My 39 French Quotes About Success

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| By : Christine
I’m a retired 65 years old and I live in western Paris. Born in Alsace, I have always lived in this beautiful region of eastern France. Passionate about travel, culture and literature. Find me on Linkedin.

Table Of Contents

Bonjour les amis,

Today we’re going to talk about some more interesting quotes.

In my previous article, I gave you my French Quotes About Art.

This time we’re going to talk about French quotes on success.

Enjoy your reading

— Christine

Read also: 29 French Quotes About Food

French quotes about success

Here’s my personal selection of 39 French quotes about success

1-“Le succès n’est pas la clé du bonheur. Le bonheur est la clé du succès. Si vous aimez ce que vous faites, vous réussirez.” – Albert Schweitzer – philosopher

Translation in English : Success Is Not The Key To Happiness. Happiness Is The Key To Success. If You Love What You Do, You Will Succeed.”

My personal interpretation :         For this philosopher, success is found in what we do with passion and love.                         


2- “La volonté permet de grimper sur les cimes ; sans volonté on reste au pied de la montagne.” – Alain – philosopher

Translation in English : Willpower enables us to climb the peaks; without willpower we remain at the foot of the mountain.”

My personal interpretation : For Alain, willpower enables us to succeed in everything we undertake.   

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3- “Le succès est une conséquence et non un but.” – Gustave Flaubert- Writer

Translation in English : “Success is a consequence, not a goal.”

My personal interpretation :    For this writer, success should not be pursued at all costs. It comes according to our actions, so we should learn to give time to time.                              


4-“La victoire appartient au joueur qui commet l’avant-dernière erreur.” – Sacha Guitry – actor           

Translation in English : Victory belongs to the player who makes the penultimate mistake.”

My personal interpretation : This quote shows that despite our mistakes, we all have the chance to succeed.


5-“Il n’y a pas de réussite facile ni d’échecs définitifs.” – Marcel Proust – Writer

Translation in English :”There are no easy successes and no definitive failures.”

My personal interpretation : With this quote, we understand that success is not an easy thing. It takes effort, and we shouldn’t take our failures to mean that we’ve stopped short of success.                                 


6-“C’est la constance et la persévérance qui mènent au succès, bien plus souvent que la rapidité.” – Jean de La Fontaine – Writer  

Translation in English :It’s constancy and perseverance that lead to success, far more often than speed.

My personal interpretation :   For Jean, when you’re consistent and persistent in what you do, the doors to success open.


7-“Rien de grand ne se fait sans passion.” – Honoré de Balzac – Writer

Translation in English :Nothing great is achieved without passion.

My personal interpretation : To be successful in life, we need great passion, to which we add determination, constancy and perseverance.                                 


8-“Le succès est souvent le fruit de l’audace.” – Alexandre Dumas- Writer

Translation in English : Success is often the fruit of audacity.

My personal interpretation :  Being bold in our actions is a great advantage for success.                        


9-“La gloire est le soleil des morts.” – Honoré de Balzac – Writer

Translation in English :”Glory is the sun of the dead.”

My personal interpretation :  With this quote, we can understand that some people seek success and glory even after their death.                                


10-“La victoire appartient aux plus persévérants.” – Napoléon Bonaparte – French statesman

Translation in English :Victory belongs to the most persevering.

My personal interpretation :   With this quote, we understand that perseverance in our actions pushes us towards victory.                              


11-“Si vous avez un rêve, donnez-lui une chance de se réaliser.” – Richard Devos – businessman

Translation in English :”If you have a dream, give it a chance to come true.”

My personal interpretation : This thought motivates us to put everything at our disposal to achieve our dreams.                                 


12-“La vraie éloquence se moque de l’éloquence, la vraie morale se moque de la morale.” – Blaise Pascal – Writer

Translation in English : True eloquence mocks eloquence, true morality mocks morality.”

My personal interpretation :  For this writer, it would be better to look for true eloquence and true morality around us to better evolve.                                


13-“La vie est un défi à relever, un bonheur à mériter, une aventure à tenter.” – Mère Teresa – catholic nun

Translation in English : Life is a challenge to be met, a happiness to be earned, an adventure to be attempted.

My personal interpretation :    With this quote, she urges human beings to look for love and passion in everything they do to deserve happiness.                


14-“Il ne faut pas toujours tourner la page, il faut parfois la déchirer.” – André Gide – Writer

Translation in English :You don’t always have to turn the page, you sometimes have to tear it up.”

My personal interpretation :  With this quote, he suggests that it’s always a good idea to tear up life’s bad experiences in order to evolve better. 

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15-“La victoire appartient aux plus persévérants.” – Napoléon Bonaparte – Actor

Translation in English : Victory belongs to the most persevering.”

My personal interpretation :  For Napoleon, perseverance is the key to victory                                


16-“L’important n’est pas de convaincre, mais de donner à réfléchir.” – Bernard Werber – Writer

Translation in English :”The important thing is not to convince, but to give food for thought.”

My personal interpretation :  For this French writer, convincing everything that moves around you is not the solution. Sometimes, it’s better to allow the other person to think, so as to better understand in return.        


17-“Tout vient à point à qui sait attendre.” – Pierre Corneille – Writer

Translation in English : All things come to those who wait.

My personal interpretation : Patience is a virtue that leads to success.                                 


18-“Ne nous empressons pas de réussir. Voyons le bon côté des choses : ne pas réussir est parfois la plus brillante des réussites.” – Jacques Brel – Actor

Translation in English : “Let’s not rush to succeed. Let’s look on the bright side: not succeeding is sometimes the brightest of successes.”

My personal interpretation : For this actor, there’s no need to be in a hurry to achieve success. The important thing is to learn from everything that happens along the way to happiness.                                 


19-“Le succès, c’est se promouvoir soi-même sans écraser les autres.” – Françoise Giroud – Writer

Translation in English : Success is promoting yourself without crushing others.

My personal interpretation : Through this thought, we can understand that it’s possible to achieve success and happiness without hurting those around us.                                  


20-“Ne jugez pas chaque jour par la récolte que vous faites, mais par les graines que vous plantez.” – Robert Louis Stevenson – Poet

Translation in English :Judge each day not by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”

My personal interpretation : With this quote, we can understand that life can be compared to the seeds we plant, which take time to harvest.         


French Quotes about success, perseverance and courage  from famous International figures:                

21-“L’échec est le fondement de la réussite.” – Lao-Tseu – Philosoph

Translation in English :Failure is the foundation of success

My personal interpretation :You can’t succeed by failing in life                                  


22-“La persévérance, c’est ce qui rend l’impossible possible, le possible probable, et le probable réalisé.” – Robert Half – Writer

Translation in English : Perseverance is what makes the impossible possible, the possible probable, and the probable realized.

My personal interpretation : When we are persistent in what we do, we have the courage that makes the impossible possible.                                  


23-“La persévérance, c’est ce qui fait la différence entre un succès et un échec.” – Benjamin Franklin – Writer

Translation in English : Perseverance is what makes the difference between success and failure.

My personal interpretation : Perseverance is the distinguishing element between success and failure.   

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24-“Le succès, c’est d’aller d’échec en échec sans perdre son enthousiasme.” – Winston Churchill – statesman

Translation in English : Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

My personal interpretation : To be successful, you must be prepared to fail.                                  


25-“L’obstacle renforce la détermination. Celui qui s’est fixé un but n’en change pas.” – Léonard De Vinci – Artist

Translation in English : Obstacles strengthen determination. He who has set himself a goal does not change it.

My personal interpretation :  Failure and obstacles are experiences that should strengthen a man’s determination.                                


26-“Le secret du succès est de comprendre le point de vue de l’autre.” – Henry Ford- Pulblic personality

Translation in English : “The secret of success is to understand the other person’s point of view.”

My personal interpretation : To be successful, it’s important to know how to take the point of view of others. Listening to others is important for success.                                  


27-“Il n’y a point de génie sans un grain de folie.” – Sénèque – Writer

Translation in English :There Is No Genius Without A Grain Of Madness.”

My personal interpretation : Every talented man has weaknesses.                                  


28-“Pour réussir, votre désir de réussite doit être plus grand que votre peur de l’échec.” – Bill Cosby – Actor

Translation in English : To succeed, your desire to succeed must be greater than your fear of failure.

My personal interpretation : To achieve happiness and success in life, your desire to succeed must be greater than your fear of failure.


29-“C’est dans l’effort que l’on trouve la satisfaction et non dans la réussite. Un plein effort est une complète victoire.” – Mahatma Gandhi – political leader

Translation in English : Satisfaction Is Found In Effort, Not Success. Full Effort Is Complete Victory.

My personal interpretation :  With this thought, we understand that it takes effort, concentration and perseverance to achieve success.                                 


30-“Les difficultés ne visent pas à nuire mais à instruire.” – Thomas Carlyle – writer

Translation in English : Difficulties are not intended to harm, but to instruct.

My personal interpretation : The difficulties we go through allow us to grow       

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31-“Le succès n’est pas seulement le but final. C’est aussi la façon de l’atteindre.” – Napoleón Hill – writer

Translation in English :Success isn’t just the end goal. It’s also how you achieve it.

My personal interpretation :  For him, success is the path that leads to that door.                                


32-“La plus grande gloire n’est pas de ne jamais tomber, mais de se relever à chaque chute.” – Nelson Mandela – Politician

Translation in English : The greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall.

My personal interpretation : For Mandela, glory lies in failure                                  


33-“La meilleure façon de prédire l’avenir est de le créer.” – Peter Drucker – writer

Translation in English : The best way to predict the future is to create it.

My personal interpretation : For Peter, creativity is the key to success.                                 


34-“Je n’ai pas échoué. J’ai simplement trouvé 10 000 solutions qui ne fonctionnent pas.” – Thomas Edison – Scientist

Translation in English :”I haven’t failed. I’ve simply found 10,000 solutions that don’t work.

My personal interpretation : Thomas believes in learning from failure and perseverance.                                 


35-“Il n’est pas de réussite facile ni d’échecs définitifs.” – George Bernard Shaw – Actor

Translation in English :There are no easy successes and no definitive failures.

My personal interpretation : With this quote, we understand that no success is easy.                     


36-“N’ayez pas peur de l’échec. C’est ainsi que l’on apprend à réussir.” – Bill Gates – entrepreneur

Translation in English : Don’t be afraid of failure. That’s how you learn to succeed.

My personal interpretation : For Bill, it’s failure that prepares us for success, so we shouldn’t be afraid of failure.                                 


37-“Le succès consiste à aller d’échec en échec sans perdre son enthousiasme.” – Winston Churchill – Statesman

Translation in English :”Success consists in going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

My personal interpretation :  For this thinker, it’s important to maintain one’s courage and determination in spite of life’s ups and downs. Failure must not be an end in itself.                    


38-“L’échec n’est qu’une opportunité pour recommencer de nouveau, mais cette fois de manière plus intelligente.” – Henry Ford – Entrepreneur       

Translation in English :Failure is just an opportunity to start again, but this time in a smarter way.

My personal interpretation : Failure should be seen as an opportunity to learn and do better.                     


39-“L’échec est l’épice qui donne sa saveur au succès.” – Truman Capote- Writer

Translation in English : Failure is the spice that gives success its flavor

My personal interpretation : There is no success without failure, we should live with it because failure is a part of success.

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Here you are!

I’m at the end of my quotes on success.



People also ask about French quotes about success:

What are popular French quotes?  

Popular quotes in French include:

  • “You never bathe in the same river twice” – Heraclitus
  • “I know that I know nothing” – Socrates

What is a famous quote about success?  

The quote about success that I suggest is:

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

What is a French courage quote?  

The French quote on courage is:

“To flee: to take one’s courage in both feet.” – Sénèque

What is a French quote about perseverance?   

My quote on perseverance is:

“One conquers by dint of perseverance.”


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