--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obstacles are necessary for success…" description: "\"Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/og-mandino-1262_ability_obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-beca_31538.jpg" --- # Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as… ![“Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus…” quote by Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/og-mandino-1262_ability_obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-beca_31538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/og-mandino-1262_ability_obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-beca_31538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/og-mandino-1262_ability_obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-beca_31538.jpg) > “Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus each obstacle is a comrade-in-arms forcing you to become better... or quit. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future.” [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Obstacles act as catalysts for growth; each setback refines abilities, builds resilience, and determines whether one advances or abandons the goal. **In simple terms:** Struggles sharpen skills and resolve. Key Takeaway Adversity is a teacher, not a barrier. Themes Resilience Growth mindset Perseverance Self‑improvement Motivation Mood Determined Optimistic Focused Type Motivational Reflective When to use this quote - Sales negotiations - Career transitions - Entrepreneurial launches - Personal goal pursuit - Team projects Key Concepts Skill development Confidence building Endurance Decision making Practical Applications - Coaching sessions - Leadership training Questions to Reflect On - What habit do you develop when faced with repeated setbacks? - How can you reframe a defeat as a learning opportunity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers/) [Comrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comrade/) [Confidence Obstacle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence-obstacle-428216/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Endurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endurance/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Move forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/move-forward/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Moving forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-forward/) [Obstacle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacle/) [Obstacle Comrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacle-comrade-428217/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [Obstacles Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles-necessary-428215/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quitting/) [Rebuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebuff/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) [Your future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-future/) ## Related quotes > [Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/each-rebuff-is-an-opportunity-to-move-forward-turn-away-from-them/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-because-in-selling-as-in-all-2/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Obstacles are necessary companions to expression, and we know that the positive element in language is not in its obstructiveness. Exclusively viewed from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/obstacles-are-necessary-companions-to-expression-and-we-know-that-the/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/victory-comes-only-after-many-struggles-and-countless-defeats/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/each-struggle-each-defeat-sharpens-your-skills-and-strengths-your/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Lucy was suffering from the most grievous wrong which this world has yet discovered: diplomatic advantage had been taken of her sincerity, of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lucy-was-suffering-from-the-most-grievous-wrong-which-this-world-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And all this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/and-all-this-madness-all-this-rage-all-this-flaming-death-of-our/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I am not a perfect friend, and it is impossible not to rebuff or be rebuffed if you move about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/i-am-not-a-perfect-friend-and-it-is-impossible-not-to-rebuff-or-be/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [The attempt to discover and promulgate the truth is nevertheless an obligation upon all scientists, one that must be persevered in no matter what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-attempt-to-discover-and-promulgate-the-truth-is-nevertheless-an/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [When I compare myself, my being-myself, with anything else whatever, all things alike, all in the same degree, rebuff me with blank unlikeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/when-i-compare-myself-my-being-myself-with-anything-else-whatever-all/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [Then welcome each rebuff That turns earth's smoothness rough, Each sting that bids nor sit nor stand, but go! Be our joys three-parts pain!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/then-welcome-each-rebuff-that-turns-earth-s-smoothness-rough-each/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [O to be self-balanced for contingencies, to confront night, storms, hunger, ridicule, accidents, rebuffs, as the trees and animals do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-to-be-self-balanced-for-contingencies-to-confront-night-storms/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Male love circuits get an extra kick when stress levels are high. After an intense physical challenge, for instance, males will bond quickly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louann-brizendine/male-love-circuits-get-an-extra-kick-when-stress-levels-are-high/) [Louann Brizendine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louann-brizendine/) > [Reserve is an artificial quality that is developed in most of us but as the result of innumerable rebuffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/reserve-is-an-artificial-quality-that-is-developed-in-most-of-us-but/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The voice of the intellect is soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endless rebuffs, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-voice-of-the-intellect-is-soft-one-but-it-does-not-rest-until-it/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## More by Og Mandino > [Don't let your success of today lay you into complacency for tomorrow. For that is the worst form of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/don-t-let-your-success-of-today-lay-you-into-complacency-for-tomorrow/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/search-for-the-seed-of-good-in-every-adversity-master-that-principle/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-love-the-light-for-it-shows-me-the-way-yet-i-will-endure-the/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Never settle for the crumbs of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/never-settle-for-the-crumbs-of-life/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [The smallest task, well done, becomes a miracle of achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/the-smallest-task-well-done-becomes-a-miracle-of-achievement/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Laugh at yourself for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/laugh-at-yourself-for-man-is-most-comical-when-he-takes-himself-too/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I will persist. I will always take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-persist-i-will-always-take-another-step-if-that-is-of-no-avail/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Do the very best that you can, in the things you do best, and you will know in thy soul, that you are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/do-the-very-best-that-you-can-in-the-things-you-do-best-and-you-will/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I am indeed a fortunate man and today's hours are but a bonus, undeserved. Why have I been allowed to live this extra day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-am-indeed-a-fortunate-man-and-today-s-hours-are-but-a-bonus/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [The person who knows one thing and does it better than anyone else, even if it only be the art of raising lentils, receives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/the-person-who-knows-one-thing-and-does-it-better-than-anyone-else/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/always-do-your-best-what-you-plant-now-you-will-harvest-later/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I will live this day as if it is my last. …I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, Yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-live-this-day-as-if-it-is-my-last-i-will-waste-not-a-moment/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/to-do-anything-truly-worth-doing-i-must-not-stand-back-shivering-and/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [What is past is past. You can do nothing about yesterday and last month and the failures of last year, but you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/what-is-past-is-past-you-can-do-nothing-about-yesterday-and-last/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Deliver more than you are getting paid to do. The victory of success will be half won when you learn the secret of putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/deliver-more-than-you-are-getting-paid-to-do-the-victory-of-success/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) [Explore all 256 Og Mandino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. 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