-and-adolescence-are-the-only-problems-that-disappear-if-you/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Women's liberation will not be achieved until a woman can become paunchy and bald and still think she's attractive to the opposite sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/women-s-liberation-will-not-be-achieved-until-a-woman-can-become/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Benjamin Franklin may have discovered electricity, but it was the man who invented the meter who made the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/benjamin-franklin-may-have-discovered-electricity-but-it-was-the-man/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) [Explore all 53 Earl Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) ## 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": "Success is simply a matter of luck. 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