What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
I finished my first book seventy-six years ago. I offered it to every publisher on the English-speaking earth I had ever heard of. Their refusals were unanimous: and it did not get into print until, fifty years later; publishers would publish anything that had my name on it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Perseverance in the face of rejection ultimately leads to success.
This quote by George Bernard Shaw highlights the challenges and rejections faced by writers and creators in their journeys. Despite receiving unanimous refusals for his first book, Shaw's persistence paid off decades later when his work gained recognition and publishers sought to put his name on their titles, illustrating that success often comes after significant struggle and determination.
Themes
PerseveranceRejectionSuccessWritingDetermination
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech to aspiring writers encouraging them to keep submitting their work despite rejections.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes →Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
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Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
George Bernard ShawRead
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
George Bernard ShawRead
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