--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are systems that use failure as…" description: "\"There are systems that use failure as fuel for improvement, where the cost of failure is small.\" — Nassim Nicholas Taleb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_cost_there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fu_1068290.png" --- # There are systems that use failure as fuel for… ![“There are systems that use failure as fuel for improvement, where the cost of failure is small.” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_cost_there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fu_1068290.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_cost_there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fu_1068290.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_cost_there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fu_1068290.png) > “There are systems that use failure as fuel for improvement, where the cost of failure is small.” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Systems that thrive by learning from small, cheap failures become stronger over time. **In simple terms:** Learning from small failures makes systems stronger. Key Takeaway Embrace low‑cost failures to improve. Themes resilience learning innovation Mood analytical optimistic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - startup development - software testing - personal growth - process optimization Key Concepts antifragility feedback loops risk management Questions to Reflect On - How can you design experiments with minimal downside? - What small failures could you allow to test assumptions? A Different Perspective If failures become costly, the system may stall. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Cost Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost-failure-1408621/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Fuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-fuel-2647492/) [Failure Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-small-2647493/) [Fuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fuel/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Improvement Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement-cost-2647494/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Use Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-failure-1884822/) ## Related quotes > [“Well, more than likely you will never entirely dissolve either your fear of your own failure or your small pleasure in other people's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-o-clifton/well-more-than-likely-you-will-never-entirely-dissolve-either-your/) [Donald O. Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-o-clifton/) > [Failure is the small stuff in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-pfisterer/failure-is-the-small-stuff-in-life/) [Debbie Pfisterer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-pfisterer/) > [Fear of failure is the fuel of achievement. If you weren't afraid to fail, you probably wouldn't be highly motivated to work at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-simmons/fear-of-failure-is-the-fuel-of-achievement-if-you-weren-t-afraid-to/) [Ruth Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-simmons/) > [Failure is a fuel for excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jet-li/failure-is-a-fuel-for-excuses/) [Jet Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jet-li/) > [“My dream, my right - my failure, my fuel - my life, my ethics - my body, my choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/my-dream-my-right-my-failure-my-fuel-my-life-my-ethics-my-body-my/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Want to increase innovation? Lower the cost of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joichi-ito/want-to-increase-innovation-lower-the-cost-of-failure/) [Joichi Ito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joichi-ito/) > [The tiny cost of failure...is dwarfed by the huge cost of not trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-tiny-cost-of-failure-is-dwarfed-by-the-huge-cost-of-not-trying/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [It's the ability to resist failure, in many ways, or use failure that often leads to the greatest success, isn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/it-s-the-ability-to-resist-failure-in-many-ways-or-use-failure-that/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [Use your failure in a positive way. Don't let it get you down; use it to bounce back even stronger. Let it be your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mufti-ismail-menk/use-your-failure-in-a-positive-way-don-t-let-it-get-you-down-use-it/) [Mufti Ismail Menk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mufti-ismail-menk/) > [Always finish what you start. Don't use a failure or a setback as an excuse to give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/always-finish-what-you-start-don-t-use-a-failure-or-a-setback-as-an/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/failure-is-so-important-we-speak-about-success-all-the-time-it-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I truly believed that the cost of success for us shouldn't be the cost of failure for a good friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-truly-believed-that-the-cost-of-success-for-us-shouldn-t-be-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The cost of failure is really high when you’re contributing as yourself,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-poole/the-cost-of-failure-is-really-high-when-you-re-contributing-as/) [Christopher Poole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-poole/) > [We will make sure our troops have all that is necessary to complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-make-sure-our-troops-have-all-that-is-necessary-to-complete/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. Then, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-nightmare-scenario-is-that-the-government-saves-citibank-once/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“One needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket in order to win. Does it mean that the work involved in the trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/one-needs-to-go-out-and-buy-a-lottery-ticket-in-order-to-win-does-it/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/individuals-should-think-about-the-worst-case-scenarios-and-plan-for/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“If you are looking for your misplaced wallet in your living room, in a trial and error mode, you exercise rationality by not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-are-looking-for-your-misplaced-wallet-in-your-living-room-in-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Most humans manage to squander their free time, as free time makes them dysfunctional, lazy, and unmotivated—the busier they get, the more active they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/most-humans-manage-to-squander-their-free-time-as-free-time-makes/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We learn the most from fools ... yet we pay them back with the worst ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-learn-the-most-from-fools-yet-we-pay-them-back-with-the-worst/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/loss-of-bone-density-and-degradation-of-the-health-of-the-bones-also/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-takes-a-huge-investment-in-introspection-to-learn-that-the-thirty/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Explore all 635 Nassim Nicholas Taleb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More Cost quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) [Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I believe that government is too large, costs too much, spends too much, and has too much regulatory power in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-believe-that-government-is-too-large-costs-too-much-spends-too-much/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [They brought on someone who cost more than our stadium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-rodgers/they-brought-on-someone-who-cost-more-than-our-stadium/) [Brendan Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-rodgers/) > [When the government pays, health care's lack of affordability becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In health care, as in other things, government is the high-cost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-kling/when-the-government-pays-health-care-s-lack-of-affordability-becomes/) [Arnold Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-kling/) > [“In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. Excellence is to be exceptional, surpassing, more competent and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/in-your-goals-to-go-the-extra-mile-prepare-to-pay-an-extra-cost/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The term 'cost shifting,' as I use it, refers to those items in a university's budget that used to be reimbursed by the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-term-cost-shifting-as-i-use-it-refers-to-those-items-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beauty's a doubtful good, a glass, a flower, Lost, faded, broken, dead within an hour; And beauty, blemish'd once, for ever's lost, In spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-s-a-doubtful-good-a-glass-a-flower-lost-faded-broken-dead/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 3,987 Cost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are systems that use failure as fuel for improvement, where the cost of failure is small.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fuel-for-improvement-where-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cost" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fuel-for-improvement-where-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_cost_there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fu_1068290.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_cost_there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fu_1068290.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4d/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_cost_there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fu_1068290.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are systems that use failure as fuel for improvement, where the cost of failure is small.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "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": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are systems that use failure...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fuel-for-improvement-where-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/there-are-systems-that-use-failure-as-fuel-for-improvement-where-the/#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 } } ] } ```