Malcolm X frames failure not as a verdict but as a language—something you can study, practice, and eventually become fluent in. By calling it a “language,” he implies that missteps carry meaning: they communicate what didn’t work, what assumptions were wrong, and what conditions were missing.
From there, the striking phrase “grammar of success” suggests structure. Success isn’t only talent or luck; it has rules and patterns that can be learned. In this view, failure becomes the textbook: if you pay attention to its signals, you start to understand how successful outcomes are built. [...]
