--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd rather be a failure in something that…" description: "\"I'd rather be a failure in something that I love than a success in something that I hate.\" — George Burns" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/george-burns-2737_failure_i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-tha_1107931.png" --- # I'd rather be a failure in something that I love than a… ![“I'd rather be a failure in something that I love than a success in something that I hate.” quote by George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/george-burns-2737_failure_i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-tha_1107931.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/george-burns-2737_failure_i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-tha_1107931.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/george-burns-2737_failure_i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-tha_1107931.png) > “I'd rather be a failure in something that I love than a success in something that I hate.” [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing passion over comfort leads to a more authentic life, even if it means risking failure. **In simple terms:** Prefer love to safety. Key Takeaway Pursue what you love. Themes passion authenticity risk fulfillment Mood inspirational reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - creative projects - relationships - entrepreneurship Key Concepts existentialism self‑determination Questions to Reflect On - What would you risk for love? - How do you define success? A Different Perspective Success without love can feel hollow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-love-413490/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-success-539255/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-hate-1957197/) ## Related quotes > [I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-d-rather-be-a-failure-at-something-i-love-than-a-success-at/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-honestly-think-it-is-better-to-be-a-failure-at-something-you-love/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Its better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hat!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/its-better-to-be-a-failure-at-something-you-love-than-to-be-a-success/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [It is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/it-is-better-to-be-a-failure-at-something-you-love-than-to-be-a/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [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/) > [Fall in love with what you're going to do for a living. To be able to get out of bed and do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/fall-in-love-with-what-you-re-going-to-do-for-a-living-to-be-able-to/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [I don't care what you do for a living. If you love it, you are a success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-don-t-care-what-you-do-for-a-living-if-you-love-it-you-are-a-success/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [I'm interested in stories which insist on a dog fails-to-eat-dog kind of world. I hate misanthropy, want to believe that there's a possibility that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/i-m-interested-in-stories-which-insist-on-a-dog-fails-to-eat-dog-kind/) [Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/) > [I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-be-a-failure-at-something-i-enjoy-than-a-success-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Some people hate you because of your success, and they will always hate you even if you give them everything you possess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/some-people-hate-you-because-of-your-success-and-they-will-always/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [Everybody loves success, but they hate successful people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcenroe/everybody-loves-success-but-they-hate-successful-people/) [John McEnroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcenroe/) > [It's our nature: Human beings like success but they hate successful people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrot-top/it-s-our-nature-human-beings-like-success-but-they-hate-successful/) [Carrot Top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrot-top/) > [I think Americans love success - but hate the people who have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-winsor/i-think-americans-love-success-but-hate-the-people-who-have-it/) [Kathleen Winsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-winsor/) > [We worship education but hate learning. We worship success but hate the successful. We worship fame but hate the famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/we-worship-education-but-hate-learning-we-worship-success-but-hate/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [The end of a relationship is not always a failure. Sometimes all the love in the world is not enough to save something. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-end-of-a-relationship-is-not-always-a-failure-sometimes-all-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by George Burns > [Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Being an actor is easy, just picture someone in a room and you outside waiting for your cue to go in. Elliot Gould's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/being-an-actor-is-easy-just-picture-someone-in-a-room-and-you-outside/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Sex can be fun after eighty, after ninety, and after lunch!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/sex-can-be-fun-after-eighty-after-ninety-and-after-lunch/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Too bad all the people who know how to run this country are busy running taxicabs or cutting hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/too-bad-all-the-people-who-know-how-to-run-this-country-are-busy/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [At my age flowers scare me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/at-my-age-flowers-scare-me/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [I was brought up to respect my elders, so now I don't have to respect anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-was-brought-up-to-respect-my-elders-so-now-i-don-t-have-to-respect/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [What actresses do today when they appear on the screen is what they did once upon a time for getting to appear on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/what-actresses-do-today-when-they-appear-on-the-screen-is-what-they/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [If you were married to Marilyn Monroe, you'd cheat with some ugly girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/if-you-were-married-to-marilyn-monroe-you-d-cheat-with-some-ugly-girl/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [I find you have to take each day as it comes and be thankful for who's left and whatever you can still do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-find-you-have-to-take-each-day-as-it-comes-and-be-thankful-for-who/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Take care not to wear stripes that are out of sync with your wrinkles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/take-care-not-to-wear-stripes-that-are-out-of-sync-with-your-wrinkles/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [ By \[age\] 93, I had shrunk quite a lot. My car was known as the Phantom Cadillac. People would see it whizzing by and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/by-age-93-i-had-shrunk-quite-a-lot-my-car-was-known-as-the-phantom/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [I drink coffee with my right hand, and I smoke with my left. But I talk with both hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-drink-coffee-with-my-right-hand-and-i-smoke-with-my-left-but-i-talk/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Nice to be here? At my age it's nice to be anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/nice-to-be-here-at-my-age-it-s-nice-to-be-anywhere/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Be sure to wear a good cologne, a nice aftershave lotion, and a strong underarm deodorant. And it might be a good idea to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/be-sure-to-wear-a-good-cologne-a-nice-aftershave-lotion-and-a-strong/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [My best advice: Fall in love with what you do for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/my-best-advice-fall-in-love-with-what-you-do-for-a-living/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) [Explore all 151 George Burns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) ## 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": "I'd rather be a failure in something that I love than a success in something that I hate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Burns" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-that-i-love-than-a-success-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-that-i-love-than-a-success-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/george-burns-2737_failure_i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-tha_1107931.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/george-burns-2737_failure_i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-tha_1107931.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/george-burns-2737_failure_i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-tha_1107931.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd rather be a failure in something that I love than a success in something that I hate.” — George Burns", "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": "George Burns", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'd rather be a failure in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-that-i-love-than-a-success-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-d-rather-be-a-failure-in-something-that-i-love-than-a-success-in/#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 } } ] } ```