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I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.
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“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”

Booker T. Washington

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Source
Up from Slavery
Date
1901
Meaning

Meaning of “I have learned that success is to be…”

Achievement is measured against the difficulty of the path, not just the final position, making endurance and progress part of the definition of success.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Up from Slavery, Chapter II, “Boyhood Days,” Project Gutenberg #2376. Washington reflects on the obstacles facing Black youth after slavery and measures success by difficulty overcome rather than by final social position; the historical racial context is kept explicit.

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Courage Quotes About Acting Despite FearEffortGoalsHard TimesHard WorkHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLifeLife AdviceMotivation For LifeMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistenceNever Give UpPatiencePerseverance Quotes About Sustained EffortResilience Quotes About Recovery & AdaptationStrengthSuccessMotivation For Work
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“The art of life is more like the wrestler’s art than the dancer’s.”

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Life requires readiness for unexpected pressure, closer to maintaining balance in a contest than performing a fully choreographed sequence.

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We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success.
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“We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success.”

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Failure can expose what does not work and force closer observation, turning setbacks into information that uncomplicated success may never reveal.

Source details

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Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business.
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“Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business.”

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The sentence presents business success as a compound result of sustained energy and persistence rather than a single clever idea or fortunate moment.

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The battle of life is, in most cases, fought up-hill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honour.
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“The battle of life is, in most cases, fought up-hill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honour.”

Samuel Smiles · Self-Help · 1859
Meaning & context

Difficulty is not treated as evidence that effort is pointless; resistance can be part of the process by which achievement acquires substance.

Source details

Self-Help, Chapter XI, “Self-Culture—Facilities and Difficulties,” Project Gutenberg #935. The passage comes immediately after Hodson’s reflection on resolutely doing difficult duties and continues by presenting difficulty as a stimulus to people of resolution and valour.

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The majority of successful men are persons who have had difficulties to overcome, problems to master; and, in overcoming those difficulties and mastering those problems, they have gained strength of mind and a clearness of vision that few persons who have lived a life of ease have been able to attain.
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“The majority of successful men are persons who have had difficulties to overcome, problems to master; and, in overcoming those difficulties and mastering those problems, they have gained strength of mind and a clearness of vision that few persons who have lived a life of ease have been able to attain.”

Booker T. Washington · My Larger Education · 1911
Meaning & context

Difficulty can train judgment when it has to be actively mastered; the claimed benefit comes from the capacities developed while solving problems, not from hardship being desirable in itself.

Source details

My Larger Education, Chapter I, “Learning from Men and Things”; Project Gutenberg #73923. Washington connects repeated problem-solving with strength of mind and clearer judgment, contrasting developed capacity with an untested life of ease.

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