Susan Butcher
Dog musher; four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
I feel that because I challenge myself so often, sometimes I will fail. This is, to me, the essence of competition — that there will be both winners and losers. But I have great faith in myself that I will turn this loss into something positive.
Recorded
Academy of Achievement interview, 29 June 1991
source ↗
That's a real challenge and a real issue. Reading the statistics, they had a ranking of quarterbacks, and the statistic was the percentage of a touchdown drive after an interception. To me, that is a telling statistic. The guys that have a high percentage are the guys that have short memories. They talk about having amnesia as a quarterback. You better move along from it. It is hard to say you forget about it, because you want to learn from it. You want to address it. You can't just say it never happened.
Recorded
Academy of Achievement interviewer, Academy of Achievement interview, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 April 2007
source ↗
No one has a 5.0 in real life. In fact, when you finish school, the whole notion of a GPA just goes away. When you're in school, every little mistake is a permanent crack in your windshield. But in the real world, if you're not swerving around and hitting the guard rails every now and then, you're not going fast enough. Your biggest risk isn't failing, it's getting too comfortable.
Recorded
MIT 147th Commencement, MIT News (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), 7 June 2013
source ↗
Li Na
Chinese professional tennis player, 1999–2014
As hard as it's been to come to this decision, I am at peace with it. I have no regrets. I was not supposed to be here in the first place, remember? Not many people believed in my talent and my abilities, yet I found a way to persevere, to prove them (and sometimes myself!) wrong.
Recorded
Open letter, 'My dear friends', Fox Sports Australia, 19 September 2014
source ↗
But after one year of medical school I fled. I realized I would be a very unhappy doctor and I really did not want to be responsible for the inadvertent death of my patients. Leaving medical school was a very unusual decision, especially in Nigeria where it is very difficult to get into medical school. Later, people told me that it had been very courageous of me, but I did not feel courageous at all. What I felt then was not courage but a desire to make an effort. To try.
Recorded
Wellesley College 137th Commencement, 29 May 2015
source ↗
Daniel Ek
Co-founder and former chief executive of Spotify
It was like switching out the engines mid-flight. I remember the day we turned on this free service, had we probably gone on for about six more months, I think we might have died as a company. That was a defining moment and that was as late as 2013. I think every great company has at least three near-death experiences.
Recorded
Slush conference, Helsinki, Music Ally, 30 November 2016
source ↗
Don't be scared of the ‘what ifs,’ because the truth is, the only failure is not trying. That's the only way you can fail. Trying and having it not work out isn't failure.
Recorded
CNBC Make It interview, conducted 2019, 11 February 2021
source ↗
Adam Peaty
British swimmer; Olympic champion 2016 and 2021
When I lost that 100m final I spiralled. I went quite aggressive. It is an Adam I don't really recognise.