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Mistakes Quotes

On mistakes made, owned, and left behind.

This collection focuses on mistakes as part of learning - practicing a new piece and inevitably getting parts of it wrong along the way. Related reading: Better.

The mark of a wise person isn't never making mistakes - everyone makes plenty of them. Rather, it's the ability to quickly admit - and fix - them!

Quotes by Whitney Tilson

People make mistakes. And one of the mistakes that the United States consistently made was that it could intervene and somehow adjust people's governments, especially in the Middle East.

Quotes by Wesley Clark

I like to practise. With every new piece, you make mistakes and you learn. So it's important to get on and have another go.

Quotes by Wayne McGregor

The nature of a democracy consists to an important degree in the right of the people to criticize problems and mistakes.

Quotes by Walter Ulbricht

Specialists are people who always repeat the same mistakes.

Quotes by Walter Gropius

Amazon makes mistakes, including launching a smartphone in 2014 that was a flop and to which I gave a poor review.

Quotes by Walt Mossberg

When a system is stable, telling the worker about mistakes is only tampering.

Quotes by W. Edwards Deming

People don't like to make mistakes.

Quotes by W. Edwards Deming

I don't think Apple would be making the computers, the iPhone, being the top electronics company it is, if Steve Jobs didn't have some regrets over mistakes he made and learned to overcome them.

Quotes by Vitor Belfort

Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.

Quotes by Virginia Satir

Shakespeare had found language for the agony of living with one's own mistakes. There were words for finding yourself isolated with your failures. Phrases for discovering that you were wrong, all, all wrong, wrong, wrong.

Quotes by Virginia Euwer Wolff

All humans make mistakes. But there is no room or allowance in the fevered world of conspiracy theorists for mistakes, human errors, anomalies, or plain incompetence, though the latter, from the highest levels on down, is endemic to our society.

Quotes by Vincent Bugliosi

When you lose, you're more motivated. When you win, you fail to see your mistakes and probably no one can tell you anything.

Quotes by Venus Williams

I have learned from my mistakes and become older.

Quotes by Varg Vikernes

Learn from my mistakes and you don't have to make them yourself.

Quotes by Vanilla Ice

We all make mistakes, and we all need second chances. For youth in foster care, these mistakes are often purposeful - if not consciously so; a way to test the strength of a bond and establish trust in a new...

Quotes by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

There has to be room for people to make mistakes and lead their own lives.

Quotes by Vanessa Kerry

We all have made mistakes in life, but we need to leave that behind and move on.

Quotes by Upasana Singh

You can't make mistakes against top guys.

Quotes by Urijah Faber

Just because you are on TV, it doesn't mean you're not going to make mistakes.

Quotes by Tyler James Williams

Frequently Asked Questions

What do these "mistakes" quotes reflect on?
They range from a critique of foreign policy decisions to the value of making mistakes while learning a craft, and the idea that owning up to mistakes is part of moving on.
Is there a quote criticizing U.S. foreign policy?
Yes — one speaker shares their own view that a mistake "the United States consistently made was that it could intervene and somehow adjust people's governments, especially in the Middle East." This is presented as that speaker's personal opinion.
Is there a quote about learning through practice?
There is. One speaker says, "I like to practise. With every new piece, you make mistakes and you learn," adding, "it's important to get on and have another go."
Is there a quote about owning up to mistakes?
Yes — one quote suggests that "Mistakes, once owned, apologized for, and buried, need to be an accepted part of life." Browse more reflective lines on our Better and Life quotes pages.
Is there a quote criticizing a government's handling of the Iraq war?
Yes. One speaker states their own opinion that "The Administration has made critical mistakes and errors in judgment leading up to the war in Iraq," adding a criticism that "The President refuses to acknowledge these mistakes." This is presented strictly as that speaker's own political opinion. For more, see our Always and Good quotes pages.

The recurring idea is that mistakes, once genuinely owned and apologized for, should be allowed to stay buried rather than relitigated forever. See also Good and Life.