Success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblances to merit.... They confound the brilliance of the firmament with the star-shaped footprints of a duck in the mud.
Success is a beast. And it actually puts the emphasis on the wrong thing. You get away with more instead of looking within.
I've noticed, in the ebbs and flows of success and popularity, so much of it is fraudulent and to be distrusted.
Falsehood is never so successful as when she baits her hook with truth, and no opinions so fatally mislead us as those that are not wholly wrong, as no watches so effectively deceive the wearer as those that are sometimes right.
If you wanna be famous, then it's okay if the music is fake, because fame isn't real.
In order to succeed in the world people do their upmost to appear successful.
Sometimes it seems that we are successful only because we have not tried hard enough for our best. We do the hard thing, and one day we succeed, and many things are made plain to us.
Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.
Even if feminists tear down the bogeyman patriarchy and dominate men in all areas of life, they still won't be happy because deep down, they'll know it's a false victory. Achievement obtained by lowering your opponent to your standard as opposing to rising and surpassing their standard of output isn't achievement. It's mediocrity.
It is not the destiny of Black America to repeat white America's mistakes. But we will, if we mistake the trappings of success in a sick society for the signs of a meaningful life.
I was on paper earning more money and having more success than I'd ever had. And it was also the most miserable I've ever been. When those things collided, I realised something was off. That's when I started poking around to figure out what was wrong.
Those who try to achieve success without hard work ultimately deceive themselves-or worse-deceive others.
Scratching people where they itch and addressing their 'felt needs' is a stratagem of the poor steward of the oracles of God. This was the recipe for success for the false prophets of the Old Testament.
Everyone saw me on TV or read articles, and it was all about my great marriage, the white picket fence, all this success and my perfect life. But behind the scenes, it was a struggle.
It may be remarked in passing that success is an ugly thing. Men are deceived by its false resemblences to merit.
If the world is telling you you're successful, but you don't feel it, you might as well have failed.
One needs to be successful in the conventional way to learn just how far away from success it may be.
Success is a very hideous thing. Its false resemblance to merit deceives men.
Honestly, a lot of people thought that I was on top of the world selling so many millions of records, and that this is the life that everybody would want, but I never got to enjoy any of my success.
The idea that only the swaggering, all-knowing, and ruthlessly ambitious succeed is a lie. One that has discouraged so many people with so much potential - and worse, encouraged many more to crash and burn.
It is a bad thing for a nation to raise and to admire a false standard of success; and there can be no falser standard than that set by the deification of material well-being in and for itself.
It's amazing how much credit you can take, if you don't care about accomplishing anything.
Anyone who wants to sell you overnight success or wealth is not interested in your success; they are interested in your money.
