The quote could be interpreted as a praise of perseverance. And it is not a tautology due to you can prove that perseverance increases/decreases your chances fo

The quote could be interpreted as a praise of perseverance. And it is not a tautology due to you can prove that perseverance increases/decreases your chances for success. For example, in a casino perseverance is not a good quality unless you cheat (the more you play the more you loose). On the other hand a startup founder might benefit from having this property ("You have to be willing to keep trying new things and refuse to die." http://startup2startup.com/2008/11/25/paulgraham-ycombinator-recap/ http://startup2startup.com/2008/11/25/paulgraham-ycombinator... ).