I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm also doing the most important thing a man can do: I'm listening to what I needed to hear from myself.
Paulo CoelhoRead
A fall from the third floor hurts as much as a fall from the hundredth. If I have to fall, may it be from a high place.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The magnitude of failure or setbacks is similar, regardless of height or significance; it's better to strive for bold ambitions.
In this quote, Paulo Coelho conveys the idea that failures and disappointments are inevitable parts of life, and whether one experiences a small or large setback, the emotional impact is often the same. Therefore, one should aim high and embrace the possibility of failure as part of the journey towards achieving great things, rather than playing it safe with smaller ambitions.
Themes
FailureAmbitionCourageRiskGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about taking risks in business, one might use this quote to encourage entrepreneurs to aim for larger goals.
More from Paulo Coelho
All quotes βEach stone, each bend cries welcome to him. He identifies with the mountains and the streams, he sees something of his own soul in the plants and the animals and the birds of the field.
Paulo CoelhoRead
We need to clear our minds of bad thoughts.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God.
Paulo CoelhoRead
The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants
Paulo CoelhoRead
Sometimes the Warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Similar quotes
I was in middle school right around the time the Bloods and the Crips started taking root in Compton and a lot of the other neighborhoods around me. I saw way too many of my peers - smart, kind, good kids - who got drawn into gangs and violence, and their futures were going to be forever scarred by that.
Forest WhitakerRead
Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought. Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder. Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings. Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an army of construction.
Helen KellerRead
When you are falling --- Dive!
Joseph CampbellRead
To be fully human is...to know that it's possible to face the unimaginable and somehow put one foot in front of the other.
Oprah WinfreyRead
I want to die with my high heels on, still in action.
Bette DavisRead
I used to think that if someone asked for help, they were weak. But the toughest thing I ever did was reach out and ask for help. And that was when I started to heal.
Jimmy BarnesRead