Chovot Halevavot, the classical work on Jewish ethics, was authored by Rabbi Bachya ben Yosef ibn Paquda (the first "Rabbeinu Bechayei") on or before 1161, and translated into Hebrew from the original Arabic by the famed translator R. Judah ibn Tibbon in 1167. It was first published on the 25th of Tevet of the year 5319 from creation (1559).
There is only one thing that can put you further ahead than success, and that is surviving failure.
When you are successful, you are whole and complete. That is wonderful, but you cannot break out beyond your own universe.
When you fail, you are broken. You look at the pieces of yourself lying on the ground and say, “This is worthless.”
Now you can escape. The shell is broken, the defining shell of a created being. Now there are no limits to how tall you can grow.