Quote

Better to be the failure who nobly strived than the success who never really had to.

Brandon Sanderson

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Brandon Sanderson
Age: 48
Born: 1975
Born: December 19
Novelist
Science Fiction Writer
Writer
Lincoln
Nebraska
Nobly
Failure
Success
Better
Really
Never
Strived

More quotes by Brandon Sanderson

Image
Small things were important. Secods were small things, and if you heaped enough of those on top of one another, they became a man's life.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
Too many scholars think of research as purely a cerebral pursuit. If we do nothing with the knowledge we gain, then we have wasted our study. Books can store information better than we can--what we we do that books cannot is interpret. So if one is not going to draw conclusions, then one might as well just leave the information in the texts.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
Words are where most change begins.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
I don't have much time for stories, Vin said. Seems that fewer and fewer people do, these days. A canopy kept off the ash, but he seemed unconcerned about the mists. It makes me wonder what is so alluring about the real world that gives them all such a fetish for it. It's not a very nice place these days.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
Vin snorted, kneeling in the low tent as she pulled her belt tight then she crawled over to him. I don't know how you read while riding, she said. Oh, it's quite easy - if you aren't afraid of horses. I'm not afraid of them, Vin said. They just don't like me. They know I can outrun them, and that makes them surly.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
War is far worse. At least where politics is going on, there are usually nice hors d’oeuvres.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
You're a very difficult person to manipulate, you know. Nonsense, he said. You just have to promise me that I won't have to do a thing, and then I'll do anything you want. Anything? Anything that doesn't require doing anything. That's nothing, then. Is it? Yes. Well, that's something.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
How do you fight someone smarter than yourself?' Rand Whispered. 'The answer is simple. You make her think that you are sitting down across the table from her, ready to play her game. Then you punch her in the face as hard as you can.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
To Parlin's mind, nothing showed affection like a hunk of something dead and bleeding on the table.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
Galladon paused for a moment, then laughed. Does nothing frighten you, sule? Actually, pretty much everything here does—I'm just good at ignoring the fact that I'm terrified. If I ever realize how scared I am, you'll probably find me trying to hide under those cobblestones over there.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
You're wonderful. So full of life and excitement. The priests and servants of the palace, they wear colors, but there's no color inside of them. They just go about their duties, eyes down, solemn. You've got color on the inside, so much of it that it bursts out and colors everything around you.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
How totally unexpected, he declared, then proceeded to faint from blood loss.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
I'm not really sure why. But... do you stop loving someone just because they betray you? I don't think so. That's what makes the betrayal hurt so much - pain, frustration, anger... and I still loved her. I still do.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
I never wanted to be feared. If I regret one thing, it is the fear I have caused. Fear is the tool of tyrants. Unfortunately, when the fate of the world is in question, you use whatever tools are available.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
Fantasy has had some problems with being too repetitive, in my opinion. I try to read what other people are doing - and say, 'How can I add to this rather than just recycle it? How can I stand on Tolkien's shoulders rather than stand tied to his kneecaps?
Brandon Sanderson
Image
Somehow, she had grown into a woman in between the fall of kings and collapse of worlds. Once she had been terrified of change. Then she had been terrified of losing Elend. Now her fears were more nebulous - worries of what would come after she was gone, worries of what would happen to the people of the empire if she failed.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
...somehow the old philosophers could make even the most salacious topics seem boring.
Brandon Sanderson
Image
You people are all insane. How I ended up with you, I'll never know. Breeze laughed. Now, that's a lie, Cett. You know exactly how you ended up joining with us. We threatened to kill you if you didn't!
Brandon Sanderson
Image
That isn’t greatness. That’s just foolishness.
Brandon Sanderson