--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Postponement: The father of failure." description: "\"Postponement: The father of failure.\" — Elbert Hubbard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/elbert-hubbard-510_failure_postponement-the-father-of-failure-32227_3222779.png" --- # Postponement: The father of failure. ![“Postponement: The father of failure.” quote by Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/elbert-hubbard-510_failure_postponement-the-father-of-failure-32227_3222779.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/elbert-hubbard-510_failure_postponement-the-father-of-failure-32227_3222779.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/elbert-hubbard-510_failure_postponement-the-father-of-failure-32227_3222779.png) > “Postponement: The father of failure.” [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Delaying action leads to missed opportunities and eventual failure. **In simple terms:** Procrastination causes failure. Key Takeaway Act promptly to avoid failure. Themes procrastination failure action Mood anxious determined Type motivational advisory When to use this quote - career decisions - project deadlines - financial investments - personal goals Key Concepts time management personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What tasks are you postponing? - How does delay affect your outcomes? A Different Perspective Even a small delay can compound into larger setbacks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Postponement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postponement/) [Procrastination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastination/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My father was not a failure. After all, he was the father of a president of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/my-father-was-not-a-failure-after-all-he-was-the-father-of-a/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [For Trump, success always has a single father - himself. Failure has a hundred - everyone and anyone else. The media. The Democrats. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/for-trump-success-always-has-a-single-father-himself-failure-has-a/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) > [A fictionalised memoir of my father would be a failure as a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-fictionalised-memoir-of-my-father-would-be-a-failure-as-a-novel/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its urgency, 'here and now' without any possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/we-cannot-put-off-living-until-we-are-ready-the-most-salient/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Stop putting it off! Procrastination breeds guilt, guilt breeds depression, and depression breeds failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/stop-putting-it-off-procrastination-breeds-guilt-guilt-breeds/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [Indecision is debilitating; it feeds upon itself; it is, one might almost say, habit-forming. Not only that, but it is contagious; it transmits itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-is-debilitating-it-feeds-upon-itself-it-is-one-might/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Many a death was precipitated by the food, the job, or the medication whose main function was to postpone it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/many-a-death-was-precipitated-by-the-food-the-job-or-the-medication/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“POSTHUMOUS POSTPONEMENT FACT: Unlike airplanes, many dreams take off after the pilot's departure Kamil Ali”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/posthumous-postponement-fact-unlike-airplanes-many-dreams-take-off/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [ One of the ideals \[Margaret Thatcher\] grew up with was self-denial and postponement of gratification, and yet she went about to create a greedy,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/one-of-the-ideals-margaret-thatcher-grew-up-with-was-self-denial-and/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“This isn't how sickness was in childhood. A postponement. An excuse to grow up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/this-isn-t-how-sickness-was-in-childhood-a-postponement-an-excuse-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Education itself is a putting off, a postponement; we are told to work hard to get good results. Why? So we can get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/education-itself-is-a-putting-off-a-postponement-we-are-told-to-work/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [“The INEC postponement is an obnoxious odoriferous political crinkum-crankum aimed at exposing Nigerians to emotional hullabaloo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olawale-daniel/the-inec-postponement-is-an-obnoxious-odoriferous-political-crinkum/) [Olawale Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olawale-daniel/) > [I had a mother who taught me there is no such thing as failure. It is just a temporary postponement of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-ebsen/i-had-a-mother-who-taught-me-there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-it-is/) [Buddy Ebsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-ebsen/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [To give money to a sufferer is only a come-off. It is only a postponement of the real payment, a bribe paid for silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/to-give-money-to-a-sufferer-is-only-a-come-off-it-is-only-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Elbert Hubbard > [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-highest-reward-that-god-gives-us-for-good-work-is-the-ability-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Art is nothing; it's a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/art-is-nothing-it-s-a-way/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The poor and ignorant will continue to lie and steal as long as the rich and educated show them how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-poor-and-ignorant-will-continue-to-lie-and-steal-as-long-as-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/so-long-as-governments-set-the-example-of-killing-their-enemies/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [If I supply you with a thought, you may remember it and you may not. But if I can make you think a thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-i-supply-you-with-a-thought-you-may-remember-it-and-you-may-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/1-2-3-4-5-a-conservative-is-a-man-who-is-too-cowardly-to-fight-and/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-think-and-the-dull-man-is-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Every knock is a boost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/every-knock-is-a-boost/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What boy well raised can compare with your street gamin who has the knowledge and the shrewdness of a grown-up broker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-boy-well-raised-can-compare-with-your-street-gamin-who-has-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Don't make excuses, make good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/don-t-make-excuses-make-good/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What people need and what they want may be very different… Teachers are those who educate the people to appreciate the things they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-people-need-and-what-they-want-may-be-very-different-teachers/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Men who sit back and pride themselves on their culture haven't any to speak of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/men-who-sit-back-and-pride-themselves-on-their-culture-haven-t-any-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) [Explore all 506 Elbert Hubbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## 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": "Postponement: The father of failure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elbert Hubbard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/postponement-the-father-of-failure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/postponement-the-father-of-failure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/elbert-hubbard-510_failure_postponement-the-father-of-failure-32227_3222779.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/elbert-hubbard-510_failure_postponement-the-father-of-failure-32227_3222779.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/elbert-hubbard-510_failure_postponement-the-father-of-failure-32227_3222779.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Postponement: The father of failure.” — Elbert Hubbard", "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": "Elbert Hubbard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Postponement: The father of failure.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/postponement-the-father-of-failure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/postponement-the-father-of-failure/#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 } } ] } ```