Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ambition can often mask a lack of true achievement, representing a fallback for those who do not succeed.
In this quote, Oscar Wilde suggests that ambition, while often seen as a positive trait, can also be a misguided refuge for those who fail to accomplish their goals. It implies that simply having ambition is not enough; true success is measured by actual achievements rather than mere desires or aspirations.
Themes
AmbitionFailureSuccessAchievementGoals
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech to encourage students to achieve their goals.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes βLondon is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.
Oscar WildeRead
When one has never heard a man's name in the course of one's life, it speaks volumes for him; he must be quite respectable.
Oscar WildeRead
Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
Oscar WildeRead
A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
Oscar WildeRead
His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Oscar WildeRead
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Even with G.O.O.D. Music, we have artists that have done very well, and we've had artists that haven't. Being attached to Kanye is only going to get you so far. You've still got to have the records and the talent and the artistry on your own to carry it.
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So many good things have happened to me in the game of baseball. When I do allow myself a chance to think about it, it's almost like a storybook career. You feel so blessed to have been able to compete this long.
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Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them.
Russell ConwellRead