Consolation Success 

Consolation success or a consolation achievement is when you put a lot of effort and concentration into achieving something or getting better at something, and only after you've tried for so long that you begin to give up, do things start to "work out" for you. Often, it is more of a slap in the face than a happy acquisition. The consolation comes in giving you your success only because you worked yourself so hard that you gave up and life begins to feel sorry for you. God's way of playing keep away perhaps.

"After so many years in the movie business and his involvement in tonnes of great films, Christopher Plummer only received his first oscar in 2012, at the age of 83. That consolation success must feel more painful than if he retired with no award at all."

Consolation Success by cursedkid March 31, 2013