11 Millionaires and Billionaires on How Failure Can Help You Get Rich

Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

If you’ve ever failed at anything, you know how disappointing it feels, and you may even wonder if it’s worth trying again in the future. This is why we compiled quotes from millionaires and billionaires on failure so that you can see how setbacks are essential when trying to get rich.

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Here are 11 quotes from millionaires and billionaires on how failure can help you build wealth and eventually get rich.

Mark Zuckerberg on the Freedom To Fail

“The greatest successes come from having the freedom to fail.”

This quote comes from a commencement speech that Zuckerberg gave at Harvard in 2017. The basic premise is that people should be allowed to take chances that come with the possibility of failure. If you want to get rich, you’ll have to accept that things won’t always work out on the first try.

James Altucher on Embracing Failure

“Only failure of omission is real failure. Because if you don’t do something, you can’t learn from your experience. Every experience is a teacher, filled with enough lessons to carry you to the next level of your education in any field.”

Altucher shared this insight in his book “Skip The Line” when discussing the various ideas that helped him build wealth over the years. Failure is about gaining experience so that you can learn more. If you never experience failure then it’s likely because you’re not taking on enough risks.

Learn More: I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: I Followed These 3 Dave Ramsey Rules To Get Rich

Dwayne Johnson on Failure as a Stepping Stone

“Failure is not an option. It’s just a step.”

Failures shouldn’t be seen as a roadblock, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had to experience many failures before becoming one of the most recognized actors in the world. Failure can be a stepping stone in your journey toward building wealth.

Ellen DeGeneres on Taking Chances

“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.”

Not every investment idea or business plan goes according to plan, and it’s common to experience failure. Knowing that you won’t always be successful should inspire you to keep on going when building your wealth.

Oprah Winfrey on Failure Being Movement

“There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.”

Sometimes, a setback indicates that you should pivot or change gears. When you’re working on a business or looking for investment opportunities, you should view setbacks as a sign that you may have to change course. The most important thing to remember is that there’s a difference between changing gears and giving up. When you give up or quit, you’ll likely never experience being rich.

Elon Musk on Failure Being an Option

“Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

If you haven’t failed recently, then it could likely be because you haven’t been taking enough chances. When you’re trying to get rich, you won’t always succeed, which should be expected.

Bill Gates on the Issues With Success

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”

You want to remember that you sometimes get lucky with investments or business ideas. You can’t let success go to your head too early in your journey. To get rich, you’ll have to experience a mix of success and failure.

Steve Jobs on Getting Fired

“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

When you’re building wealth, you may lose a job or experience some sort of major setback that could temporarily delay your progress. Instead of letting this bring you down, you can view this as an opportunity to become a beginner again. You’re bound to lose jobs and have investments fall through as you build wealth.

Mark Cuban on Getting It Right

“It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because all that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.”

There will be many times when an investment or business idea doesn’t work out. The trick to building wealth is to remember to keep on trying instead of letting setbacks bring you down. All that matters is that you get it right in the end, which may take a few tries.

Warren Buffett on Making Mistakes

“If you played golf and you hit a hole in one on every hole, nobody would play golf, it’s no fun. You’ve got to hit a few in the rough and then get out of the rough. That makes it interesting.”

If getting rich was easy, then everyone would do it immediately. The reality is that getting things right with your investments won’t always be a success since many external factors are involved. What matters most is that you keep on going despite making mistakes along the way.

Sir Richard Branson on Not Fearing Failure

“Nobody gets everything right the first time. Business is like a giant game of chess — you have to learn quickly from your mistakes. Successful entrepreneurs don’t fear failure; they learn from it and move on.”

One of the main takeaways from these quotes about failure should be that nobody becomes a success on their first attempt. You have to keep on trying different business ventures, investment ideas and plans as you try to build wealth.

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