Who really said it

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm

Q: Did Winston Churchill say "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm"?

No. This line appears nowhere in Churchill's speeches, books, letters, or diaries. Quote Investigator traces the earliest close match to a 1953 public-speaking manual where it is given anonymously — "Success has been defined as the ability to go from failure to failure…" — and Churchill's own editor Richard Langworth files it under "false attributions."

Not Winston Churchill — an anonymous saying he never spoke or wrote Origin unknown (an anonymous maxim) Earliest documented anonymously in 1953; pinned on Churchill by the 1980s

Disputed Rights unconfirmed

This line appears nowhere in Churchill’s speeches, books, letters, or diaries. Quote Investigator traces the earliest close match to a 1953 public-speaking manual where it is given anonymously — “Success has been defined as the ability to go from failure to failure…” — and Churchill’s own editor Richard Langworth files it under “false attributions.”

Last verified 14 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

For presentations

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” Anonymous saying, misattributed to Winston Churchill — earliest documented anonymously in 1953 (per Quote Investigator).

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Winston Churchill. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.

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In context

Evoking the world of Winston Churchill — British prime minister, statesman & Nobel laureate in Literature. Theme: "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm". 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 "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm". 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 paper trail

Attributed to: Winston Churchill (falsely)
Actual origin: Anonymous maxim
Earliest documented: How to Say a Few Words (1953), p. 109
Verdict: Misattributed — not in Churchill’s canon

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

Popular wording. The earliest documented form is different and anonymous: “Success has been defined as the ability to go from failure to failure…” (1953).

Read the Quote Investigator analysis

How we traced it

The earliest close match is anonymous, in David Guy Powers’ 1953 How to Say a Few Words, per Quote Investigator.
By the 1980s the once-anonymous saying was being credited to Churchill — and, nearly as often, to Abraham Lincoln — with no source in either man’s works, again per Quote Investigator.
Churchill’s estate editor Richard Langworth lists it among the lines the International Churchill Society flags as falsely attributed.

The exact popular wording has no identifiable author — it circulated anonymously and cannot be tied to a specific authored, dated work, so no copyright status can be asserted. The earliest documented form appears anonymously in a 1953 book; whoever coined the maxim is unknown.

Fact-check

Often misattributed

This is one of the most-shared “Churchill” lines that Churchill never said. The wording circulated anonymously for decades before famous names were attached.

Winston Churchill False attribution

No speech, book, letter, or diary by Churchill contains this line. His estate’s editor Richard Langworth places it in the “Red Herrings: False Attributions” section of Churchill By Himself, and the International Churchill Society lists it among quotes he never said.

Abraham Lincoln Also unsupported

An almost equal number of online sources credit Lincoln, but Quote Investigator found no support in the Lincoln archives either.

The earliest documented version is anonymous: a 1953 public-speaking manual, How to Say a Few Words, phrased it “Success has been defined as the ability to go from failure to failure…” with no author named — per Quote Investigator.

Context

Why this gets pinned on Churchill

The sentiment — that resilience matters more than an unbroken record of wins — is exactly the kind of pithy, forceful line that sounds Churchillian, which is precisely why it drifted to him. Sayings feel more authoritative when attached to a famous orator, so an anonymous 1950s maxim about public speaking gradually acquired a marquee name.

By the 1980s the once-anonymous line was being confidently credited to Churchill (and, almost as often, to Abraham Lincoln), even though it survives in neither man’s documented words.

An anonymous maxim in search of a famous mouth — and Churchill’s was the one it found.

Explore

Filed under

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

Resilience Success

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.

Success Is Going from Failure to Failure Without Losing Your Enthusiasmquoteinvestigator.com

The definitive investigation: earliest 1953 anonymous appearance and the later Churchill/Lincoln misattributions.

Quotes Falsely Attributed to Churchillwinstonchurchill.org

The International Churchill Society lists this line among sayings Churchill never actually said.

Richard Langworth: What Churchill Really Saidrichardlangworth.com

Richard Langworth’s authoritative compilation files this saying under false attributions.

Winston Churchill quote pagebrainyquote.com

An example of the popular (uncited) attribution that spread the misquote.

The misattributed figure

About Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

1874–1965 · British prime minister, statesman & Nobel laureate in Literature

Sir Winston Churchill led Britain through the Second World War and won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical writing and oratory. Precisely because he was such a prolific and quotable writer, he has become one of the internet’s great “quote magnets” — anonymous aphorisms are routinely pinned on him. His own estate’s editor, Richard Langworth, keeps a running catalogue of the many sayings falsely put in his mouth, and this is one of them.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Quote Investigator

Earliest documented in David Guy Powers, How to Say a Few Words (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1953), 109, where the saying is presented anonymously; investigated in Garson O’Toole, “Success Is Going from Failure to Failure Without Losing Your Enthusiasm,” Quote Investigator, June 28, 2014.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm’?” Last verified 14 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/success-consists-of-going-from-failure-to-failure-without