Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.
Thomas Watson, Jr.Read
If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Standing up for oneself may lead to challenges, but resilience against conformity is essential for growth.
This quote emphasizes the importance of courage and resilience in the face of adversity. While standing up for one's beliefs or individuality may result in setbacks or challenges, it is vital to remember that true defeat comes from succumbing to conformity. A person who allows themselves to be flattened by the pressure to conform remains stuck, whereas those who rise after being knocked down demonstrate strength and the ability to overcome obstacles.
Themes
CourageResilienceConformityOvercomeAdversity
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about facing challenges in the workplace.
More from Thomas Watson, Jr.
All quotes →The worst possible thing ... was to lie dead in the water with any problem. Solve it, solve it quickly ... If you solved it wrong, it would come back and slap you in the face, and then you could solve it right.
Thomas Watson, Jr.Read
Great design will not sell an inferior product, but it will enable a great product to achieve its maximum potential.
Thomas Watson, Jr.Read
Similar quotes
Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?
PolycarpRead
Because I'm a civil rights activist, I am also an animal rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike. Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel and vicious taking of life. We shouldn't be a part of it.
Dick GregoryRead
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
E. E. CummingsRead
If I'm at the front line and refuse to treat a patient, it's considered a crime. As a physician, this is my oath. I'm going to treat everyone regardless.
Joanne LiuRead
I believed that, in a situation where the community that I came from were being treated like second- and third-class citizens, that I had a responsibility to fight back against it. And I don't apologise to anybody for having done that. I think it was the right thing to do.
Martin McguinnessRead
We must carry the war into every corner the enemy happens to carry it, to his home, to his centers of entertainment: a total war. It is necessary to prevent him from having a moment of peace, a quiet moment outside his barracks or even inside; we must attack him wherever he may be, make him feel like a cornered beast wherever he may move. Then his moral fiber shall begin to decline, but we shall notice how the signs of decadence begin to disappear.
Che GuevaraRead