Success Quote by Robert H. Schuller

Schuller’s line dresses ambition in religious clothing, turning risk into a moral obligation. It flips the usual middle-class calculus - stability, respectability, “don’t rock the boat” - and treats caution as the real failure. The clever move is how it redefines success and defeat: “succeed” at doing nothing is exposed as a kind of spiritual fraud, while “fail” at something great becomes proof of courage, maybe even evidence of faith. You can hear the pulpit logic underneath it: action is testimony.

The subtext is distinctly Schuller-era American Christianity, where belief isn’t only about salvation but about selfhood - a gospel of possibility that borrows from self-help without fully admitting it. “Attempt” matters as much as outcome; effort becomes sanctified. That’s rhetorically potent because it offers consolation to the striver: if you swing big and miss, your story can still be righteous. It also quietly pressures the listener: playing it safe isn’t neutral, it’s a choice you’ll have to answer for.

Context matters. Schuller built a media-savvy ministry in the late 20th century, when televangelism and motivational psychology were fusing into a mass-market optimism. This quote fits that blend perfectly: short, quotable, emotionally bracing, built to travel. It’s an antidote to fear, but it’s also a sales pitch for a certain kind of American hope - the kind that treats “greatness” as both a personal destiny and a spiritual duty.