Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
A man finds he has been wrong at every stage of his career, only to deduce the astonishing conclusion that he is at last entirely right.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often realize their mistakes throughout their journey, leading to a clearer understanding of their true path in the end.
This quote by Robert Louis Stevenson suggests that the process of self-discovery and professional growth is filled with errors and misconceptions. However, through these experiences, a person can ultimately arrive at a profound realization that guides them to a satisfying conclusion about their choices and beliefs, affirming that every mistake was a step toward the right understanding of their life and career.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about career paths, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of learning from mistakes.
More from Robert Louis Stevenson
All quotes βLike a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing, yet avoided.
The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . I should be inclined to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.
Similar quotes
Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives.
i never learned anything while i was talking.
If your Eyes are Positive, You will Love the World. _x000D_ But if Your Tongue is Positive, The World will Love you.
Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later, and somewhere else. Let's be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.
. . . if gold rust, what then will iron do?/ For if a priest be foul in whom we trust/ No wonder that a common man should rust. . . .
I hope that memory is valued - that we do not lose memory.