--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Personal initiative, competitive…" description: "\"Personal initiative, competitive selection, the profit motive, corrected by failure and the infinite process of good housekeeping and the personal inge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/winston-churchill-95_failure_personal-initiative-competitive-selectio_922873.jpg" --- # Personal initiative, competitive selection, the profit… ![“Personal initiative, competitive selection, the profit motive, corrected by failure and the infinite process of good housekeeping and the personal ingenuity-here constitute the life of a free society.” quote by Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/winston-churchill-95_failure_personal-initiative-competitive-selectio_922873.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/winston-churchill-95_failure_personal-initiative-competitive-selectio_922873.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/winston-churchill-95_failure_personal-initiative-competitive-selectio_922873.jpg) > “Personal initiative, competitive selection, the profit motive, corrected by failure and the infinite process of good housekeeping and the personal ingenuity-here constitute the life of a free society.” [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights that personal effort, competition, profit, failure, and ingenuity sustain liberty. **In simple terms:** Freedom relies on initiative, competition, profit, failure, and ingenuity. Key Takeaway Encourage personal responsibility and innovation. Themes freedom economics responsibility Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - policy making - community building - education Key Concepts liberty market dynamics self‑reliance Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance profit with social welfare? - What role does failure play in progress? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on profit can erode social cohesion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Free society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-society/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Good housekeeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-housekeeping/) [Housekeeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housekeeping/) [Ingenuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingenuity/) [Initiative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiative/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Profit motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit-motive/) ## Related quotes > [A society which is mobile, which is full of channels for the distribution of a change occurring anywhere, must see to it that its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-society-which-is-mobile-which-is-full-of-channels-for-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [ No man \[or woman\] is free until he learns to do his own thinking and gains the courage to act on his own personal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-man-or-woman-is-free-until-he-learns-to-do-his-own-thinking-and/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Above all, as the keynote of all Democratic policy, in passing upon any question, let the controlling aim and ambition be to keep the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-davis/above-all-as-the-keynote-of-all-democratic-policy-in-passing-upon-any/) [John W. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-davis/) > [“She was not only good at housekeeping, she enjoyed it. After her parents left for work and the other children were at school or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-not-only-good-at-housekeeping-she-enjoyed-it-after-her/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Rosamond, accustomed from her childhood to an extravagant household, thought that good housekeeping consisted simply in ordering the best of everything––nothing else 'answered;' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/rosamond-accustomed-from-her-childhood-to-an-extravagant-household/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To be an artist is to fail, as no other dare fail, that failure is his world and the shrink from desertion, art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-be-an-artist-is-to-fail-as-no-other-dare-fail-that-failure-is-his/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [This funding from the National Endowment for the Arts has been like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-dicks/this-funding-from-the-national-endowment-for-the-arts-has-been-like/) [Norm Dicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-dicks/) > [The only way in which a nation can make itself wealthy and prosperous is by good housekeeping: that is, by providing for its wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-only-way-in-which-a-nation-can-make-itself-wealthy-and-prosperous/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I am not exactly Mrs. Good Housekeeping, although I love to cook, bake, even iron, but only because it's not mandatory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/i-am-not-exactly-mrs-good-housekeeping-although-i-love-to-cook-bake/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [From the start, I was focused on getting the Good Housekeeping Seal. I wanted to go on TV and tell everyone that the Miracle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-mangano/from-the-start-i-was-focused-on-getting-the-good-housekeeping-seal-i/) [Joy Mangano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-mangano/) > [I never make a movie for awards consideration. I will use the hope of getting an Academy Award a) to honor the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-weinstein/i-never-make-a-movie-for-awards-consideration-i-will-use-the-hope-of/) [Harvey Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-weinstein/) > [The problem of the environment is the extension of good housekeeping of the thinking woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjory-stoneman-douglas/the-problem-of-the-environment-is-the-extension-of-good-housekeeping/) [Marjory Stoneman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjory-stoneman-douglas/) > [If a woman is not fit to manage the internal matters of a house, she is fit for nothing, and should never be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/if-a-woman-is-not-fit-to-manage-the-internal-matters-of-a-house-she/) [Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/) > [In regards to those other franchises that are being remade, we must take pains to mention that we're the only one where the original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/in-regards-to-those-other-franchises-that-are-being-remade-we-must/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [People instinctively know the difference between something done with a profit motive and something done with a love motive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/people-instinctively-know-the-difference-between-something-done-with/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) ## More by Winston Churchill > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Never, never, never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/never-never-never-give-up/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most times he will pick himself up and carry on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/man-will-occasionally-stumble-over-the-truth-but-most-times-he-will/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [God alone knows how great it is. All I hope is that it is not too late. I am very much afraid that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/god-alone-knows-how-great-it-is-all-i-hope-is-that-it-is-not-too-late/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-re-20-you-care-what-everyone-thinks-when-you-re-40-you-stop/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Writing a book is an adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/writing-a-book-is-an-adventure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/all-men-make-mistakes-but-only-wise-men-learn-from-their-mistakes/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [People who are not prepared to do unpopular things and defy the clamor of the multitude are not fit to be ministers in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/people-who-are-not-prepared-to-do-unpopular-things-and-defy-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [To meet Roosevelt with all his buoyant sparkle, his iridescence, was like opening a bottle of champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/to-meet-roosevelt-with-all-his-buoyant-sparkle-his-iridescence-was/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-am-always-ready-to-learn-although-i-do-not-always-like-being-taught/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There are plenty of good ideas, if only they can be backed with the power of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-plenty-of-good-ideas-if-only-they-can-be-backed-with-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Explore all 1,366 Winston Churchill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## 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": "Personal initiative, competitive selection, the profit motive, corrected by failure and the infinite process of good housekeeping and the personal ingenuity-here constitute the life of a free society.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Winston Churchill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/personal-initiative-competitive-selection-the-profit-motive-corrected/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/personal-initiative-competitive-selection-the-profit-motive-corrected/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/winston-churchill-95_failure_personal-initiative-competitive-selectio_922873.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/winston-churchill-95_failure_personal-initiative-competitive-selectio_922873.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/winston-churchill-95_failure_personal-initiative-competitive-selectio_922873.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Personal initiative, competitive selection, the profit motive, corrected by failure and the infinite process…” — Winston Churchill", "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": "Winston Churchill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Personal initiative, competitive selection, the profit...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/personal-initiative-competitive-selection-the-profit-motive-corrected/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/personal-initiative-competitive-selection-the-profit-motive-corrected/#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 } } ] } ```