"Adventure upon all the tickets in the lottery, and you lose for certain and the greater the number of your tickets the nearer your approach to this certainty."

Failure

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Failure as articulated by Adam Smith. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Failure provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Adam Smith

Adam Smith was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by many as the "father of economics", or the "father of capitalism", he is primarily known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, often abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is regarded as his magnum opus, marking the inception of modern economic scholarship as a comprehensive system and an academic discipline. Smith refuses to explain the distribution of wealth and power in terms of divine will and instead appeals to natural, political, social, economic, legal, environmental and technological factors, as well as the interactions among them. The work is notable for its contribution to economic theory, particularly in its exposition of the concept of absolute advantage.

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More by Adam Smith

"Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things."

— Adam Smith
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"Resentment seems to have been given us by nature for a defense, and for a defense only! It is the safeguard of justice and the security of innocence."

— Adam Smith
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"This is one of those cases in which the imagination is baffled by the facts."

— Adam Smith
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"The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains his frauds and corrects his negligence."

— Adam Smith
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More about Failure

"Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life."

— Michael Savage
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"There is no failure except in no longer trying."

— Elbert Hubbard
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"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out."

— Benjamin Franklin
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"No, it is not only our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that, it is futile to attempt a picnic in Eden."

— Elizabeth Bowen
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