--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We make the oldest stories new when we…" description: "\"We make the oldest stories new when we succeed, and we are trapped by the old stories when we fail\" — Greil Marcus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/greil-marcus-10438_failing_we-make-the-oldest-stories-new-when-we-s_1202992.jpg" --- # We make the oldest stories new when we succeed, and we are… ![“We make the oldest stories new when we succeed, and we are trapped by the old stories when we fail” quote by Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/greil-marcus-10438_failing_we-make-the-oldest-stories-new-when-we-s_1202992.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/greil-marcus-10438_failing_we-make-the-oldest-stories-new-when-we-s_1202992.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/greil-marcus-10438_failing_we-make-the-oldest-stories-new-when-we-s_1202992.jpg) > “We make the oldest stories new when we succeed, and we are trapped by the old stories when we fail” [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success rewrites old narratives, while failure leaves us stuck in familiar tales. **In simple terms:** Success creates new stories; failure traps us in old ones. Key Takeaway Recognize and reshape narratives. Themes creativity failure storytelling Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - business success - personal setbacks - creative projects - cultural analysis Key Concepts Narrative theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you rewrite your personal story? - What old narratives limit you? A Different Perspective Old stories can also inspire growth if examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Old stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-stories/) [Oldest Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oldest-stories-3616184/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-fail-3616185/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Succeed Trapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed-trapped-3616186/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Trapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trapped/) [Trapped Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trapped-old-1950725/) ## Related quotes > [Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/perhaps-the-biggest-tragedy-of-our-lives-is-that-freedom-is-possible/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [I'm a teenager trapped in an old body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/i-m-a-teenager-trapped-in-an-old-body/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [I've got a new relationship and I'm trapped in this old life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moon-unit-zappa/i-ve-got-a-new-relationship-and-i-m-trapped-in-this-old-life/) [Moon Unit Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moon-unit-zappa/) > [“the old stories were right, she thought, and man had been first made from a handful of dust, here was Adam himself: all mud,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-perry/the-old-stories-were-right-she-thought-and-man-had-been-first-made/) [Sarah Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-perry/) > [Release old concepts and energies that keep you in self-punishment patterns. Release old stories and create from a place of love and self-validation. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/release-old-concepts-and-energies-that-keep-you-in-self-punishment/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods? Because trying to impress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/why-do-you-think-the-old-stories-tell-of-men-who-set-out-on-great/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [Old stories are like old friends, she used to say. You have to visit them from time to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/old-stories-are-like-old-friends-she-used-to-say-you-have-to-visit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A loose generalization would have it that creation and destruction go hand in hand. But my destruction takes the form of trying to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kroetsch/a-loose-generalization-would-have-it-that-creation-and-destruction-go/) [Robert Kroetsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kroetsch/) > [“They say in old stories that you can't discover new lands without losing sight of the shore for a long time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-gough/they-say-in-old-stories-that-you-can-t-discover-new-lands-without/) [Laurie Gough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-gough/) > [There's no longevity in me telling old stories on the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-bonaduce/there-s-no-longevity-in-me-telling-old-stories-on-the-radio/) [Danny Bonaduce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-bonaduce/) > [“Dreams are like the old stories where wolves are seekers always running, and women carry fire in their bare hands and light the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-rendell/dreams-are-like-the-old-stories-where-wolves-are-seekers-always/) [Tamara Rendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-rendell/) > [“The tatters of old stories are tangled, weathered, muted by long-held silences that succeeded loud feuds, and sometimes no doubt re-dyed a more flattering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/the-tatters-of-old-stories-are-tangled-weathered-muted-by-long-held/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [He tells you stories, but then, after a while, when you want more, he doesn't give you more. He insists on this old elaboration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-finney/he-tells-you-stories-but-then-after-a-while-when-you-want-more-he/) [Albert Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-finney/) > [“But I'm getting to it. I can't come at it cold. I'm warming my hands over old stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mcgill/but-i-m-getting-to-it-i-can-t-come-at-it-cold-i-m-warming-my-hands/) [Bernie Mcgill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mcgill/) > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) ## More by Greil Marcus > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Elvis' early music has drama because as he sang he was escaping limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/elvis-early-music-has-drama-because-as-he-sang-he-was-escaping-limits/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [You're going to react to a painting in a way that the painting demands you react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/you-re-going-to-react-to-a-painting-in-a-way-that-the-painting/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever simple; it is always a kind of betrayal, of a mass of shadowy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or-money-is-ever-simple-it-is/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [ “\[Listening to a song\] one could experience a freedom from one's physical body, and from one's social body - the mask you wore to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/listening-to-a-song-one-could-experience-a-freedom-from-one-s/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Records that were the sound of somebody - more often than not, a she - speaking with a voice that had never been heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/records-that-were-the-sound-of-somebody-more-often-than-not-a-she/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I never could understand - it was impossible for me to get my head around - what the furor was, what the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-never-could-understand-it-was-impossible-for-me-to-get-my-head/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [There is no pop category, let alone any infinitely gene-sliced genre name, to contain the lead in Rihanna's voice in 'Needed Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/there-is-no-pop-category-let-alone-any-infinitely-gene-sliced-genre/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I'm a fan of Oliver Stone. I like his movies, I like his excess, and I think he has a great capacity for empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-m-a-fan-of-oliver-stone-i-like-his-movies-i-like-his-excess-and-i/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Bob Dylan continues to release odd and unsettling records, and to do odd and unsettling things on stage. So the term 'still' seems meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/bob-dylan-continues-to-release-odd-and-unsettling-records-and-to-do/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [When you're writing criticism or thinking critically, to draw a very limited minor conclusion from solid evidence is really not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/when-you-re-writing-criticism-or-thinking-critically-to-draw-a-very/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my book on the sidewalk; then they pick it up and read as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-over-a-copy-of-my-book-on-the/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I don't know that there's a division between American and British, European, South American, Asian sensibilities when it comes to rock n' roll or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-don-t-know-that-there-s-a-division-between-american-and-british/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [We fight our way through the massed and leveled collective safe taste of the Top 40, just looking for a little something we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/we-fight-our-way-through-the-massed-and-leveled-collective-safe-taste/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [“Banishing the love song, people discovered what else there was to sing about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/banishing-the-love-song-people-discovered-what-else-there-was-to-sing/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) [Explore all 65 Greil Marcus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## More Failing quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. 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How could a government based on such principles fail?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/trial-by-jury-live-wherever-you-can-make-a-living-how-could-a/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/my-willingness-to-fail-gives-me-the-ability-to-succeed/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [I would warn against holsters with devices for quick-draw. Devices always fail when you need them most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/i-would-warn-against-holsters-with-devices-for-quick-draw-devices/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [We can't afford any president to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/we-can-t-afford-any-president-to-fail/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/when-i-paint-i-never-think-of-selling-people-simply-fail-to/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I wake up every morning fearing I am going to fail. But I love a challenge, big or small. 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