Your Biggest Mistake Quotes & Sayings

The biggest mistake you can make in trying to talk convincingly is to put your highest priority on expressing your ideas and feelings. What most people really want is to be listened to, respected, and understood. The moment people see that they are being understood, they become more motivated to understand your point of view. — David D. Burns

Thinking outside the box only works if you know everything inside it. Don't compare your chapter 1 to someone else's chapter 20. That's the biggest mistake young entrepreneurs do and end up getting disappointed. The ones you call conventional are the business models, which have been optimized and modified at various stages over a long period of time. You need to work hard and be a bit more patient. — Nitin Sharma

My own success was attended by quite a few failures along the way. But I refused to make the biggest mistake of all: worrying too much about making mistakes. — Kemmons Wilson

My biggest past mistakes have been when I made decisions out of ego rather than spirit. When I acted too quickly. When I wasn't contemplative or reflective or prayerful enough, and I ended up making what I would only later see to be unwise decisions. — Marianne Williamson

Is there water still on Mars? I don't have a view on that because we don't have good data to answer that question. One of the biggest mistakes you can make if you're a scientist is to think you know the answer, or wish for a certain answer, before you actually have it. — Steve Squyres

It does get frustrating having the cameras on you all the time, because if you make mistakes, then the whole world knows about it. Like, it's not just your family and friends, it's everyone. Sometimes I'll watch myself on TV and ask myself, What am I doing, I am the biggest geek. My friends will call me and say, "OMG. Have you seen that commercial of you, you look like such a nerd." — Miley Cyrus

The biggest fashion mistake people make is they try to hang on to their youth. Embrace who you are now-your body, your lifestyle, your coloring. — Joseph Abboud

The biggest mistake that parents make, is believing that their assigned task in life is to teach their children and to guide them in every situation of their children's lives. The truth is that it is the task of parents to both learn from their children and to guide them as well. Parenting is a relationship that goes both ways, from the moment your child is born, you learn from that person, and in fact, your lessons begin long before your child's lessons do. Later on, when you've learned a great deal already, then they begin to learn from you. Throughout our lives, it is a give-and-take relationship, in many ways. Our assigned task is to learn from our children, and to guide and teach them. Their assigned task is to learn from us, and also to teach us. — C. JoyBell C.

Bah! Suffragettes. I've no time for suffragettes. They made the biggest mistake in history. They went for equality. They should have gone for power! — Jennifer Worth

The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all students as if they were variants of the same individual and thus to feel justified in teaching them all the same subjects the same way. — Howard Gardner

The man who does things makes mistakes, but he doesn't make the biggest mistake of all-doing nothing. — Benjamin Franklin

The biggest mistake of my life was taking a military education. — Robert E.Lee

But I thought you were home to stay," she said, exhaustion clear in her voice.
"Ellie, you were my home." He looked down at the sleeping infant. "But I can't stick around and watch you make the biggest mistake of your life. — Lindsey Brookes

The press keep asking me, 'What was your biggest mistake?' But if I had made a big mistake, they'd all be writing about it, wouldn't they? — Ken Livingstone

You have terrible judgment. You're in bed with the last man in the world you should trust, and you're about to make the biggest mistake of your life." "Is this your idea of seductive banter?" "I thought I should give you one last warning. Now you're doomed." "Oh, good. — Lisa Kleypas

As an artist, what do you think the biggest mistake you can make is? My vote for the biggest mistake is being afraid of making mistakes. — Richard Rogers

The biggest mistake in puppy training, which is also the most common one, is punishing the dog for bad behavior. — Vivaco Books

Thinking is the biggest mistake a dancer could make. You have to feel. — Michael Jackson

The biggest mistake you can make in your life is to be always afraid of making a mistake. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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He wasn't much for erasing anyway. Sometimes your mistakes showed you the really interesting connections between your brain, your hand, and your heart, the ones you might otherwise never know were there. They were important even if you had no idea what they meant.
Like now, for instance. Coming back here might be the biggest mistake he'd ever made. But it might also be the most important thing he'd ever done. — Poppy Z. Brite

The biggest mistake we make in confusing a concept with Reality is in ... the separation of self and other. — Steve Hagen

The biggest mistake coaches make is taking borderline cases and trying to save them. I'm not talking about grades now, I'm talking about character. I want to know before a boy enrolls about his home life, and what his parents want him to be. — Bear Bryant

The biggest mistakes most parents make (and believe me, I'm guilty of these too) seem very inconsequential. They're little, day-to-day things that, at the moment, don't seem like a big deal. — Andy Andrews

I think the biggest mistake anyone can make is trying to be the next someone, and try to mimic or copy someone who is already out there because you have to produce your own personality and your own sound, and go from there. That is something all great broadcasters have been able to do. — Joe Bowen

One of the biggest mistakes humans make is to believe there is only one way. There are many diverse paths leading to what you call God. — Oprah Winfrey

If, even after you make what everyone considers to be the biggest mistake of your life, you stop thinking it's a mistake and may be see it as the best thing that ever could have happened. — Jodi Picoult

Assumptions can blind you; hypotheses can guide you. Good negotiators expect surprises; great negotiators reveal the surprises. Negotiation should be seen as a process of discovery. If you think you're too smart to discover anything new, then you will be a terrible negotiator. Until you know who or what you are dealing with, you are actually in the dark and should proceed with caution. Listening well does not come easily to most. By truly listening, you will disarm your opponent, giving them a sense of calm and a feeling of safety. Talking about wants gives us an illusion of control; needs are required to survive and make us feel vulnerable. The biggest mistake a negotiator can make is to rush things. By slowing down the process, you are able to calm down the situation. A soothing but confident voice helps in confrontational situations. Mirroring relies on the fact that we fear what's different and are drawn to what's similar. — Book Summary

Learn to think and judge for yourself, responsibly. Don't accept everything without criticism and as absolutely true, everything which is brought to your attention. Learn from life. The biggest mistake of my life was that I believed everything faithfully which came from the top, and I didn't dare to have the least bit of doubt about the truth of that which was presented to me. Walk through life with your eyes open. Don't become one-sided; examine the pros and cons in all matters. — Rudolf Hoss

The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career! — Earl Nightingale

The biggest thing is not to lose your confidence and realize you've got to work through those mistakes to yourself a chance to improve. — Joey Harrington

The biggest mistake that I made was not anticipating the rise of the social networking phenomenon, — Eric Schmidt

Your biggest problem in ministry and in life isn't that you'll make a mistake, but that you'll be consumed by the fear of making a mistake. — Karl Vaters

Hopefully God will allow me to turn my biggest mistake into my greatest success. — Robert Bernhardt

At the beginning of the semester, when you asked who I loved the most, an image of my mother popped in my head. When you asked me who I loved the most for the second time, it wasn't an image of my mother. Instead, it was replaced by an image of a strawberry blonde with big, blue eyes.
It took me a long time to figure out the exact moment I fell in love with her, partly because I denied that I did until it was too late.
I fucked up so badly and did so many things wrong, to the point of no return, so I let her go. The selfless part inside of me wants to say I did the right thing, and the selfish part of me thinks I made the biggest mistake of my life. I guess the selfless side won out because, every time I look at her and see what I did, I realize I don't deserve her.
I was never supposed to fall in love with her, but that was the best mistake of my life. I will always love her; I have ever since I purposely bumped into her in the hallway. — Sarah Brianne

The biggest problem in the world could have been solved when it was small. — Witter Bynner

Many times when you make a movie, it feels like your biggest mistake. But even if a film isn't a hit, you shouldn't view it as a mistake. — Ang Lee

Probably your biggest mistake was doing funk-dance to Unchained Melody," the dog offered earnestly. "It's a ballad, Alf, and to be honest, it's one of the slowest songs I can think of. You'd have been better off doing a slow waltz to something with that tempo. The other factor may have been the large amount of beer you consumed beforehand. — Mark Jackman

Do you like that?" he whispered.
"Yes, I ... " She fought to speak between helpless gasps. "I thought ... it was going to hurt."
"Not from this." A smile touched his mouth. "Later, however, you might have cause for complaint." A shimmer of sweat gathered on his face as he felt the pulsing of her body around his exploring finger. "I don't know if I can be gentle," he said raggedly. "I've wanted you for too long."
"I trust you," she whispered.
Matthew shook his head, easing his hand away from her. "You have terrible judgment. You're in bed with the last man in the world you should trust, and you're about to make the biggest mistake of your life."
"Is this your idea of seductive banter?"
"I thought I should give you one last warning. Now you're doomed."
"Oh, good." Daisy moved to help him as he stripped off her drawers and stockings. — Lisa Kleypas

I don't think baseball can abandon the Miami market. If MLB does let that market go vacant, I think it'll be one of the biggest mistakes they ever made. — Andrew Zimbalist

I'm scared of making the biggest mistake of my life. I'm just trying to figure out what the mistake is. — Lisa Kleypas

To me, I always listen to what my instincts tell me. The biggest mistakes I've ever made is when I've ignored what I know to be true in my heart. — Glenda Bailey

Without knowing the essential nature of this (referring to the self), we are trying to make a life outside. That is the biggest mistake humanity has made.


The first and foremost thing you must know is this (referring to the selfx). Then you can handle the external like a play, without any effort. — Sadhguru

We do not live in a world of dreams, but in an Universe which while relative, is real so far as our lives and actions are concerned. Our business in the Universe is not to deny its existence, but to LIVE, using the Laws to rise from lower to higher--living on, doing the best that we can under the circumstances arising each day, and living, so far as is possible, to our biggest ideas and ideals. The true Meaning of Life is not known to men on this plane .if, indeed, to any--but the highest authorities, and our own intuitions, teach us that we will make no mistake in living up to the best that is in us, so far as is possible, and realising the Universal tendency in the same direction in spite of apparent evidence to the contrary. We are all on The Path--and the road leads upward ever, with frequent resting places. — Three Initiates

A file-sharing service and a hedge fund are essentially the same things. In both cases, there's this idea that whoever has the biggest computer can analyze everyone else to their advantage and concentrate wealth and power. It's shrinking the overall economy. I think it's the mistake of our age. — Jaron Lanier

Sometimes your mistakes are you biggest virtues. You learn so much from the mistake. Those things that you think are the worst thing that's happening to you can somehow turn around and be the greatest opportunity. — Nicole Kidman

Dear Woman,
Sometimes you'll just be too much woman.
Too smart,
Too beautiful,
Too strong.
Too much of something that makes a man feel like less of a man,
Which will make you feel like you have to be less of a woman.
The biggest mistake you can make
Is removing jewels from your crown
To make it easier for a man to carry.
When this happens, I need you to understand
You do not need a smaller crown -
You need a man with bigger hands. — Michael Reid

The biggest mistake she'd seen several women make, was going into a relationship thinking she could change the man. — Melody Anne

Looking up is the biggest alibi ever invented to explain a terrible shot. By the time you look up, you've already made the mistake. — Harvey Penick

I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a writer is to follow your initial [writing] plan too stringently. A story needs room to grow and evolve. — Patrick Rothfuss

The biggest mistake entrepreneurs can make is trying to do everything themselves. They usually blow up when they try. I did an inventory of every deal I've ever done and it turned out that every single deal I made money on was a partnership, and every colossal failure, where I lost millions, was something I tried to do by myself. — Kevin O'Leary

Learning from each mistake requires self-awareness and humility, but it can be one of the biggest keys to reaching your full potential. — Amy Morin

Thank God I didn't put my career over family. That would have been the biggest mistake of my life. I'm really happy it went the way it did. — Leslie Mann

My biggest mistake: not wanting to help myself into thinking I am happy, that change would come about without really trying to change, or wanting to change. Procrastinating about changing. I do want to change. — Beatrice Sparks

Leonie Barrow's voice was quiet but clear. With Marechal's eyes on her, she said, "Cabal is more dangerous then you can believe, Count. Both the angels and the devils fear him. He's a monster, but an evenhanded one. I know he is capable of the most appalling acts of evil." Her glance moved to Cabal, who was listening dispassionately. "I believe he is also capable of great good. But to predict which he will do next isn't easy or safe."
Marechal grimaced. "What is your association with this man? Public relations or something?"
"I loathe him," she said with sudden venom. The, more quietly, "And I admire him. You're right; he didn't have to come back. He's taken a big risk, but I know he's taken bigger. I can't tell you whether he's a monster or playing the hero right now, but I know one thing. You made the biggest mistake of your life when you made an enemy of him. — Jonathan L. Howard

Jennifer Dixon, I'm a fuck-up. I swear too much, and I like beer. Sometimes I get moody, and I can be a plain pain in the ass."
If this was a wedding proposal he needed a lot of work.
"I'm all of those things, but I'm the man who is in love with you. If you asked me to follow you wherever you may go then I'd follow, no questions asked." He licked his lips. "The biggest mistake of my life was walking out of that door angry at you. I wasn't angry at you. I was angry at myself. All my life I've had everything easy. I never expected to be completely taken over by you."
She watched as he rummaged through his pockets. He pulled out a ring, took a deep breath, and presented it to her.
"Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? — Sam Crescent

Seeing the faults of others is indeed an echo of our own fault; the biggest fault is our own fault. That is known as the mad ego. — Dada Bhagwan

The biggest mistake you could ever make is to think you work for anyone but yourself — Brian Tracy

The biggest mistake, in general, I've made, is to put too much of a weighting on someone's talent and not enough on their personality. And I've made that mistake several times. I think it actually matters whether somebody has a good heart, it really does. I've made the mistake of thinking that it's sometimes just about the brain. — Elon Musk

He pressed another kiss to her lips as he took her hand into his. "I'm sorry for being a jerk last night and almost making the biggest mistake of my life. I was afraid of hurting you. I know what I am and I also know you deserve a guy that can spoil you rotten and take you to all the nice places that you deserve. I-"
"Jason, I don't care about those things," she said softly.
He shook his head stubbornly. "It doesn't mean that you don't deserve them, but if you give me a chance to make up for my past stupidity, and I'm not just talking about with you, I promise that I will do my best to make you happy."
"Jason-"
"I want to try this. You and me, I mean. I know I'll most likely fuck up along the way and you'll want to ring my neck, but I want to try. I'll do my best not to hurt you. — R.L. Mathewson

Of course, you could, no doubt, call my going to film school the biggest mistake I ever made. — Krzysztof Kieslowski

We may have made one of the biggest and most stupid collective mistakes in history by getting so worried about global warming. — Nigel Farage

Getting married in four days was the biggest ... mistake I've ever made. I have two beautiful kids, but ... how can you know somebody in four days? Bonehead. — Tommy Lee

The biggest mistake is being too afraid of making one. — Gregory Benford

She didn't care what this group wanted with her. She didn't care what sort of information they expected to twist from her. When they had taken Chaol, they'd made the biggest mistake of their lives. The last mistake, too. — Sarah J. Maas

The biggest mistake is not to forgive someone who broke your trust but to return him the previous version of you who trusted blindly. — Himmilicious

The biggest mistake we make is trying to square the way we feel about something today with the way we felt about it yesterday. You shouldn't even bother doing it. You should just figure out the way you feel today and if it happens to comply with what you thought before, fine. If it contradicts it, whatever. Life goes on. — Malcolm Gladwell

The biggest mistake of humanity is to have great agendas without knowing the very purpose of life — Vladimir Vinitzki

Having a hangover with small children is never a good idea. I did it once and it was the biggest mistake I've ever made, I've never felt so ill in my life. You have to get out of bed and look after your kid who doesn't care if you've got a sore head. — Sharleen Spiteri

To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all. — Peter McWilliams

Again and again we picture ourselves sitting together with the people we feel drawn to all our lives, precisely these so-called simple people, whom naturally we imagine much differently from the way they truly are, for if we actually sit down with them we see that they aren't the way we've pictured them and that we absolutely don't belong with them, as we've talked ourselves into believing, and we get rejected at their table and in their midst as we logically should get after sitting down at their table and believing we belonged with them or we could sit with them for even the shortest time without being punished, which is the biggest mistake, I thought. All our lives we yearn to be with these people and want to reach out to them and when we realize what we feel for them are rejected by them and indeed in the most brutal fashion. — Thomas Bernhard

The biggest public mistake I ever made was that I chose to do 'Criminal Minds' in the first place. — Mandy Patinkin

The biggest mistake sometimes is to play things very safe in this life and end up being moral failures. — Dorothy Day

Betting completely on HTML5 is one of the, if not THE biggest strategic mistake we've made. — Mark Zuckerberg

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is that we lie to ourselves. We don't step back and look at ourselves like a competitor would. — Mark Cuban

The biggest mistake investors make is to believe that what happened in the recent past is likely to persist. They assume that something that was a good investment in the recent past is still a good investment. Typically, high past returns simply imply that an asset has become more expensive and is a poorer, not better, investment. — Ray Dalio

Religion requires perfection, but the kingdom values excellence. If we strive for perfection and don't allow ourselves room to be wrong, we will never grow. Perfection is an unattainable destination, but excellence is an exciting journey. It's a journey in which we allow the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and mentor us. If you strive to never make a mistake, you will make the biggest one by never stepping out in faith. — Bob Hazlett

He should stop, but the intoxicating sensation of Eliza's hot breath on Thomas's face dominated him and he could think of nothing else. Nothing but kissing her. The world around him stopped and he moved both hands to cup her smooth cheeks as he continued to taste her lips. She pressed into his kiss, moving her own delicate hands to his face. Sampling the sweetness her mouth was the biggest mistake he'd ever made. Just one would never be enough. Reluctant, — Amber Lynn Perry

When you're in school, every little mistake is a permanent crack in your windshield. But in the real world, if you're not swerving around and hitting the guard rails every now and then, you're not going fast enough. Your biggest risk isn't failing; it's getting too comfortable. — Drew Houston

People aren't special. They never were. We're the biggest mistake in the universe. — Joe Hart

The biggest mistake I made and what cost me a lot of enjoyment in my life, was assuming that everybody cared. They don't. — John Mayer

The biggest mistake you can make is assuming that creativity will hit you all at once and the muse will carry you to the end of the book on feather wings while 'Foster the People' plays gently in the background. Storytelling is work. Pleasurable work, usually, but it is work. — Maggie Stiefvater

My biggest mistake is in believing there are limits to how bad it can get. — Laura Wiess

I believe that the biggest mistake that most people make when it comes to their retirement is they do not plan for it. They take the same route as Alice in the story from "Alice in Wonderland," in which the cat tells Alice that surely she will get somewhere as long as she walks long enough. It may not be exactly where you wanted to get to, but you certainly get somewhere. — Marc Singer

A biggest mistake I made when I started doing a talk show was I thought you had to read the books. — Dick Cavett

Being selfless is the biggest wiring mistake in us. — Himmilicious

The biggest mistake you can make is listening to people who've given up on their dreams telling you to give up on yours. — Umair Haque