If I had not some strength of will I would make a first class drunkard.
Ernest ShackletonRead
I have often marveled at the thin line which separates success from failure.
Interpretation
Success and failure are closely linked and often determined by small factors.
In this quote, Ernest Shackleton reflects on the precarious nature of success, noting that it can be separated from failure by only a thin line. This observation highlights that many achievements are influenced by small decisions, circumstances, and chance, underscoring the importance of resilience and the impact of seemingly minor details in our quests for success.
In practice
Using this quote during a motivational speech to inspire students to persevere despite challenges.
If I had not some strength of will I would make a first class drunkard.
Now my eyes are turned from the South to the North, and I want to lead one more Expedition. This will be the last... to the North Pole.
(Was he talking about a polar expedition, or marriage?) -Jorge Men Wanted: For hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.
After months of want and hunger, we suddenly found ourselves able to have meals fit for the gods, and with appetites the gods might have envied.
A man must shape himself to a new mark directly the old one goes to ground.
I thought you'd rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.
I dropped out of NYU, moved out of my parent's house, got my own place, and survived on my own. I made music and worked my way from the bottom up.
The key to success is emotional stability.
What I've realized recently is that the difference between me and Mickey Mouse is, there's not a man that can go and say, 'Look, can you get me in any faster? I'm Mickey Mouse.' Whereas I can go in and say, 'Look, could you get me a table faster? I'm Princess Leia.'
Whenever anything is being accomplished, it is being done, I have learned, by a monomaniac with a mission.
If money titles meant anything, I'd play more tournaments. The only thing that means a lot to me is winning. If I have more wins than anybody else and win more majors than anybody else in the same year, then it's been a good year.
Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.
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