--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: More great Americans were failures than…" description: "\"More great Americans were failures than they were successes. They mostly spent their lives in not having a buyer for what they had for sale.\" — Gertrud..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/gertrude-stein-667_americans_more-great-americans-were-failures-than_3089843.jpg" --- # More great Americans were failures than they were… ![“More great Americans were failures than they were successes. They mostly spent their lives in not having a buyer for what they had for sale.” quote by Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/gertrude-stein-667_americans_more-great-americans-were-failures-than_3089843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/gertrude-stein-667_americans_more-great-americans-were-failures-than_3089843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/gertrude-stein-667_americans_more-great-americans-were-failures-than_3089843.jpg) > “More great Americans were failures than they were successes. They mostly spent their lives in not having a buyer for what they had for sale.” [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many Americans who tried to innovate failed because they lacked a market for their ideas. **In simple terms:** Failures often stem from no buyers. Key Takeaway Focus on market fit before scaling. Themes failure innovation market entrepreneurship Mood cautious realistic Type analytical pragmatic When to use this quote - startup launch - product development - investment pitching Key Concepts product‑market fit risk valuation Questions to Reflect On - How can you validate demand early? - What markets are you overlooking? A Different Perspective Success also depends on timing and resources, not just ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Americans Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-failures-4567374/) [Buyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buyers/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures/) [Failures Successes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures-successes-265944/) [Great american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-american/) [Great Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-americans-3299572/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [ The forgotten men and women of America will be forgotten no longer. That is the heart of this new \[Trump\] movement and the future… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-forgotten-men-and-women-of-america-will-be-forgotten-no-longer-2/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“In early America, fear of failure loomed largest on Sunday. Monday morning dawned about the year i8oo. By then, "failure" meant an entrepreneurial fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-a-sandage/in-early-america-fear-of-failure-loomed-largest-on-sunday-monday/) [Scott A. Sandage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-a-sandage/) > [I think 99.9% of our law enforcement officers are great Americans. Many of them are African American, Hispanic, Asian, they're working the toughest neighborhood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-c-o-brien/i-think-99-9-of-our-law-enforcement-officers-are-great-americans-many/) [Robert C. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-c-o-brien/) > [Some of the biggest failures I ever had were successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/some-of-the-biggest-failures-i-ever-had-were-successes/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [In diplomacy, as in life itself, one often learns more from failures than from successes. Triumphs will seem, in retrospect, to be foreordained, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/in-diplomacy-as-in-life-itself-one-often-learns-more-from-failures/) [Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/) > [“Paul spoke of his failures and successes with an openness few of us are prepared to copy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders-2/paul-spoke-of-his-failures-and-successes-with-an-openness-few-of-us/) [J Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders-2/) > [“You stick a wooden stake through the heart of your failures and they become successes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-izzard/you-stick-a-wooden-stake-through-the-heart-of-your-failures-and-they/) [Eddie Izzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-izzard/) > [I've concluded that I learned far more from my failures than from my successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-hunt/i-ve-concluded-that-i-learned-far-more-from-my-failures-than-from-my/) [June Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-hunt/) > [I'm a firm believer that you learn a hell of a lot more from your failures than you do from your successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-louis-walker/i-m-a-firm-believer-that-you-learn-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-from-your/) [Joe Louis Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-louis-walker/) > [“A great man will experience more failures than successes. If we lived for the successes, we would have all killed ourselves by now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sturm/a-great-man-will-experience-more-failures-than-successes-if-we-lived/) [Andrew Sturm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sturm/) > [With stand-up, it's more interesting to hear about people's failures than their successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/with-stand-up-it-s-more-interesting-to-hear-about-people-s-failures/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [I have learnt more from my failures than my successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-have-learnt-more-from-my-failures-than-my-successes/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Evolved creators are just as curious about their failures as they are of their successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/evolved-creators-are-just-as-curious-about-their-failures-as-they-are/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [“Failures however, are the stuff of scrutiny. And so we often erect memorials over our failures while our successes drift into the foggy backwaters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/failures-however-are-the-stuff-of-scrutiny-and-so-we-often-erect/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I think you learn more from your failures than your successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andi-dorfman/i-think-you-learn-more-from-your-failures-than-your-successes/) [Andi Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andi-dorfman/) ## More by Gertrude Stein > [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“When is there some discharge when. There never is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/when-is-there-some-discharge-when-there-never-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [There is no such thing as repetition. Only insistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/there-is-no-such-thing-as-repetition-only-insistance/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I am I because my little dog knows me but, creatively speaking the little dog knowing that you are you and your recognising that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-am-i-because-my-little-dog-knows-me-but-creatively-speaking-the/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [How likely are definitions to be pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/how-likely-are-definitions-to-be-pleasurable/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [ “What is the answer?" \[ I \[Alice B Toklas\] was silent \] In that case, what is the question?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/what-is-the-answer-i-alice-b-toklas-was-silent-in-that-case-what-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [More and more I like to take a train. I understand why the French prefer it to automobiling it is so much more sociable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/more-and-more-i-like-to-take-a-train-i-understand-why-the-french/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Adventure is making the distant approach nearer but romance is having what is where it is which is not where you are stay where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/adventure-is-making-the-distant-approach-nearer-but-romance-is-having/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Forensics is eloquence and reduction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/forensics-is-eloquence-and-reduction/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Eating and sleeping are not like loving and breathing. Washing is not like eating and sleeping. Believing is like breathing and loving. Religion can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/eating-and-sleeping-are-not-like-loving-and-breathing-washing-is-not/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-the-strangers-dear-readers-are-an/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“A bag which was left and not only taken but turned away was not found. The place was shown to be very like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/a-bag-which-was-left-and-not-only-taken-but-turned-away-was-not-found/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I don't envisage collectivism. There is no such animal, it is always individualism, sometimes the rest vote and sometimes they do not, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-don-t-envisage-collectivism-there-is-no-such-animal-it-is-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) [Explore all 418 Gertrude Stein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## More Americans quotes > [“People – Americans, mostly – realise how attached they are to material comforts when they arrive in India.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-william-roberts/people-americans-mostly-realise-how-attached-they-are-to-material/) [Paul William Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-william-roberts/) > [Music has an intrinsic value that touches Americans - they love their music, and want more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-rosen/music-has-an-intrinsic-value-that-touches-americans-they-love-their/) [Hilary Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-rosen/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [My parents don't care what Americans think of us; we just care what the other Indian people in our community think of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himanshu-suri/my-parents-don-t-care-what-americans-think-of-us-we-just-care-what/) [Himanshu Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himanshu-suri/) > [When Americans, who have no idea who I am, laugh at my jokes, it's exactly the same if someone loves you even if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/when-americans-who-have-no-idea-who-i-am-laugh-at-my-jokes-it-s/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. 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We believe in saving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/most-americans-believe-in-fairness-we-believe-that-people-should-work/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [“Using a wide variety of media, we could demonstrate for our fellow Americans their anxieties, desires, insufficiencies, and frustrations--and how to assuage them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/using-a-wide-variety-of-media-we-could-demonstrate-for-our-fellow/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [So many Korean Americans like me came to this country with the hope of achieving their own American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/so-many-korean-americans-like-me-came-to-this-country-with-the-hope/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Browse all 1,536 Americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "More great Americans were failures than they were successes. 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