--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To succeed in life, you need three…" description: "\"“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.”—Reba McEntire”\" — Reba McEntire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/reba-mcentire-4189_life_to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things_1683488.jpg" --- # To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a… ![“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.”—Reba McEntire” quote by Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/reba-mcentire-4189_life_to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things_1683488.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/reba-mcentire-4189_life_to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things_1683488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/reba-mcentire-4189_life_to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things_1683488.jpg) > ““To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.”—Reba McEntire”” [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success requires a blend of desire, resilience, and humor to navigate challenges and stay balanced. **In simple terms:** You need desire, resilience, and humor for success. Key Takeaway Cultivate all three qualities. Themes success resilience humor Mood inspirational lighthearted Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - team leadership - stressful situations Key Concepts psychology personal development Questions to Reflect On - What does each “bone” mean to you personally? - How can you develop a stronger “backbone”? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on humor may downplay seriousness of obstacles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Wishbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishbone/) ## Related quotes > [To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a-3/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [To succeed in your life, you need these three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/to-succeed-in-your-life-you-need-these-three-things-a-wishbone-a/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“To succeed in life, you need three things: A Wishbone, A Back Bone, and a Funny Bone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-back-bone-and-a/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [We like them big ... but we'll settle for players with three kinds of bones - a funnybone, a wishbone and a backbone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duffy-daugherty/we-like-them-big-but-we-ll-settle-for-players-with-three-kinds-of/) [Duffy Daugherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duffy-daugherty/) > [“Never grow a wishbone where your backbone ought to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-paddleford/never-grow-a-wishbone-where-your-backbone-ought-to-be/) [Clementine Paddleford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-paddleford/) > [“You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be.” This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/you-gotta-stop-wearing-your-wishbone-where-your-backbone-oughtta-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Many a man has failed because he had his wishbone where his backbone should have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/many-a-man-has-failed-because-he-had-his-wishbone-where-his-backbone/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/stop-wearing-your-wishbone-where-your-backbone-ought-to-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Some people develop a wishbone where their backbone should be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/some-people-develop-a-wishbone-where-their-backbone-should-be/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“To thrive in life you need three bones. A wishbone. A backbone. And a funny bone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-thrive-in-life-you-need-three-bones-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [If you want to succeed in life...you must pick 3 bones to carry with you at all times: a wish bone, a backbone, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/if-you-want-to-succeed-in-life-you-must-pick-3-bones-to-carry-with/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I'd love for us to be on our way to having a career like Reba McEntire or Shania Twain; to be Entertainer of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-marlow/i-d-love-for-us-to-be-on-our-way-to-having-a-career-like-reba/) [Maddie Marlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-marlow/) > [Brad Paisley is very funny. Who else is funny? I think Reba McEntire is very funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-evans/brad-paisley-is-very-funny-who-else-is-funny-i-think-reba-mcentire-is/) [Sara Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-evans/) > [I grew up listening to Patsy Klein, Reba Mcentire and would study their voices. But once I became bored with that, I moved on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-partlow/i-grew-up-listening-to-patsy-klein-reba-mcentire-and-would-study/) Hope Partlow ## More by Reba McEntire > [I use all my skills that I can muster up, but the fun thing is that I find some untapped skills every once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-use-all-my-skills-that-i-can-muster-up-but-the-fun-thing-is-that-i/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [For me, singing sad songs often has a way of healing a situation. It gets the hurt out in the open into the light,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/for-me-singing-sad-songs-often-has-a-way-of-healing-a-situation-it/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they are weak, but he is strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/jesus-loves-me-this-i-know-for-the-bible-tells-me-so-little-ones-to/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I think it's the way I talk. I think they thought I was too country. And I'm not ashamed of that by any means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-think-it-s-the-way-i-talk-i-think-they-thought-i-was-too-country/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I'm open to any kind of situation in a song as long as it touches my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-m-open-to-any-kind-of-situation-in-a-song-as-long-as-it-touches-my/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [So, I think it has to do with the product and what you take to the public. If they like it, they're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/so-i-think-it-has-to-do-with-the-product-and-what-you-take-to-the/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I grew up in southeastern Oklahoma on a working cattle ranch, and it was always very romantic to me: The West, the cowboy, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-grew-up-in-southeastern-oklahoma-on-a-working-cattle-ranch-and-it/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [A good song has to have a great melody, and the lyrics have to touch my heart. Now, if it's just a little toe-tapper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/a-good-song-has-to-have-a-great-melody-and-the-lyrics-have-to-touch/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [My goals have changed throughout my life. At one time it was winning awards, selling out concert dates, selling more albums than anyone else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/my-goals-have-changed-throughout-my-life-at-one-time-it-was-winning/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I can't imagine living a life without God in my life. He is my best friend, He's my buddy, He's the one that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-can-t-imagine-living-a-life-without-god-in-my-life-he-is-my-best/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [Fame is a mind - a way of thinking about things. It's all in your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/fame-is-a-mind-a-way-of-thinking-about-things-it-s-all-in-your-mind/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [My family, you know, are all still, you know, very close. We're all still very close. Mom and Daddy are still alive. So, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/my-family-you-know-are-all-still-you-know-very-close-we-re-all-still/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I think it's a wonderful time for a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-think-it-s-a-wonderful-time-for-a-woman/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [Never have doubted it, even when the plane crash happened. I wasn't mad at God. I just knew that there was a reason that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/never-have-doubted-it-even-when-the-plane-crash-happened-i-wasn-t-mad/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) [Explore all 115 Reba McEntire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [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/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.”—Reba McEntire”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Reba McEntire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/reba-mcentire-4189_life_to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things_1683488.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/reba-mcentire-4189_life_to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things_1683488.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/reba-mcentire-4189_life_to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things_1683488.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.”—Reba McEntire” — Reba McEntire", "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": "Reba McEntire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“To succeed in life, you need...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/to-succeed-in-life-you-need-three-things-a-wishbone-a-backbone-and-a-2/#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 } } ] } ```