"I don't view what has happened as a personal failure," he said.

Nevertheless there was a lump in his middle and a deep sense of personal failure.

Indeed, had his sons not "done better" than himself, he would have regarded it as a personal failure.

I know there are personal failures here, but you have to give children a chance to live long enough to make moral choices.

It was obviously something he considered a personal failure, despite his absence.

What personal failure could he possibly fear more than death itself?

But he'll have to see it with his own eyes; he'll consider anything short of that a personal failure.

It would be a personal failure on both our parts if we can't get something done.

He pulled out another: how can one comfort a friend depressed about a personal failure?

Quitting was the ultimate personal failure in my mind and his.