--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Both triumph and disaster are impostors." description: "\"Both triumph and disaster are impostors.\" — Rudyard Kipling" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/rudyard-kipling-527_disaster_both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors_2631710.png" --- # Both triumph and disaster are impostors. ![“Both triumph and disaster are impostors.” quote by Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/rudyard-kipling-527_disaster_both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors_2631710.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/rudyard-kipling-527_disaster_both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors_2631710.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/rudyard-kipling-527_disaster_both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors_2631710.png) > “Both triumph and disaster are impostors.” [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success and failure are fleeting disguises, not true identities. **In simple terms:** Triumph and disaster are temporary. Key Takeaway Stay humble amid change. Themes humility impermanence identity resilience Mood reflective steady Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - career highs - personal setbacks - public scrutiny - life transitions Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How to maintain self‑value independent of results? - What practices sustain humility? A Different Perspective Overidentifying with outcomes can harm self‑worth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) ## Related quotes > [If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/if-you-can-meet-with-triumph-and-disaster-and-treat-those-two/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“If you can connect with Triumph and Disaster; And treat those impostors just the same”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-pasricha/if-you-can-connect-with-triumph-and-disaster-and-treat-those/) [Neil Pasricha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-pasricha/) > [“If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/if-you-can-dream-and-not-make-dreams-your-master-if-you-can-think-and/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [If you can wait, and not be tired by waiting ... if you can dream, and not make dreams your master; if you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/if-you-can-wait-and-not-be-tired-by-waiting-if-you-can-dream-and-not/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [If I could learn to treat triumph and disaster the same, then I would find bliss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathie-lee-gifford/if-i-could-learn-to-treat-triumph-and-disaster-the-same-then-i-would/) [Kathie Lee Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathie-lee-gifford/) > [“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two imposters just the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allistair-mccaw/if-you-can-meet-with-triumph-and-disaster-and-treat-those-two-2/) Allistair McCaw > [When you meet triumph or disaster, treat these imposters alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/when-you-meet-triumph-or-disaster-treat-these-imposters-alike/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The great enthusiastic promise makers are almost always great impostors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/the-great-enthusiastic-promise-makers-are-almost-always-great/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [It is because we are all impostors that we endure each other. The man who does not consent to lie will see the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/it-is-because-we-are-all-impostors-that-we-endure-each-other-the-man/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [“Despite being high achievers, even experts in their fields, women can't seem to shake the sense that it is only a matter of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/despite-being-high-achievers-even-experts-in-their-fields-women-can-t/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I find it interesting that there are impostors out on the Internet pretending to be Werner Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-find-it-interesting-that-there-are-impostors-out-on-the-internet/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I think my Prince Charming is hiding from me. I keep meeting these impostors instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charming/i-think-my-prince-charming-is-hiding-from-me-i-keep-meeting-these/) [Prince Charming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charming/) > [I met another man who considered himself perfect, but he was thoroughly mad; and I do not believe that any of the pretenders to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-met-another-man-who-considered-himself-perfect-but-he-was/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [When I'm traveling to promote my book, I feel like an artful impostor. What I really am is when I'm in my (painter's) studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-vanderbilt/when-i-m-traveling-to-promote-my-book-i-feel-like-an-artful-impostor/) [Gloria Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-vanderbilt/) > [Even The Impostors, as silly as it is, is a very intimate film, in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tucci/even-the-impostors-as-silly-as-it-is-is-a-very-intimate-film-in-a-way/) [Stanley Tucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-tucci/) ## More by Rudyard Kipling > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“I follow the Law—the Most Excellent Law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/i-follow-the-law-the-most-excellent-law/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [O it's Tommy this, and Tommy that, and Tommy 'ow's your soul/But it's thin red line of heroes when the drums begin to roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/o-it-s-tommy-this-and-tommy-that-and-tommy-ow-s-your-soul-but-it-s/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Believe the best of everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/believe-the-best-of-everybody/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Adam was a gardener, and God, who made him, sees that half of all good gardening is done upon the knees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-of-all-good/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Call a truce, then, to our labors - let us feast with friends and neighbors, and be merry as the custom of our caste;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/call-a-truce-then-to-our-labors-let-us-feast-with-friends-and/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [No one accuses the gunner of maudlin affection for anything except his beasts and his weapons. He serves as least three jealous gods-his horse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/no-one-accuses-the-gunner-of-maudlin-affection-for-anything-except/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“One of these days, Strickland is going to write a little book on his experiences. That book will be worth buying; and even more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/one-of-these-days-strickland-is-going-to-write-a-little-book-on-his/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Good work does not matter, because a man is judged by his worst output and another man takes all the credit of his best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/good-work-does-not-matter-because-a-man-is-judged-by-his-worst-output/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Those who kill snakes get killed by snakes, said Chuchundra, more sorrowfully than ever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/those-who-kill-snakes-get-killed-by-snakes-said-chuchundra-more/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Like everything else in the world, it is one man's work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/like-everything-else-in-the-world-it-is-one-man-s-work/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Father Wolf looked on amazed. He had almost forgotten the days when he won Mother Wolf in fair fight from five other wolves, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/father-wolf-looked-on-amazed-he-had-almost-forgotten-the-days-when-he/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [If you want something and don't get it, there are only two reasons. You either really didn't want it, or you tried to bargain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/if-you-want-something-and-don-t-get-it-there-are-only-two-reasons-you/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) [Explore all 491 Rudyard Kipling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) ## More Disaster quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [One of the undervalued contributors to Trump's stunning 2016 victory was the masterful performance Pence had in his debate against Hillary Clinton running mate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mollie-hemingway/one-of-the-undervalued-contributors-to-trump-s-stunning-2016-victory/) [Mollie Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mollie-hemingway/) > [You know, we can't beat ISIS. We can't do anything. We can't take care of our vets. We can't have good health care. "Obama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-know-we-can-t-beat-isis-we-can-t-do-anything-we-can-t-take-care/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“She was—of course—perfectly normal— quiet and polite and reasonably intelligent and...normal and self destructive and lonely and terrified of every thing And she loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tah-the-trickster/she-was-of-course-perfectly-normal-quiet-and-polite-and-reasonably/) Tah the Trickster > [Obviously, it's my goal to be the top scorer in the Bundesliga, but it wouldn't be a disaster if I didn't achieve that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-gomez/obviously-it-s-my-goal-to-be-the-top-scorer-in-the-bundesliga-but-it/) [Mario Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-gomez/) > [Yes, life in Chechnya so far looks more like a life after a natural disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/yes-life-in-chechnya-so-far-looks-more-like-a-life-after-a-natural/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Even disasters -- there are always disasters when you travel -- can be turned into adventures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/even-disasters-there-are-always-disasters-when-you-travel-can-be/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/we-are-always-just-one-successful-terrorist-attack-away-from-a/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [The only aspect of our travels that is interesting to others is disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellmanmartha-gellman/the-only-aspect-of-our-travels-that-is-interesting-to-others-is/) Martha GellmanMartha Gellman [Browse all 2,239 Disaster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Both triumph and disaster are impostors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rudyard Kipling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disaster" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/rudyard-kipling-527_disaster_both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors_2631710.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/rudyard-kipling-527_disaster_both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors_2631710.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/rudyard-kipling-527_disaster_both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors_2631710.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Both triumph and disaster are impostors.” — Rudyard Kipling", "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": "Rudyard Kipling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Both triumph and disaster are impostors.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/both-triumph-and-disaster-are-impostors/#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 } } ] } ```