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Who really said it

I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed

Spoken by Michael Jordan b. 1963 · Hall-of-Fame basketball player
Verified In copyright

Jordan really said this — word for word — in Nike’s 1997 television commercial “Failure.” The line is documented in Wikiquote’s sourced section, citing Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh (1998), p. 49. One catch: the words were scripted for him by ad copywriter Jamie Barrett, not composed by Jordan himself.

Last verified 16 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Verified quote & credit

“I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed” Michael Jordan, voiceover in Nike's "Failure" commercial (1997), written by Jamie Barrett; documented in Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh (1998), p. 49.

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Nike, Inc. (advertising copy by Jamie Barrett / Wieden+Kennedy)). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Michael Jordan — Hall-of-Fame basketball player · Chicago Bulls. Theme: "I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The Nike “Failure” commercial, 1997

Work
Nike, “Failure” (television commercial)
Aired
1997
Agency
Wieden+Kennedy — copy by Jamie Barrett
Documented in
Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh (1998), p. 49

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

The famous line is the last two sentences; it is almost always quoted apart from the “9,000 shots” opening that sets it up.

Wikiquote: Michael Jordan (sourced)

How we verified this

  • Wikiquote lists the full voiceover in its sourced section, citing Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh (1998), p. 49.
  • Encyclopedia.com’s Nike entry credits “Wieden & Kennedy’s Jamie Barrett” with writing the script for the “9,000 Shots” spot from his own knowledge of Jordan’s career.
  • Sneaker Freaker reproduces the line and dates the “Failure” ad to 1997.
In copyright

The line is scripted advertising copy first published in a 1997 Nike television commercial and reproduced in a 1998 book — well after 1931, so it is in copyright in the United States. Rights rest with Nike, Inc.; the words were written by copywriter Jamie Barrett of Wieden+Kennedy.

Fact-check

Often misattributed

The attribution to Michael Jordan is correct — he really speaks this line. The subtler misconception is authorship: the words are usually presented as Jordan’s own spontaneous wisdom, when they were a professionally written ad script.

Michael Jordan half-true

Jordan spoke the line, but he did not write it. Encyclopedia.com’s Nike entry credits Wieden+Kennedy copywriter Jamie Barrett with writing the “9,000 Shots” script.

General circulation garbled

The quote is routinely trimmed or reworded — the “9,000 shots” and “26 times” setup is dropped and the numbers drift — even though the closing sentences are reproduced accurately by Wikiquote.

Genuinely Michael Jordan’s spoken line from Nike’s 1997 “Failure” commercial — but the words were scripted by copywriter Jamie Barrett, per Encyclopedia.com.

Context

Why the line stuck

Nike’s “Failure” aired in 1997, at the height of Jordan’s fame. Rather than sell shoes with highlights, it counted his failures — missed shots, lost games, blown game-winners — and reframed them as the engine of his success.

The gambit worked partly because the arithmetic was real: copywriter Jamie Barrett estimated Jordan’s missed shots from memory and simple math, and his guess held up when he later checked the numbers.

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Success Failure Resilience

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Michael Jordan (sourced quotes)en.wikiquote.org

Reproduces the full “Failure” voiceover and cites Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh (1998), p. 49.
Nike, Inc. company historyencyclopedia.com

Credits Wieden+Kennedy copywriter Jamie Barrett with writing the “9,000 Shots” script.
Michael Jordan’s ‘Failure’ adsneakerfreaker.com

Article on the 1997 spot, reproducing the closing line.
Nike ‘Failure’ Michael Jordan ad, 1997youtube.com

Video of the commercial itself, where Jordan delivers the voiceover.

The author

About Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan

b. 1963 · Hall-of-Fame basketball player · Chicago Bulls

Michael Jordan (b. 1963) is a six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls and among the most decorated players in basketball history. By the late 1990s he was also one of the world’s most bankable pitchmen, and Nike’s “Failure” spot fused his on-court legend with a message about persistence. The voiceover—delivered in his voice, about his own career—was written for him by Wieden+Kennedy copywriter Jamie Barrett.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Michael Jordan, voiceover in Nike, “Failure” (television commercial, 1997), written by Jamie Barrett; as documented in Robert Goldman and Stephen Papson, Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh (London: Sage, 1998), 49.

MLA (9th ed.)

Nike. “Failure.” Written by Jamie Barrett, Wieden+Kennedy, 1997. Television advertisement.

APA (7th ed.)

Nike. (1997). Failure [Television commercial]. Wieden+Kennedy.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed’?” Last verified 16 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/ive-failed-over-and-over-and-over-again-in-my-life-and-that

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