It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.

The saying equates the moral and emotional bravery required to risk failure with the bravery often attributed to winners. It pushes back against a culture that treats success as proof of courage while viewing failure as weakness. By insisting that the attempt itself—undertaken without guarantees—demands fortitude, the line reframes failure as evidence of engagement and vulnerability rather than inadequacy. Its significance lies in shifting attention from outcomes to character: courage is measured by willingness to act under uncertainty, to endure disappointment, and to remain open to trying again. In that sense, it offers consolation to the unsuccessful while also tempering triumphal narratives of success.