Nothing succeeds like success.

The aphorism points to the self-reinforcing nature of achievement: once a person, idea, or enterprise is seen as successful, it tends to attract further opportunities—credit, allies, capital, and public goodwill—that make additional success more likely. It also implies a social psychology of reputation: people often judge merit by outcomes, and they prefer to associate with winners. As a result, success can function like a credential that lowers resistance and accelerates momentum, while failure can do the opposite. The saying is frequently used both descriptively (as an observation about how the world works) and critically (as a comment on how easily appearances of success can eclipse deeper measures of worth).