The Courage to Continue

By now, Churchill’s wit, eloquence, and bluntness has been analyzed ad nauseam over the course of this blog. However, we’ve merely scratched the surface. Admittedly, there are only so many aphoristic snippets from anyone that are worth repeating over and over, but whenever Churchill spoke, he carried with him an impressive delivery style that demonstrated his command of the English language. I encourage you to read/watch some of Churchill’s speeches and try to mimic his presence.

As much as cam be gleaned from raving about Churchill overall, it would be remiss to not analyze a quote this week. This week’s quote has been earmarked for weeks as the final quote. For me, this is the most influential and impactful of the quotes that I’ve analyzed over the course of this blog. Pithy, meaningful, and stylistic, this quotation is the coup de grâce in proving Churchill’s value as a speaker.

Churchill pointed out that “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”. Often attributed to a variety of different speakers, it’s impossible to know definitively whether or not Churchill spoke these words, but they fit his style so well that it is easy enough to accept them as his.

As I’m sure you can probably repeat back with me at this point, Churchill utilizes a two-clause approach in the vast majority of his quotes. In this one, the first clause is again split down the middle. He first asserts that success isn’t final: no matter how rich/happy/whatever you define success as you are, it is fleeting and could disappear at any time. With contrast, he also proclaims that failure is not fatal. One mistake or a simple error, no matter how costly, will not ruin you for life. Similar to success as not being final, Churchill is basically pointing out that failure is also temporary, but he stylistically chooses to describe failure in terms of fatality.

Having established that both success and failure are impermanent conditions, the reader is left in a void – nothing they can accomplish or do (everything is either a success or failure, in some sense) will last. What then, truly matters? Having framed this question for his audience, Churchill goes on to answer it, declaring that the courage to continue is what counts, a lovely bit of alliteration that drives home his point with flair. Success will manifest, but will eventually disappear. You will fail, but it won’t ruin you. As long as you have the motivation, mettle, and moxie to get back up again and keep pushing through, you’ll be just fine. Another variation of this quote describe getting knocked down seven times and getting up eight.

As long as you have the courage to continue, you’ll make it in this world. With that in mind, don’t give up on your hopes and dreams. Don’t play life safe. Go out there and do something big with your life. Make an impact on someone. Change the world. Fail, but learn from your mistakes. Always make sure you have the courage to continue. That’s what counts.