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December 30, 2012
Work/Businesses

“Success is a ladder which cannot be climbed with your hands in your pockets”

"Success is a ladder which cannot be climbed with your hands in your pockets" is a proverb that means that one should work hard and take initiative in order to be successful. "Oh no,…

October 15, 2012
Work/Businesses

“Success is dependent upon the glands—sweat glands”

"Success is dependent upon the glands -- sweat glands" means that success comes from hard work ("sweat"). Several newspapers in 1931 published the line: "A physician says…

July 27, 2013
Work/Businesses

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom”

General George Smith Patton, Jr. (1995-1945) was known as "America's Fightingest General" for his role in World War II. The movie Patton (1970) brought attention to his life and his…

November 1, 2017
Work/Businesses

“Success is like a fart. It only bothers people when it’s not their own”

"Success is like a fart. It only bothers people when it's not their own" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. "J. B. Steam's Homily: Success is like a…

November 29, 2016
Work/Businesses

“Success is like being pregnant” (joke)

"Success is like being pregnant. Everyone congratulates you, but nobody knows how many times you were fucked" is a saying that has been printed on many images. "Success is like…

November 12, 2019
Work/Businesses

“Success is normally found in a pile of mistakes”

"Success is normally found in a pile of mistakes" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. American author, keynote speaker, angel investor and entrepreneur Tim…

April 6, 2015
Work/Businesses

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success”

American business executive (and later politician) Herman Cain said in Parade Magazine in October 1996: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what…

November 5, 2014
Work/Businesses

“Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction”

"Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction" was said by Chicago newspaper writer Al Bernstein in 1975. The quotation made Reader's Digest magazine and…

May 21, 2019
Work/Businesses

“Success is outliving your failures”

"Success is outliving your failures" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has been credited to American humorist Erma Bombeck (1927-1996), but it's uncertain…

September 2, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Success is relative. The more success, the more relatives”

"Success is relative. The more success, the more relatives" is a jocular saying that has been printed on several images. "The way I see it, success is relative. The more success, the…

June 2, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Success is something that always comes faster to the man your wife almost married”

"SUCCESS: Something that always comes faster to the man your wife almost married" is a saying about success that was printed in a 1958 newspaper. "Success is something that always…

March 18, 2014
Work/Businesses

“Success is that old ABC: Ability, Breaks and Courage”

"Success is that old ABC: Ability, Breaks and Courage" has been credited to American businessman and architect Charles Luckman (1909-1999). It's not certain in what form or when…

April 23, 2014
Work/Businesses

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss in enthusiasm”

Success is often made after many failures have occurred first. "A boy never knows how to succeed till he learns how to fail without being discouraged" was cited in print in 1904.…

October 14, 2013
Work/Businesses

“Success is the art of making your mistakes when no one is looking”

Entry in progress -- B.P. Google BooksMay 1917, American Cookery, pg. 768, col. 2:Good Rule for SuccessSuccess is the art of making your mistakes when no one is looking. — Life. TwitterShort…

December 12, 2014
Work/Businesses

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out”

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out" is frequently -- and incorrectly -- credited to American self-help author Robert Collier (1885-1950). Collier's…

March 1, 2015
Work/Businesses

“Success is when your signature becomes an autograph”

"Work so hard that one day your signature will be called an autograph" and "Success is when your signature becomes an autograph" have been printed on many posters. The sayings…

July 10, 2018
Work/Businesses

“Success occurs when your dreams get bigger than your excuses”

Entry in progress -- B.P. Awaken the Greatness Within (September 6, 2017)35 Motivational Quotes On ExcusesBy Asad Meah(...)20. “Success occurs when your dreams get bigger than your excuses.”…

June 14, 2015
Work/Businesses

“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go”

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go" is a saying that has been printed on many posters and that was first published in several newspapers in 1930.…

June 8, 2015
Work/Businesses

“Successful entrepreneurs are givers and not takers of positive energy”

"Successful entrepreneurs are givers and not takers of positive energy" is a saying that has been printed on many posters. "More often than not, successful entrepreneurs are givers…

October 24, 2017
Work/Businesses

“Successful pianists know the key to success”

People often seek the key (or keys) to success. "Successful pianists know the key to success" is a joke that was posted on the website Pun of the Day on August 10, 2017. Other sayings…

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BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology.

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