proverb · Words worth keeping
Failures are but mileposts on the road to success.
Failures are but mileposts on the road to success.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying makes failures mileposts on a road to success. It gives setbacks a place within an ongoing attempt rather than treating them as its final meaning.
What the words are saying
The road image offers encouragement but assumes a destination that is not guaranteed. A responsible reading can consider what a setback reveals while allowing a change of aim or an end to the attempt. Not every loss is useful or a required stage of improvement.
Everyday example
Someone reviews a setback and decides whether to continue, revise the aim or seek another path.
When to use it
Use it as qualified encouragement with the destination unpromised.
What it does not mean
No guaranteed eventual success or necessary benefit from every setback is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 779; PDF page 111
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.