Conventional wisdom Quote by Joshua Wolf Shenk
““At the same time that “self-made” entered the nation’s lexicon, so did the notion of abject failure. Once reserved to describe a discrete financial episode—“I made a failure,” a merchant would say after losing his shop—“failure” in antebellum America became a matter of identity, describing not an event but a person. As the historian Scott Sandage explains in Born Losers: A History of Failure in America, the phrase “I feel like a failure” comes to us so naturally today “that we forget it is a figure of speech: the language of business applied to the soul.” It became conventional wisdom in the early nineteenth century, Sandage explains, that people who failed had a problem native to their constitution. They weren’t just losers; they were “born losers.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Born Losers: A History of Failure in America by Scott Sandage, 2015
The concept of failure shifted from a specific event to a personal identity, turning setbacks into a permanent label.
In simple terms: Failure became a personal label rather than a single event.
Key Takeaway
Recognize failure as a temporary state, not a fixed identity.
Themes
identity
failure
language
culture
psychology
Mood
reflective
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
historical
When to use this quote
- career setbacks
- personal crises
- entrepreneurial risk
- mental health counseling
Key Concepts
social labeling
self-concept
historical narrative
Questions to Reflect On
- How does labeling affect self‑esteem?
- What societal forces shape our view of failure?
A Different Perspective
It can overlook systemic factors that contribute to failure.
