--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you take risks, you may fail. But if…" description: "\"“If you take risks, you may fail. But if you do not take risks, you will surely fail. The greatest risk of all is to do nothing.”\" — Roberto Goizueta" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/roberto-goizueta-56823_failure_if-you-take-risks-you-may-fail-but-if-yo_2205973.jpg" --- # If you take risks, you may fail. But if you do not take… ![“If you take risks, you may fail. But if you do not take risks, you will surely fail. The greatest risk of all is to do nothing.” quote by Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/roberto-goizueta-56823_failure_if-you-take-risks-you-may-fail-but-if-yo_2205973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/roberto-goizueta-56823_failure_if-you-take-risks-you-may-fail-but-if-yo_2205973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/roberto-goizueta-56823_failure_if-you-take-risks-you-may-fail-but-if-yo_2205973.jpg) > ““If you take risks, you may fail. But if you do not take risks, you will surely fail. The greatest risk of all is to do nothing.”” [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Taking risks is essential; avoiding them guarantees failure, while action, even risky, is better than inaction. **In simple terms:** Risk leads to growth; doing nothing is the biggest risk. Key Takeaway Embrace calculated risks. Themes risk failure growth action decision-making Mood determined optimistic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - career advancement - personal development - investment decisions Key Concepts Opportunity cost psychology of fear strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - What risk could you take today that aligns with your goals? - How does fear of failure shape your choices? A Different Perspective Risk aversion can stifle innovation and lead to missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fail Risks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail-risks-4865238/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Greatest Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-risk-266709/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Risks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risks/) [Risks Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risks-fail-818601/) [Risks Surely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risks-surely-4433801/) ## Related quotes > [If you take risks, you may fail; but if you don't take risks, you will surely fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-goizueta/if-you-take-risks-you-may-fail-but-if-you-don-t-take-risks-you-will/) [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) > [Commit yourself to taking enough risks that you will fail some of the time. If you're not failing, we're not doing something sufficiently difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-berkun/commit-yourself-to-taking-enough-risks-that-you-will-fail-some-of-the/) [Scott Berkun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-berkun/) > [We are alive and need to take risks. And if we fail, so what? Who cares? It doesn't matter. Learn and move on without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/we-are-alive-and-need-to-take-risks-and-if-we-fail-so-what-who-cares/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [Many people are afraid to fail, so they don't try. They may dream, talk, and even plan, but they don't take that critical step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/many-people-are-afraid-to-fail-so-they-don-t-try-they-may-dream-talk/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Many risks fail because they were not taken in time. Too many risks are postponed until unnecessarily elaborate preparations are made. This does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/many-risks-fail-because-they-were-not-taken-in-time-too-many-risks/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [“The courage of living is - to take risks, to fail, to get up, and to try again. Try again differently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naide-p-obiang/the-courage-of-living-is-to-take-risks-to-fail-to-get-up-and-to-try/) [Naide P Obiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naide-p-obiang/) > [The greatest risk one can take is not to take risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/onuh-justus-izuchukwu/the-greatest-risk-one-can-take-is-not-to-take-risk/) [Onuh Justus Izuchukwu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/onuh-justus-izuchukwu/) > [“You're the greatest risk I've ever taken. And the greatest reward. -- Gideon to Eva”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/you-re-the-greatest-risk-i-ve-ever-taken-and-the-greatest-reward/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [We're going to take risks. What has always been will not necessarily always be forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-goizueta/we-re-going-to-take-risks-what-has-always-been-will-not-necessarily/) [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) > [“Greatest risk of all: to be vulnerable, to allow others to see us as we really are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greatest-risk-of-all-to-be-vulnerable-to-allow-others-to-see-us-as-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest IT risk facing most companies is more prosaic than a catastrophe. It is, simply, overspending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-it-risk-facing-most-companies-is-more-prosaic-than-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest risk to man is not that he aims to high and misses, but that he aims to low and hits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-risk-to-man-is-not-that-he-aims-to-high-and-misses-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The greatest risk most of us will take in our lifetime is that of repression or denial of basic rights of another person. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/the-greatest-risk-most-of-us-will-take-in-our-lifetime-is-that-of/) [Donavan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant US Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/) > [The greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/the-greatest-risk-in-life-is-to-risk-nothing-the-person-who-risks/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The greatest risk is really to take no risk at all. You've got to go out there, jump off the cliff, and take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-warburton/the-greatest-risk-is-really-to-take-no-risk-at-all-you-ve-got-to-go/) [Patrick Warburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-warburton/) ## More by Roberto Goizueta > [If you take risks, you may fail; but if you don't take risks, you will surely fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-goizueta/if-you-take-risks-you-may-fail-but-if-you-don-t-take-risks-you-will/) [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) > [We're going to take risks. What has always been will not necessarily always be forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-goizueta/we-re-going-to-take-risks-what-has-always-been-will-not-necessarily/) [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) > [At the end of every day of every year, two things remain unshakable, our constancy of purpose and our continuous discontent with the immediate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-goizueta/at-the-end-of-every-day-of-every-year-two-things-remain-unshakable/) [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) > [Once you lose everything, what's the worst that's going to happen to you? You develop a self-assurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-goizueta/once-you-lose-everything-what-s-the-worst-that-s-going-to-happen-to/) [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) > [In a free society, every opportunity comes with three obligations. First, you must seize it. You must mold it into a work that brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-goizueta/in-a-free-society-every-opportunity-comes-with-three-obligations/) [Roberto Goizueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) [Explore all 6 Roberto Goizueta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-goizueta/) ## More Failure quotes > [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/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you take risks, you may fail. 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