Each Time You Fail, Start All Over Again, and You Will Grow Stronger

Hellen Keller? Anne Sullivan? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: There is an inspirational saying about beginning a task again even when you fail. Eventually, you will accomplish your purpose although it may not be exactly the purpose with which you began.

This notion has been attributed to Anne Sullivan who was the brilliant teacher of Helen Keller who overcame great adversities in her life. Would you please help me to find the correct phrasing together with a citation?

Quote Investigator: Anne Sullivan died in 1936. In 1955 Helen Keller wrote a book praising her instructor and companion titled “Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy”. Keller credited Sullivan with offering the following motivational guidance. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[1]1956 (1955 Copyright), Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy: A Tribute by the Foster-child of Her Mind by Helen Keller, Chapter 12, Quote Page 156, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York. (Verified … Continue reading

. . . “No matter what happens, keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you find that you have accomplished a purpose—not the one you began with, perhaps, but one that you will be glad to remember.”

And who shall count the innumerable times that she tried, failed, and conquered?

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

In 1969 a newspaper in Scranton, Pennsylvania published an article by local playwright Robert Stempin who described a drama about Anne Sullivan he had authored. Stempin included an instance of the quotation in his work:^[2]1969 November 16, The Sunday Times (The Scranton Times-Tribune), Listening Post by Sid Benjamin, (Guest column by Robert Stempin, Wilkes-Barre playwright), Quote Page 24, Column 1, Scranton, … Continue reading

“Helen, promise that no matter what happens to me . . . keep beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again and you’ll grow stronger, until you find that you’ve accomplished a purpose, not the one you began with, perhaps, but one that you’ll be glad to remember.”

The preceding excerpt is taken from my play, “Annie: The Story Behind Helen Keller.” It is based on the life of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller’s teacher, prior to her meeting Helen.

In 2006 “Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing” compiled by Larry Chang included an entry for the quotation which was ascribed to Sullivan.^[3]2006, Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, Compiled and Edited by Larry Chang, Section: Beginning / Endeavor, Quote Page 84, Column 2, Gnosophia Publishers, … Continue reading

In conclusion, Anne Sullivan received credit for the quotation under examination in the 1955 book “Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy” by Helen Keller. Sullivan died in 1936; hence, there was a delay before Keller made this attribution. Nevertheless, QI believes that this evidence is substantive.

Image Notes: Picture of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan circa 1898 from page 17 of the May 1903 issue of “Popular Science Monthly”. Image has been cropped and resized.

(Great thanks to Chris D whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.)