Authenticity of a quote by Vivekananda

Question

I cam across the following quote

Take Risks in Your Life ~ If you Win, you Can Lead! ~~ If you Lose, You Can Guide!

and many websites are claiming that the quote is by Swami Vivekananda.

Is it true that Vivekananda quoted it?

Answer 1

I doubt the veracity of the quote. The quote does not catch the force in Swami Vivekananda's writing. He probably used this phrase several times in his public life. I am giving one example of it below. He always talks of strength and never of failure.

Our poor people, these downtrodden masses of India, therefore, require to hear and to know what they really are. Ay, let every man and woman and child, without respect of caste or birth, weakness or strength, hear and learn that behind the strong and the weak, behind the high and the low, behind every one, there is that Infinite Soul, assuring the infinite possibility and the infinite capacity of all to become great and good. Let us proclaim to every soul: उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत — Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached. Arise, awake! Awake from this hypnotism of weakness. None is really weak; the soul is infinite, omnipotent, and omniscient. Stand up, assert yourself, proclaim the God within you, do not deny Him! Too much of inactivity, too much of weakness, too much of hypnotism has been and is upon our race. O ye modern Hindus, de-hypnotise yourselves. The way to do that is found in your own sacred books. Teach yourselves, teach every one his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity. Ay, if there is anything in the Gita that I like, it is these two verses, coming out strong as the very gist, the very essence, of Krishna's teaching — "He who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling alike in all beings, the Imperishable in things that perish, he sees indeed. For seeing the Lord as the same, everywhere present, he does not destroy the Self by the Self, and thus he goes to the highest goal."

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 3, Lectures from Colombo to Almora, The mission of Vedanta

Answer 2

This is the full quote

Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is achieved. Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead, if you lose, you can guide.

This website confirmes it. It is from Swami Vivekananda.It is from the book Raja Yoga, according to this website.

So the answer is yes it is by Swami Vivekananda