Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it.
J. K. RowlingHermione, will you please โโ โDonโt you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!โ she screeched. โDonโt you dare! Give it back now! And YOU!โ She was pointing at Ron in dire accusation: It was like a malediction, and Harry could not blame Ron for retreating several steps.
J. K. RowlingI took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamberpots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon - or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder.
J. K. Rowling