--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If one has failed only where others have…" description: "\"“If one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is a consolation – indeed, a deep satisfaction – to be gained from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_consolation_if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have_2485363.jpg" --- # If one has failed only where others have not had the… ![“If one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is a consolation – indeed, a deep satisfaction – to be gained from this observation when looking back over one’s life.” quote by Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_consolation_if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have_2485363.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_consolation_if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have_2485363.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_consolation_if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have_2485363.jpg) > ““If one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is a consolation – indeed, a deep satisfaction – to be gained from this observation when looking back over one’s life.”” [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding value in personal failure when others lacked the bravery to attempt it, offering a sense of quiet pride in hindsight. **In simple terms:** Failing where others didn’t try can bring quiet pride. Key Takeaway Embrace unique risks and reflect on them positively. Themes courage failure reflection pride Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - creative projects - personal setbacks - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts existentialism self‑validation comparative success Questions to Reflect On - What risks have you taken that others avoided? - How does reflecting on such failures shape your future choices? A Different Perspective It may overlook the importance of learning from others’ successes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ## Related quotes > [Solitude was my only consolation - deep, dark, deathlike solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solitude-was-my-only-consolation-deep-dark-deathlike-solitude/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Learning new things and having varied experiences are what matter, whether or not we succeed or fail at these. Having the courage to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parul-sheth/learning-new-things-and-having-varied-experiences-are-what-matter/) [Parul Sheth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parul-sheth/) > [A man who aspires to rise above the mediocre, to be something more than the ordinary, surely deserves admiration, even if he fails and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/a-man-who-aspires-to-rise-above-the-mediocre-to-be-something-more/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“It takes more courage to try and fail than not to try and never succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-l-avery/it-takes-more-courage-to-try-and-fail-than-not-to-try-and-never/) [Nanette L. Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nanette-l-avery/) > [“Maybe the hardest part of life is just having the courage to try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hollis/maybe-the-hardest-part-of-life-is-just-having-the-courage-to-try/) [Rachel Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hollis/) > [I give myself this advice: Do not fear truth, let it be ever so contrary to inclination and feeling. Never give up the search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-fry/i-give-myself-this-advice-do-not-fear-truth-let-it-be-ever-so/) [Elizabeth Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-fry/) > [“You had the courage to try; and what you can do is often simply a matter of what you will do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-had-the-courage-to-try-and-what-you-can-do-is-often-simply-a/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [My hope for my daughter is that she has the courage to at least try to do it all, to be kind to herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-torres/my-hope-for-my-daughter-is-that-she-has-the-courage-to-at-least-try/) [Gina Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-torres/) > [“If I am inclined to doubt, steady my faith; if I am tempted, make me strong to resist; if I should miss the mark,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronie-kendig/if-i-am-inclined-to-doubt-steady-my-faith-if-i-am-tempted-make-me/) [Ronie Kendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronie-kendig/) > [“The courage to try again is daring spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-courage-to-try-again-is-daring-spirit/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Failure is not having the courage to try, nothing more an nothing less.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/failure-is-not-having-the-courage-to-try-nothing-more-an-nothing-less/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [Bad films gave me the courage to try making a movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/bad-films-gave-me-the-courage-to-try-making-a-movie/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [If you believe in a dream and have the courage to try, anything is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hansen/if-you-believe-in-a-dream-and-have-the-courage-to-try-anything-is/) [Rick Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hansen/) > [“The courage to TRY is more important than talent itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-verd/the-courage-to-try-is-more-important-than-talent-itself/) [Nicky Verd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-verd/) > [I have discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-discovered-things-along-the-way-that-i-never-would-have-seen/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Kazuo Ishiguro > [The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/the-evening-s-the-best-part-of-the-day-you-ve-done-your-day-s-work/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [As a writer, I'm more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/as-a-writer-i-m-more-interested-in-what-people-tell-themselves/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“About him and his wife voting for different parties. A few years ago that would have been unthinkable.” “No doubt.” “Quite extraordinary the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/about-him-and-his-wife-voting-for-different-parties-a-few-years-ago/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“But what is the sense in forever speculating what might have happened had such and such a moment turned out differently? One could presumably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/but-what-is-the-sense-in-forever-speculating-what-might-have-happened/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“Silence is just as likely to indicate the most profound ideas forming, the deepest energies being summoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/silence-is-just-as-likely-to-indicate-the-most-profound-ideas-forming/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“I don't know why, but it didn't seem an option for more than one of us to storm off, and I wanted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-don-t-know-why-but-it-didn-t-seem-an-option-for-more-than-one-of-us/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [Our family arrived in England in 1960. At that time I thought the war was ancient history. But if I think of 15 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/our-family-arrived-in-england-in-1960-at-that-time-i-thought-the-war/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [He chose a certain path in life, it proved to be a misguided one, but there, he chose it, he can say that at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/he-chose-a-certain-path-in-life-it-proved-to-be-a-misguided-one-but/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“For however one may come in later years to reassess one’s achievements, it is always a consolation to know that one’s life has contained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/for-however-one-may-come-in-later-years-to-reassess-one-s/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [You're always in a rush, or else you're too exhausted to have a proper conversation. Soon enough, the long hours, the traveling, the broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/you-re-always-in-a-rush-or-else-you-re-too-exhausted-to-have-a-proper/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I don't think it's any fun, even if you are one of the most respected authors in the world like Margaret Atwood, to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-fun-even-if-you-are-one-of-the-most-respected/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I think it's quite difficult to understand what kind of life a writer leads. They might be millionaires, or they might be starving people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-think-it-s-quite-difficult-to-understand-what-kind-of-life-a-writer/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“But this small episode is as good an illustration as any of the hazards of uttering witticisms. By the very nature of a witticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/but-this-small-episode-is-as-good-an-illustration-as-any-of-the/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [There comes a point when you can more or less count the number of books you're going to write before you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/there-comes-a-point-when-you-can-more-or-less-count-the-number-of/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [My wife is the most savage critic. She doesn't feel intimidated by my reputation. As far as she's concerned, she's just criticising a boyfriend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/my-wife-is-the-most-savage-critic-she-doesn-t-feel-intimidated-by-my/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) [Explore all 292 Kazuo Ishiguro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) ## More Consolation quotes > [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/) > [I had thought that growing up's consolation was that you could escape from the arbitrariness of things, that somehow one acquired more control. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-galloway/i-had-thought-that-growing-up-s-consolation-was-that-you-could-escape/) [Janice Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-galloway/) > [It is part of God's plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/it-is-part-of-god-s-plan-for-us-that-christ-shall-come-to-us-in/) [Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Perhaps the greatest consolation of the oppressed is to consider themselves superior to their tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/perhaps-the-greatest-consolation-of-the-oppressed-is-to-consider/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/books-which-we-mistake-for-consolation-only-add-depth-to-our-sorrow/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [The day has the color and the sound of winter. Thoughts turn to chowder...chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-paddleford/the-day-has-the-color-and-the-sound-of-winter-thoughts-turn-to/) [Clementine Paddleford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-paddleford/) > [Seek and possess holiness, and consolation will follow, as assuredly as warmth follows the dispensation of the rays of the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cogswell-upham/seek-and-possess-holiness-and-consolation-will-follow-as-assuredly-as/) [Thomas Cogswell Upham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cogswell-upham/) > [Solitude was my only consolation - deep, dark, deathlike solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solitude-was-my-only-consolation-deep-dark-deathlike-solitude/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have the consolation of leaving your kingdom in the highest degree of glory and of reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardinal-richelieu/i-have-the-consolation-of-leaving-your-kingdom-in-the-highest-degree/) [Cardinal Richelieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardinal-richelieu/) > [All consolation that does not come from God is but desolation; when the soul has learned to receive no comfort but in God only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/all-consolation-that-does-not-come-from-god-is-but-desolation-when/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [Let is walk ... joyously, dear souls, among the difficulties of this passing life ... These pains will have an end when our life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-is-walk-joyously-dear-souls-among-the-difficulties-of-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thinking about suicide is a potent consolation: it helps us to get through many a bad night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/thinking-about-suicide-is-a-potent-consolation-it-helps-us-to-get/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 587 Consolation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is a consolation – indeed, a deep satisfaction – to be gained from this observation when looking back over one’s life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kazuo Ishiguro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have-not-had-the-courage-or-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consolation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have-not-had-the-courage-or-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_consolation_if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have_2485363.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_consolation_if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have_2485363.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_consolation_if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have_2485363.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is a consolation –…” — Kazuo Ishiguro", "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": "Kazuo Ishiguro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If one has failed only where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have-not-had-the-courage-or-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/if-one-has-failed-only-where-others-have-not-had-the-courage-or-will/#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 } } ] } ```