The beauty of all actions occur within the method.  People are not always defined by their results, rather by the idea of the goal and the pathway to it.  A goal in itself is meaningless without the trials which bring us closer to attaining it.

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is filled with educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination are omnipotent.  The slogan 'press on' has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race."  -Calvin Coolidge 

 "The best way out is always through." -Robert Frost

If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by a spectacular error.