Every day we lose a little of our Meaning Factcheck Usage

Every day we lose a little of our original innocence, and we call it experience. It’s a powerful observation about how life’s hard knocks fundamentally change us, trading our wide-eyed wonder for a more seasoned, sometimes jaded, perspective.

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Table of Contents

• Meaning
• Explanation
• Origin & Factcheck
• Context
• Usage Examples
• FAQ

Meaning

At its core, this quote suggests that the wisdom we gain through life—what we call “experience”—is actually purchased with the currency of our innate purity and untarnished optimism.

Explanation

Look, it’s something I’ve seen play out a thousand times. That first time you get burned in a business deal, or your heart gets broken, or you realize not everyone has good intentions… that’s the moment. You lose a tiny piece of that original, unfiltered belief in a purely good world. And what’s left? A scar, sure, but also a lesson. That lesson is what we package up and proudly label “experience.” It’s not a bad thing, not entirely. It’s a necessary armor. But we have to be honest with ourselves that we’re building that armor piece by piece from the shattered bits of our earlier, more innocent selves. It’s the cost of doing business with life.

Quote Summary

Context	Attributes
Original Language	Portuguese (369)
Category	Life (320)
Topics	experience (26), growth (413), innocence (2)
Literary Style	poetic (635)
Overall Quote Score	86 (262)

Origin & Factcheck

This one comes straight from Paulo Coelho’s 2008 novel, The Winner Stands Alone. It’s a modern take from a Brazilian author, focusing on the dark side of ambition and fame. You’ll sometimes see this sentiment, this idea, floating around misattributed to older poets or philosophers, but the specific phrasing is pure Coelho.

Attribution Summary

Context	Attributes
Author	Paulo Coelho (368)
Source Type	Book (4032)
Source/Book Name	The Winner Stands Alone (55)
Origin Timeperiod	Contemporary (1615)
Original Language	Portuguese (369)
Authenticity	Verified (4032)

Where is this quotation located?

Quotation	Every day we lose a little of our original innocence, and we call it experience
Book Details	Publication Year: 2008 (Brazil); ISBN: 978-0-06-175044-1; Latest Edition: Harper Perennial 2009; 368 pages.
Where is it?	Approximate page 61, Chapter: The Price of Experience

Context

In the book, this isn’t a happy, reflective thought. It’s set against the backdrop of the Cannes Film Festival—a world of brutal ambition, shattered dreams, and moral compromise. The quote reflects on how the characters, in their ruthless pursuit of success, sacrifice their humanity and innocence, justifying it all as just gaining “experience.”

Usage Examples

This isn’t just a line for a book; it’s a lens for life. You can use it when:

• Mentoring a young professional: Explain that the cynicism they might be developing after a few setbacks is a normal, almost inevitable, part of building resilience.
• In a team retrospective: Frame past project failures not just as mistakes, but as the collective “innocence” the team lost to gain valuable, hard-won experience for the next launch.
• Personal reflection: Acknowledge your own journey. Think about a time you were naive, and how a specific event stripped that away and gave you a new, more realistic perspective.

To whom it appeals?

Context	Attributes
Theme	Wisdom (1754)
Audiences	seekers (406), students (3113), teachers (1125), writers (363)
Usage Context/Scenario	creative essays (5), life philosophy sessions (2), motivational writing (240), spiritual reflections (44)

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FAQ

Question: Is this quote saying experience is a bad thing?

Answer: Not at all. It’s more about acknowledging the *cost*. Experience is incredibly valuable—it’s what helps us navigate the world. But Coelho is pointing out that we pay for it with our innocence. It’s a trade, not a total loss.

Question: Can you regain that lost innocence?

Answer: That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? I don’t think you get the *exact* same naivete back. But you can cultivate wisdom that allows for wonder and trust, a *conscious* choice to be open, even when you know the risks. It’s a different, more resilient kind of innocence.

Question: Who would benefit most from understanding this quote?

Answer: Honestly, anyone feeling jaded or disillusioned. It helps to reframe that feeling not as you becoming a worse person, but as you integrating life’s harder lessons. It’s also great for leaders and mentors to understand the human cost of the “experience” they demand from their teams.