evidence: By Failing to Prepare, You Are Indeed Preparing to Fail Ben Franklin was right. You cannot simply fake it 'till you make it. Here's why. [...] How many of you have heard the famous Benjamin Franklin quote, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail?" [...] One thing I've learned from being both unprepared and prepared at pivotal times in my life is that life presents us with limited windows of opportunity. These windows may never come again. Many are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. There are windows that will swing open, and if you're not ready at that moment, you have to bite the bullet and accept it as a missed opportunity.