A Quote by Alain de Botton

The only possible way to begin a book is to tell oneself that its eventual failure is guaranteed — but survivable.

Alain de Botton

Quote Topics

Begin Book Failure Guaranteed Oneself Only Possible Tell Way

Quote Author

Alain de Botton
English - Writer
Born: December 20, 1969

The only way to escape misrepresentation is never to commit oneself to any critical judgement that makes an impact - that is, never to say anything. I still, however think that the best way to promote profitable discussion is to be as clear as possible with oneself about what one sees and judges, to try and establish the essential discriminations in the given field of interest, and to state them as clearly as one can (for disagreement, if necessary).

F. R. Leavis

To begin with oneself but not to end with onself. To start from oneself but not to aim at oneself.

Martin Buber

One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.

Henry Ford

One of the powers of a sit-in is its visibility and potential to mobilize public opinion; the way the protest is reported in the media can have a powerful influence over its eventual success or failure.

Parker Conrad

Nuclear terrorism is possible - it may be probable - but is survivable.

Irwin Redlener

Making information free is survivable so long as only limited numbers of people are disenfranchised. As much as it pains me to say so, we can survive if we only destroy the middle classes of musicians, journalists, and photographers. What is not survivable is the additional destruction of the middle classes in transportation, manufacturing, energy, office work, education, and health care. And all that destruction will come surely enough if the dominant idea of an information economy isn't improved.

Jaron Lanier

I'm happy that I wrote 'How Should a Person Be?' and I wouldn't have written that exact book if we had just done the play. So much of the book is about the anxiety of failure - the failure of the play and the failure of the divorce and the failure of not feeling like a good person.

Sheila Heti

Productive work, love and thought are possible only if a person can be, when necessary, quiet and alone. To be able to listen to oneself is the necessary condition for relating oneself to others.

Erich Fromm

Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear. Just as vulgarity is simply the conduct of other people. And falsehoods the truths of other people. Other people are quite dreadful. The only possible society is oneself. To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.

Oscar Wilde

No one can be guaranteed success without failures along the way. But one thing that guarantees failure is never taking action.

Clifton Anderson

It seems the only way to write a half decent book is to worry oneself sick on an hourly basis that one is producing a complete disaster.

Alain de Botton

In the range of my character at any given moment, I have acted in the only way it seemed to me I could have acted. This in no way means that I have done what was right; only what was possible for me. Sometimes I have done what I knew was wrong, and have rationalized. But rationalization is a form of desperation. It takes kindness to forgive oneself for one's life.

Anne Truitt

Nothing fails like success, because we do not learn anything from it. We only learn from failure, but we do not always learn the right things from failure. If there is a failure of expectations, that is, if the messages that we receive are not the same as those we expected, we can make three possible inferences.