--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is always a chance of failure, of…" description: "\"There is always a chance of failure, of producing something totally unnecessary. But I guess that chance of failure is what makes tightrope walking, ra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-updike-396_car_there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-p_2653015.png" --- # There is always a chance of failure, of producing… ![“There is always a chance of failure, of producing something totally unnecessary. But I guess that chance of failure is what makes tightrope walking, race-car driving.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-updike-396_car_there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-p_2653015.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-updike-396_car_there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-p_2653015.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-updike-396_car_there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-p_2653015.png) > “There is always a chance of failure, of producing something totally unnecessary. But I guess that chance of failure is what makes tightrope walking, race-car driving.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Risk and potential failure give excitement and purpose to daring pursuits. **In simple terms:** Failure makes daring activities thrilling. Key Takeaway Accept risk for growth. Themes risk creativity adventure Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - extreme sports - artistic experimentation - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts Existential meaning psychology of risk creative process Questions to Reflect On - When does risk become reckless? - How do you balance safety and excitement? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to unnecessary loss without proper planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Car driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car-driving/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Chance Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance-failure-1485898/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-makes-381313/) [Failure Producing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-producing-2366117/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-car/) [Unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnecessary/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) ## Related quotes > [If I had a musical identity that was definable then it would be time to get into painting or something else. Race car driving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/if-i-had-a-musical-identity-that-was-definable-then-it-would-be-time/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [You can take lessons to become almost anything: flying lessons, piano lessons, skydiving lessons, acting lessons, race car driving lessons, singing lessons. But there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/you-can-take-lessons-to-become-almost-anything-flying-lessons-piano/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [An investment said to have an 80% chance of success sounds far more attractive than one with a 20% chance of failure. The mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/an-investment-said-to-have-an-80-chance-of-success-sounds-far-more/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [I tell founders all the time, 99.9 percent chance of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-seibel/i-tell-founders-all-the-time-99-9-percent-chance-of-failure/) [Michael Seibel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-seibel/) > [Ask yourself this: If there was zero chance of failure, what would you do? Now, go do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-linkner/ask-yourself-this-if-there-was-zero-chance-of-failure-what-would-you/) [Josh Linkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-linkner/) > [It's only a risk if you think there's a chance of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/it-s-only-a-risk-if-you-think-there-s-a-chance-of-failure/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [I MUST go to what desperately frightens me -- the chance of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-field/i-must-go-to-what-desperately-frightens-me-the-chance-of-failure/) [Sally Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-field/) > [If you make mistakes even serious ones,there is always another chance for you,what we call..failure is not the falling down,but the staying down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-make-mistakes-even-serious-ones-there-is-always-another-chance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It doesn't matter what your probability of failure is. If there's a 90% chance of failure, there's a 10% chance of changing the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/it-doesn-t-matter-what-your-probability-of-failure-is-if-there-s-a-90/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [“We need to be willing to chance failure in order to succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-harris/we-need-to-be-willing-to-chance-failure-in-order-to-succeed/) [Rachel Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-harris/) > [“The strong leader takes a chance when there is little hope, The hope that he will succeed and little chance of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bluenscottish/the-strong-leader-takes-a-chance-when-there-is-little-hope-the-hope/) [Bluenscottish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bluenscottish/) > [If something works, you shouldn't do it again. We want to do something that is new, original - something where there's a good chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-catmull/if-something-works-you-shouldn-t-do-it-again-we-want-to-do-something/) [Edwin Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-catmull/) > [When you fight you are in a situation where failure can happen. This chance of failure forges your character in many ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-hudson/when-you-fight-you-are-in-a-situation-where-failure-can-happen-this/) [Daniel Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-hudson/) > [The chance of failure is almost always better than the guarantee of never knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-chance-of-failure-is-almost-always-better-than-the-guarantee-of/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-made-mistakes-even-serious-ones-there-is-always-another/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Car quotes > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I don't own designer clothes, or a sports car, or a huge house, but I am seeing the world, experiencing amazing things, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-savage/i-don-t-own-designer-clothes-or-a-sports-car-or-a-huge-house-but-i-am/) [Roz Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-savage/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [I don't own a yacht or a flashy car. I've always had safe cars because I do so much driving. I don't think I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rippon/i-don-t-own-a-yacht-or-a-flashy-car-i-ve-always-had-safe-cars-because/) [Angela Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rippon/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I mean, you've kind of got the track down, especially with ovals. The only thing that improves is that when race conditions come, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danica-patrick/i-mean-you-ve-kind-of-got-the-track-down-especially-with-ovals-the/) [Danica Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danica-patrick/) > [I was with Dre when he was just selling tapes. He didn't have a car, a license or a job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-le/i-was-with-dre-when-he-was-just-selling-tapes-he-didn-t-have-a-car-a/) [Michel'le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-le/) > ['Melanin Man' was inspired by the words of an Uber driver in L.A. Before I got out of the car he said, 'They're scared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masego/melanin-man-was-inspired-by-the-words-of-an-uber-driver-in-l-a-before/) [Masego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masego/) > [The things that don't happen to us that we'll never know didn't happen to us. The nonstories. The extra minute to find the briefcase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/the-things-that-don-t-happen-to-us-that-we-ll-never-know-didn-t/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [It is amazing how may drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/it-is-amazing-how-may-drivers-even-at-the-formula-one-level-think/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [Whether you are buying a car or casting a ballot, choosing a job or planning a family, follow your moral compass. Don't let others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/whether-you-are-buying-a-car-or-casting-a-ballot-choosing-a-job-or/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [I don't have to have the biggest house or the biggest car or the longest mink, but quality of life is really glamorous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-don-t-have-to-have-the-biggest-house-or-the-biggest-car-or-the/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) [Browse all 6,849 Car quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is always a chance of failure, of producing something totally unnecessary. But I guess that chance of failure is what makes tightrope walking, race-car driving.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Updike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-producing-something-totally/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Car" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-producing-something-totally/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-updike-396_car_there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-p_2653015.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-updike-396_car_there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-p_2653015.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/john-updike-396_car_there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-p_2653015.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is always a chance of failure, of producing something totally unnecessary. But I guess that chance of…” — John Updike", "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": "John Updike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is always a chance of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-producing-something-totally/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/there-is-always-a-chance-of-failure-of-producing-something-totally/#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 } } ] } ```