Can anyone decipher this quote for me?

[Sovako]

"knowing is better than wondering, waking is better than sleeping. And even the biggest failure, even the worst most intractable mistake beats the hell out of never trying"

[RonHH]

It means, knowledge is the key to unlock the many wonders of the world, Waking to a new day is one more day to gain knowledge, Use these keys in your life to do many things. But if you don't try your knowledge is will be wasted, and you might as well sleep the rest of your life.
Just my 2 cents worth
~ Ron ~

[DSRangel]

It's not about knowledge, but about life experience.

Simply put it advocates 'living actively' over 'living passively.

People who are scared and have a lot of fear don't like to TRY or DO things in life. They always do the same things, avoid getting out of their comfort zone, or doing anything. They live passively. The world goes past, and they don't interact or influence it. They are observers of life - they don't get involved.

People without fear, take risks, TRY and DO things in life. They take opportunities to act and experience new things. They learn from this process - and their lives get larger and larger. This is living actively. It leads to an expansion of life.

[IndiReloaded]

Its the english equivalent of ichi go, ichi e. Carpe diem, etc.

Or as Whitney would sing:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYFHAvULvJ0&feature=related"]YouTube- Whitney Houston - One Moment In Time(Grammy Awards Live)[/ame]

[Bumble_bee]

don't sit on the fence.... or...you snooze you lose....

[Illusional]

pain is only temporary... that is... until you get drunk again.

raverboy

[Aeradalia]

"knowing is better than wondering, waking is better than sleeping. And even the biggest failure, even the worst most intractable mistake beats the hell out of never trying"

It means experiencing is better than not experiencing -- regardless of what incentive may be present to encourage or discourage you.