--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a world in which success was the only…" description: "\"“In a world in which success was the only virtue, he had resigned himself to failure.”\" — Joseph Heller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/joseph-heller-601_failure_in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only_830125.png" --- # In a world in which success was the only virtue, he had… ![“In a world in which success was the only virtue, he had resigned himself to failure.” quote by Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/joseph-heller-601_failure_in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only_830125.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/joseph-heller-601_failure_in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only_830125.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/joseph-heller-601_failure_in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only_830125.png) > ““In a world in which success was the only virtue, he had resigned himself to failure.”” [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In a society that values only success, the character accepts failure as a personal stance. **In simple terms:** Success‑only culture leads to self‑imposed failure. Key Takeaway Embrace personal values over societal pressure. Themes conformity success self‑acceptance Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - academic pressure - personal identity - mental health Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - Do you define success on your own terms? - How does societal pressure shape your self‑view? A Different Perspective Success alone cannot guarantee fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Honest people know that the road to success and virtue always involves shared sacrifice, hard work, and gratification postponed. Telling people otherwise isn't leadership,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/honest-people-know-that-the-road-to-success-and-virtue-always/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [The best revenge in the world is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/the-best-revenge-in-the-world-is-success/) [Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/) > [The world of success is full of hatred haters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/the-world-of-success-is-full-of-hatred-haters/) Patience > [“Look on the bright side and feel on top of the world! You are a Success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/look-on-the-bright-side-and-feel-on-top-of-the-world-you-are-a-success/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [Ambition, intention and disciplined effort will bring you great things in this world, but there is more to success than acquiring the commonly celebrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/ambition-intention-and-disciplined-effort-will-bring-you-great-things/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“How this peculiar grass, native to Central America and unknown to the Old World before 1492, came to colonize so much of our land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/how-this-peculiar-grass-native-to-central-america-and-unknown-to-the-2/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [There are two unpardonable sins in this world -- success and failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-horace-lorimer/there-are-two-unpardonable-sins-in-this-world-success-and-failure/) [George Horace Lorimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-horace-lorimer/) > [“When you start to listen to words, not the world, then success listens to you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-shaikh/when-you-start-to-listen-to-words-not-the-world-then-success-listens/) Farhan Shaikh > [Any time I see someone succeed I am happy, for it affirms my belief that I live in a world where success is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-gillespie/any-time-i-see-someone-succeed-i-am-happy-for-it-affirms-my-belief/) Bonnie Gillespie > [I wish for a world where success is measured not by what we take nor by what we get. Just by what we give.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/i-wish-for-a-world-where-success-is-measured-not-by-what-we-take-nor/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [The slave should be resigned to his lot, in obeying his master he is obeying God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/the-slave-should-be-resigned-to-his-lot-in-obeying-his-master-he-is/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [After I decided to become a Jew, only then did I learn that the Jews don't have all the money. When I found out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/after-i-decided-to-become-a-jew-only-then-did-i-learn-that-the-jews/) [Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/) > [I did not resign from politics because of Bofors. I resigned because I do not know how to play petty politics. I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitabh-bachchan/i-did-not-resign-from-politics-because-of-bofors-i-resigned-because-i/) [Amitabh Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitabh-bachchan/) > [While they're in WWE, we absolutely have a health and wellness policy. I'll probably always say 'we,' even though I've resigned as the CEO.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-mcmahon/while-they-re-in-wwe-we-absolutely-have-a-health-and-wellness-policy/) [Linda McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-mcmahon/) > [When I resigned, I put the U.S. Government on notice that I'm going to stick to policy issues, that I have no intention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-ritter/when-i-resigned-i-put-the-u-s-government-on-notice-that-i-m-going-to/) [Scott Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-ritter/) ## More by Joseph Heller > [“Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. "That's some catch, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/yossarian-was-moved-very-deeply-by-the-absolute-simplicity-of-this/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [From men motivated by moral certitude, history teaches, no lasting good ever comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/from-men-motivated-by-moral-certitude-history-teaches-no-lasting-good/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [I’m cold,' Snowden said softly, 'I’m cold.' 'You’re going to be all right, kid,' Yossarian reassured him with a grin. 'You’re going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-m-cold-snowden-said-softly-i-m-cold-you-re-going-to-be-all-right/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/the-enemy-is-anybody-who-s-going-to-get-you-killed-no-matter-which/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“They think that they’re smart and that the rest of us are dumb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/they-think-that-they-re-smart-and-that-the-rest-of-us-are-dumb/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/there-was-only-one-catch-and-that-was-catch-22-which-specified-that-a/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“Captain Flume was obsessed with the idea that Chief White Halfoat would tiptoe up to his cot one night when he was sound asleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/captain-flume-was-obsessed-with-the-idea-that-chief-white-halfoat/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“Depreciating motels, junked automobiles, and quick-food joints grow like amber waves of grain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/depreciating-motels-junked-automobiles-and-quick-food-joints-grow/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“That was where he wanted to be if he had to be there at all, instead of hung out there in front like some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/that-was-where-he-wanted-to-be-if-he-had-to-be-there-at-all-instead/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [I had examined myself pretty thoroughly and discovered that I was unfit for military service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-had-examined-myself-pretty-thoroughly-and-discovered-that-i-was/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“Yossarian was moved by such intense pity for his poverty that he wanted to smash his pale. sad, sickly face with his fist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/yossarian-was-moved-by-such-intense-pity-for-his-poverty-that-he/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [You have deep-seated survival anxieties. And you don't like bigots, bullies, snobs or hypocrites. Subconsciously there are many people you hate." "Consciously, sir, consciously,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/you-have-deep-seated-survival-anxieties-and-you-don-t-like-bigots/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“His specialty was alfalfa, and he made a good thing out of not growing any. The government paid him well for every bushel of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/his-specialty-was-alfalfa-and-he-made-a-good-thing-out-of-not-growing/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [Every writer I know has trouble writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/every-writer-i-know-has-trouble-writing/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“No such private nights of ecstasy or hushed-up drinking and sex orgies ever occurred. They might have occurred if either General Dreedle or General…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/no-such-private-nights-of-ecstasy-or-hushed-up-drinking-and-sex/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) [Explore all 420 Joseph Heller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) ## 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": "“In a world in which success was the only virtue, he had resigned himself to failure.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Heller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only-virtue-he-had-resigned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only-virtue-he-had-resigned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/joseph-heller-601_failure_in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only_830125.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/joseph-heller-601_failure_in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only_830125.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e3/joseph-heller-601_failure_in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only_830125.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a world in which success was the only virtue, he had resigned himself to failure.” — Joseph Heller", "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": "Joseph Heller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In a world in which success...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only-virtue-he-had-resigned/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/in-a-world-in-which-success-was-the-only-virtue-he-had-resigned/#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 } } ] } ```