expression
turn everything to profit; make the best of a bad situation
Proverb describing a person who never misses a chance to gain something, even from a mishap. Literally 'even if he falls, he doesn't get up empty-handed'.
See also: 転んでもただでは起きない
彼は転んでもただでは起きぬタイプで、失敗からも何かを学び取る。
He's the type who turns everything to profit, learning something even from his failures.
転んでもただでは起きぬ精神で、ピンチをチャンスに変えた。
With a 'never get up empty-handed' spirit, he turned a crisis into an opportunity.
Modern colloquial form of the same proverb, using the negative form 起きない instead of the classical 起きぬ.
A Japanese proverb. The exact origin is uncertain, but it reflects a traditional pragmatic mindset.