Treat failure as a lesson on how not to approach achieving a goal, and then use that learning to improve your chances of success when you try again. Failure is only the end if you decide to stop.
Richard BransonRead
So I've seen life as one long learning process. And if I see - you know, if I fly on somebody else's airline and find the experience is not a pleasant one, which it wasn't in - 21 years ago, then I'd think, well, you know, maybe I can create the kind of airline that I'd like to fly on.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is an ongoing learning experience, and we can use negative experiences to create something better.
In this quote, Richard Branson reflects on how one's experiences shape their understanding of life and business. He emphasizes that negative experiences can serve as a catalyst for innovation and improvement, motivating individuals to create new solutions and opportunities that align with their desires and standards. By learning from the less pleasant aspects of life, one can inspire positive change and build something more fulfilling.
Themes
LearningInnovationExperienceChangeEntrepreneurship
In practice
Example use cases
During a keynote speech about entrepreneurship, I used this quote to illustrate how challenges can lead to new opportunities.
More from Richard Branson
All quotes →It's a common misconception that money is every entrepreneur's metric for success. It's not, and nor should it be.
Richard BransonRead
Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn't you have fun at work?
Richard BransonRead
Values cannot be speedily forgotten if it is inconvenient or commercially expedient. Values have to have meaning and longevity; otherwise they are valueless. You cannot embrace innovation up to a point or only sometimes. Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking cords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful.
Richard BransonRead
Please don’t get hung up on this question of whether you need to have experience in an industry before you launch your startup.
Richard BransonRead
What's the most critical factor in any business decision you'll ever have to make? Basically, it boils down to this question: If this all crashes, will it bring the whole house tumbling down like a pack of cards? One business matra remains embedded in my brain - protect the downside.
Richard BransonRead
Similar quotes
When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always get worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.
Malcolm ForbesRead
That is what the intuition is for: it is the direct messenger of the soul.
Clarissa Pinkola EstesRead
Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it.
Harold S. KushnerRead
Fortunately, problems are an everyday part of our life. Consider this: If there were no problems, most of us would be unemployed.
Zig ZiglarRead
It is commonly seene by experience, that excellent memories do rather accompany weake judgements.
Michel De MontaigneRead
That's one form of magic, of course." "What, just knowing things?" "Knowing things that other people don't know.
Terry PratchettRead