--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a mistake to suppose that men…" description: "\"It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could neve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/samuel-smiles-2037_advice_it-is-a-mistake-to-suppose-that-men-succ_2841477.png" --- # It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through… ![“It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.” quote by Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/samuel-smiles-2037_advice_it-is-a-mistake-to-suppose-that-men-succ_2841477.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/samuel-smiles-2037_advice_it-is-a-mistake-to-suppose-that-men-succ_2841477.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/samuel-smiles-2037_advice_it-is-a-mistake-to-suppose-that-men-succ_2841477.png) > “It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.” [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success often arises from failures, which teach lessons that success cannot. **In simple terms:** Failures teach more than success. Key Takeaway Learn from failures. Themes failure success learning Mood reflective optimistic Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - education - personal development Key Concepts growth mindset resilience experience Questions to Reflect On - What failure taught you the most? - How can you turn setbacks into lessons? A Different Perspective Failure can be demotivating if not reframed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failures Precept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures-precept-3728213/) [Men Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-succeed-375071/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Succeed Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed-failures-3728214/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Taught Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-failure-2668650/) ## Related quotes > [Often, you'll fail. But, as my mother also taught me, failure isn't the opposite of success - it's a stepping stone to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/often-you-ll-fail-but-as-my-mother-also-taught-me-failure-isn-t-the/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) [Chris Kirubi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kirubi/) > [The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burton/the-men-who-succeed-are-the-efficient-few-they-are-the-few-who-have/) [Robert Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burton/) > [The men who succeed best in public life are those who take the risk of standing by their own convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-men-who-succeed-best-in-public-life-are-those-who-take-the-risk/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-succeed-when-they-realize-that-their-failures-are-the-preparation/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The difference between men who succeed or fail is their ability to handle pressure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/the-difference-between-men-who-succeed-or-fail-is-their-ability-to/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [Some men succeed by what they know; some by what they do; and a few by what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/some-men-succeed-by-what-they-know-some-by-what-they-do-and-a-few-by/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [When men succeed, even their neighbors think them wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pindar/when-men-succeed-even-their-neighbors-think-them-wise/) [Pindar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pindar/) > [Politics is the diversion of trivial men who, when they succeed at it, become important in the eyes of more trivial men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/politics-is-the-diversion-of-trivial-men-who-when-they-succeed-at-it/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [The men who succeed are the efficient few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-newton-casson/the-men-who-succeed-are-the-efficient-few/) [Herbert Newton Casson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-newton-casson/) > [Quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-allen/quit-most-men-succeed-because-they-are-determined-to/) [George Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-allen/) > [Now the struggle for life is so sharp, competition is so severe, that few men can succeed who carry a useless burden. The businessmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/now-the-struggle-for-life-is-so-sharp-competition-is-so-severe-that/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/the-wish-to-acquire-more-is-admittedly-a-very-natural-and-common/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [It is a mere question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery to the very wheelwork of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/it-is-a-mere-question-of-time-when-men-will-succeed-in-attaching/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-of-mediocre-ability-sometimes-achieve-outstanding-success-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Samuel Smiles > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/diligence-above-all-is-the-mother-of-good-luck/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The women of the poorer classes make sacrifices, and run risks, and bear privations, and exercise patience and kindness to a degree that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-women-of-the-poorer-classes-make-sacrifices-and-run-risks-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, is but of the nature of learning; whereas, the experience gained from actual life is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-experience-gathered-from-books-though-often-valuable-is-but-of/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-apprenticeship-of-difficulty-is-one-which-the-greatest-of-men/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-spirit-of-self-help-is-the-root-of-all-genuine-growth-in-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The wise man... if he would live at peace with others, he will bear and forbear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-wise-man-if-he-would-live-at-peace-with-others-he-will-bear-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Those who are the most persistent, and work in the true spirit, will invariably be the most successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/those-who-are-the-most-persistent-and-work-in-the-true-spirit-will/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The iron rail proved a magicians' road. It virtually reduced England to a sixth of its size. It brought the country nearer to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-iron-rail-proved-a-magicians-road-it-virtually-reduced-england-to/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. Of iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/this-extraordinary-metal-the-soul-of-every-manufacture-and-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Man cannot aspire if he looked down; if he rise, he must look up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/man-cannot-aspire-if-he-looked-down-if-he-rise-he-must-look-up/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The life of a good man is at the same time the most eloquent lesson of virtue and the most severe reproof of vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-life-of-a-good-man-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-eloquent-lesson/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [It is a grand old name, that of gentleman, and has been recognized as a rank and power in all stages of society. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/it-is-a-grand-old-name-that-of-gentleman-and-has-been-recognized-as-a/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“Many are the lives of men unwritten, which have nevertheless as powerfully influenced civilization and progress as the more fortunate Great whose names are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/many-are-the-lives-of-men-unwritten-which-have-nevertheless-as/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) [Explore all 189 Samuel Smiles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## More Advice quotes > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [I ask for tips, for advice. What I have also learnt is that I need to do things that are good for me. 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And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. 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