--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only true failure is the failure of…" description: "\"“The only true failure is the failure of not trying.”\" — Tony Clink" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/tony-clink-283961_failure_the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of_195986.jpg" --- # The only true failure is the failure of not trying. ![“The only true failure is the failure of not trying.” quote by Tony Clink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/tony-clink-283961_failure_the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of_195986.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/tony-clink-283961_failure_the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of_195986.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/tony-clink-283961_failure_the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of_195986.jpg) > ““The only true failure is the failure of not trying.”” Tony Clink ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The only real failure is not trying at all. **In simple terms:** Not trying is the true failure. Key Takeaway Always try, regardless of outcome. Themes effort risk learning growth perseverance Mood motivational encouraging Type advice maxim When to use this quote - career moves - skill development - personal challenges Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from trying? - How can you reframe fear of failure? A Different Perspective Failure can be a learning step. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ## Related quotes > [The only true failure is failure to try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/the-only-true-failure-is-failure-to-try/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [There is no failure except the failure of trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/there-is-no-failure-except-the-failure-of-trying/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The greatest failure is the failure to try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/the-greatest-failure-is-the-failure-to-try/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [“Life might have its failures, but this was not it. The only true failure can come if you quit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-beaty/life-might-have-its-failures-but-this-was-not-it-the-only-true/) Andrea Beaty > [Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defeat-is-not-the-worst-of-failures-not-to-have-tried-is-the-true/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The only true failure is allowing fear of failure to prevent you from acting and pursuing your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shree-shambav/the-only-true-failure-is-allowing-fear-of-failure-to-prevent-you-from/) [Shree Shambav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shree-shambav/) > [“You try you fail, You try you fail, But the only true failure, Is when you stop trying”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haunted-mansion/you-try-you-fail-you-try-you-fail-but-the-only-true-failure-is-when/) Haunted Mansion > [I realized that I was afraid to really, really try something, 100%, because I had never reached true failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/i-realized-that-i-was-afraid-to-really-really-try-something-100/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [Success is not permanent. The same is also true of failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dell-crossword/success-is-not-permanent-the-same-is-also-true-of-failure/) Dell Crossword > [“The only true failure can come if you quit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-beaty/the-only-true-failure-can-come-if-you-quit/) Andrea Beaty > [The fear of failure. Failure definitely drives me more than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-seager/the-fear-of-failure-failure-definitely-drives-me-more-than-anything/) [Corey Seager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-seager/) > [I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/i-don-t-know-the-key-to-success-but-the-key-to-failure-is-trying-to/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [There's no secret to success, but the secret to failure is trying to please everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/there-s-no-secret-to-success-but-the-secret-to-failure-is-trying-to/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [When Marconi suggested the possibility of wireless transmission of sound (the radio),he was committed to a mental institution. But people like Lincoln, Edison, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-marconi-suggested-the-possibility-of-wireless-transmission-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Cosby read some advice that he took to heart: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-keller/cosby-read-some-advice-that-he-took-to-heart-i-don-t-know-the-key-to/) [Gary Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-keller/) ## 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": "“The only true failure is the failure of not trying.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Clink" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-clink/the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of-not-trying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-clink/the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of-not-trying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/tony-clink-283961_failure_the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of_195986.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/tony-clink-283961_failure_the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of_195986.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/tony-clink-283961_failure_the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of_195986.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only true failure is the failure of not trying.” — Tony Clink", "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": "Tony Clink", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-clink/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The only true failure is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-clink/the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of-not-trying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-clink/the-only-true-failure-is-the-failure-of-not-trying/#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 } } ] } ```