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Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, neverβin nothing, great or small, large or pettyβnever give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
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Winston S. Churchill (Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches)
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The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.
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Vince Lombardi
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Persistence. Perfection. Patience. Power. Prioritize your passion. It keeps you sane.
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Criss Jami (Killosophy)
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If our sex life were determined by our first youthful experiments, most of the world would be doomed to celibacy. In no area of human experience are human beings more convinced that something better can be had only if they persevere.
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P.D. James (The Children of Men)
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Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.
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Robert Strauss
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Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?
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Lance Armstrong (It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life)
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In order to share one's true brilliance one initially has to risk looking like a fool: genius is like a wheel that spins so fast, it at first glance appears to be sitting still.
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Criss Jami (Venus in Arms)
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Confidence is like a dragon where, for every head cut off, two more heads grow back.
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Criss Jami (Venus in Arms)
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If you're waiting until you feel talented enough to make it, you'll never make it.
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Criss Jami (Healology)
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Don't change your mind just because people are offended; change your mind if you're wrong.
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Criss Jami (Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality)
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I know now, after fifty years, that the finding/losing, forgetting/remembering, leaving/returning, never stops. The whole of life is about another chance, and while we are alive, till the very end, there is always another chance.
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Jeanette Winterson (Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?)
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Oh what a wonderful soul so bright inside you. Got power to heal the sunβs broken heart, power to restore the moonβs vision too.
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Aberjhani (Songs from the Black Skylark zPed Music Player)
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Why are we worn out? Why do we, who start out so passionate, brave, noble, believing, become totally bankrupt by the age of thirty or thirty-five? Why is it that one is extinguished by consumption, another puts a bullet in his head, a third seeks oblivion in vodka, cards, a fourth, in order to stifle fear and anguish, cynically tramples underfoot the portrait of his pure, beautiful youth? Why is it that, once fallen, we do not try to rise, and, having lost one thing, we do not seek another? Why?
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Anton Chekhov (The Complete Short Novels)
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The devil's happy when the critics run you off.
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Criss Jami (Venus in Arms)
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A few fly bites cannot stop a spirited horse.
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Mark Twain
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We love being mentally strong, but we hate situations that allow us to put our mental strength to good use.
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Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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What you perceive as a failure today may actually be a crucial step towards the success you seek. Never give up.
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Richelle E. Goodrich (Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, and Grumblings for Every Day of the Year)
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The death of a dream can in fact serve as the vehicle that endows it with new form, with reinvigorated substance, a fresh flow of ideas, and splendidly revitalized color. In short, the power of a certain kind of dream is such that death need not indicate finality at all but rather signify a metaphysical and metaphorical leap forward.
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Aberjhani (The River of Winged Dreams)
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Do not be discouraged by the resistance you will encounter from your human nature; you must go against your human inclinations. Often, in the beginning, you will think that you are wasting time, but you must go on, be determined and persevere in it until death, despite all the difficulties.
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Brother Lawrence (The Practice of the Presence of God)
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You opinions about me does not change who I am.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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Take a chance and risk it all or play it safe and suffer defeat.
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Pittacus Lore (I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies, #1))
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Perseverance is the act of true role models and heroes.
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Liza M. Wiemer
β
Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth. But the world isn't perfect, and the law is incomplete. Equivalent Exchange doesn't encompass everything that goes on here, but I still choose to believe in its principle, that all things do come at a price, that there's an ebb and a flow, a cycle, that the pain we went through did have a reward, and that anyone who's determined and perseveres will get something of value in return, even if it's not what they expected. I don't think of Equivalent Exchange as a law of the world anymore. I think of it as a promise, between my brother and me. A promise that, someday, we'll see each other again.
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β
Hiromu Arakawa
β
One may not always know his purpose until his only option is to monopolize in what he truly excels at. He grows weary of hearing the answer 'no' time and time again, so he turns to and cultivates, monopolizes in his one talent which others cannot possibly subdue. Then, beyond the crowds of criticism and rejection, the right people recognize his talent - among them he finds his stage.
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Criss Jami (Killosophy)
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Some lean back. But those who lean forward are poised to cross the finish-line, first!
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T.F. Hodge (From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph over Death and Conscious Encounters With the Divine Presence)
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Without being push to the wall, we will have remained in our comfortable zone. But this circumstance challenges us to find the courage to move on.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (On Eagles Wings:Rise)
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Itβs good to remember that success may be just beyond the next failure, and youβll get there, not because youβre destined to, but because youβre determined to.
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Steve Goodier
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You must dare, and dare again, and then dare a little bit more, and go on daring.
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Justin Cotillard
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Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail.
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Marva Collins
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Let me conclude by saying in my experience the glittering prizes in life come more to those who persevere despite setback and disappointment than they do to the exceptionally gifted who, with the confidence of the talents bestowed upon them, often pursue the tasks leading to success with less determination.
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Bryce Courtenay (The Power of One (The Power of One, #1))
β
Bad luck with women is a determined man's road to success. For every affliction, he makes, out of indignation, yet another advancement in order to exceed the man that the woman chose over him. This goes to show that great men are made great because they once learned how to fight the feeling of rejection.
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Criss Jami (Venus in Arms)
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When you start loving yourself and respecting your time and energy, things will change. Get to know your worth, and your value will go up.
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Germany Kent
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Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fall.
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Marva Collins
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Common man's patience will bring him more happiness than common man's power.
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Amit Kalantri (Wealth of Words)
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With adequate planning, passion and perseverance, you can achieve the God-given goals.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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Have a fierce resolve in everything you do.β βDemonstrate determination, resiliency, and tenacity.β βDo not let temporary setbacks become permanent excuses.β And, finally, βUse mistakes and problems as opportunities to get betterβnot reasons to quit.
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Angela Duckworth (Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance)
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In the moment of decision, may you hear the voice of the Creator saying, βThis is right road, travel on it.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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Take the healing that is being offered. Untangle your fears. Confidence and perseverance are your purpose.
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Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
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Don't let anyone tell your story. Pick up a pen and write your own.
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Majid Kazmi
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Sometimes all the players get a bad hand. You just have to be determined enough to see the game through.
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Dean F. Wilson (Skyshaker (The Great Iron War, #3))
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It is never easy to endure pain nor uncomfortable situation. It is seems easy to quit to avoid the pain.If you quit you will suffer later. It is far better to endure the pain now and enjoy later. Life is all about endurance.
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Lailah Gifty Akita
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He knew that she took life as it came, opposed her tough-fibered mind to whatever obstacles there might be, fought on with a determination that would not recognize defeat, and kept on fighting even when she saw defeat was inevitable.
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Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind)
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If, at first, you do not succeed, call it version 1.0.
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Khayri R.R. Woulfe
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If you lose one battle, donβt give up. Get up again, you have a war to win.
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Sira Mas
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If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.
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Samuel Johnson
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Infinite gratitude, infinite hope.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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You can only kill disappointment with a new try.
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Kim Stanley Robinson (Shaman)
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A steadfast heart does not stray from the path.
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Wayne Gerard Trotman (Kaya Abaniah and the Father of the Forest)
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Life gives us experiences for personal development. Appreciate the lessons and be a learner.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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The gift of life, gives you the greatest opportunity to live and chance to rise above any situation. With hopeful attitude you can overcome any struggle.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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The value of doing something does not lie in the ease or difficulty, the probability or improbability of its achievement, but in the vision, the plan, the determination and the perseverance, the effort and the struggle which go into the project. Life is enriched by aspiration and effort, rather than by acquisition and accumulation.
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Helen Nearing (The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living)
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You may encounter many disappointments. Be strong. Tell yourself, βI am good enough, I will try again.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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Go forward and conquer any mountain on your path.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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Embrace your individuality by embracing your authentic self. Go deeper to develop a relationship with yourself. Accept who you are; because self-love requires discipline. Create a life that you know is yoursβthe key to a better you is perseverance.
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Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
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Never give up.
Never give up on your hopes.
Never give up on your dreams.
Never give up on your visions.
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Lailah Gifty Akita
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Inspiration may come from many places but motivation - the love of life, daily drive and the will to thrive - that must come from you from within
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β
Rasheed Ogunlaru
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Sometimes great achievements arrive much later than we expect, but they arrive, and they are great.
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Sira Mas
β
Money can cloud your vision. Sometimes, God takes away the money and uses times of adversity to refine us like gold.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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Countless possibilities exist in any situation. You must maintain a positive outlook to see the miraculous possibilities.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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The way I see it, if everybody ran from bad things instead of trying to stop them, bad things would be all there is.
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Homer Hickam (Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of A Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator)
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I had made up my mind to find that for which I was searching even if it required the remainder of my life. After innumerable failures I finally uncovered the principle for which I was searching, and I was astounded at its simplicity. I was still more astounded to discover the principle I had revealed not only beneficial in the construction of a mechanical hearing aid but it served as well as means of sending the sound of the voice over a wire. Another discovery which came out of my investigation was the fact that when a man gives his order to produce a definite result and stands by that order it seems to have the effect of giving him what might be termed a second sight which enables him to see right through ordinary problems. What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.
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β
Alexander Graham Bell
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Never be afraid to offer a smile; sure the risk is that a few foolish people may misinterpret your kindness as weakness, but the reward in their error be that at least they cannot blame you because you did show your teeth.
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Johnnie Dent Jr.
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If we want to cultivate hopefulness, we have to be willing to be flexible and demonstrate perseverance. Not every goal will look and feel the same. Tolerance for disappointment, determination, and a belief in self are the heart of hope.
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BrenΓ© Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are)
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Education is a choice. We don't become educated by watching television, and we don't learn a whole lot having similar conversations with the same, safe people day after day. Our education comes from pushing up against boundaries, from taking risks that may seem at first to be overwhelming, and by persevering past the first disappointments or shortfalls until we reach a point at which actual learning takes place. Determination and perseverance are absolutely vital to developing a true education--rarely, if ever, do we learn the most valuable lessons in the first few steps of the journey.
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Tom Walsh
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You can use the stumbling blocks to build your success.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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The most difficult adversary I have ever faced happens to look just like me.
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Johnnie Dent Jr.
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No age of life is inglorious. Youth has its merits, but living to a ripe old age is the true statement of value. Aging is the road that we take to discern our character. Fame and fortune can elude us, but character is immortal. We must encounter a sufficient variety of experiences including both failures and accomplishments in order to gain nobility of character.
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Kilroy J. Oldster (Dead Toad Scrolls)
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A womanβs strength is unstoppable as she takes on the loads she is given in life. We, as women, shouldnβt ever underestimate our ability. We are warriors, and if it wasnβt for our great strength of perseverance, what would the world be like today?
We have to learn how to put ourselves first. We have to stop cheating ourselves by putting other peopleβs needs first, and our needs and wants last.
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Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
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In life, the question is not if you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with your problems. If the possibility of failure were erased, what would you attempt to achieve?
The essence of man is imperfection. Know that you're going to make mistakes. The fellow who never makes a mistake takes his orders from one who does. Wake up and realize this: Failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success.
Achievers are given multiple reasons to believe they are failures. But in spite of that, they persevere. The average for entrepreneurs is 3.8 failures before they finally make it in business.
When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic.
Procrastination is too high a price to pay for fear of failure. To conquer fear, you have to feel the fear and take action anyway. Forget motivation. Just do it. Act your way into feeling, not wait for positive emotions to carry you forward.
Recognize that you will spend much of your life making mistakes. If you can take action and keep making mistakes, you gain experience.
Life is playing a poor hand well. The greatest battle you wage against failure occurs on the inside, not the outside.
Why worry about things you can't control when you can keep yourself busy controlling the things that depend on you?
Handicaps can only disable us if we let them. If you are continually experiencing trouble or facing obstacles, then you should check to make sure that you are not the problem.
Be more concerned with what you can give rather than what you can get because giving truly is the highest level of living.
Embrace adversity and make failure a regular part of your life. If you're not failing, you're probably not really moving forward.
Everything in life brings risk. It's true that you risk failure if you try something bold because you might miss it. But you also risk failure if you stand still and don't try anything new.
The less you venture out, the greater your risk of failure. Ironically the more you risk failure β and actually fail β the greater your chances of success.
If you are succeeding in everything you do, then you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough. And that means you're not taking enough risks. You risk because you have something of value you want to achieve.
The more you do, the more you fail. The more you fail, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you get.
Determining what went wrong in a situation has value. But taking that analysis another step and figuring out how to use it to your benefit is the real difference maker when it comes to failing forward. Don't let your learning lead to knowledge; let your learning lead to action.
The last time you failed, did you stop trying because you failed, or did you fail because you stopped trying?
Commitment makes you capable of failing forward until you reach your goals. Cutting corners is really a sign of impatience and poor self-discipline.
Successful people have learned to do what does not come naturally. Nothing worth achieving comes easily. The only way to fail forward and achieve your dreams is to cultivate tenacity and persistence.
Never say die. Never be satisfied. Be stubborn. Be persistent. Integrity is a must. Anything worth having is worth striving for with all your might.
If we look long enough for what we want in life we are almost sure to find it. Success is in the journey, the continual process. And no matter how hard you work, you will not create the perfect plan or execute it without error. You will never get to the point that you no longer make mistakes, that you no longer fail.
The next time you find yourself envying what successful people have achieved, recognize that they have probably gone through many negative experiences that you cannot see on the surface.
Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.
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John C. Maxwell (Failing Forward)
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What counts more than luck is determination and perseverance. If the talent is there, it will come through. Don't be too impatient. Stick at it. That's my advice. You have to plug away, keep thinking up new ideas. If one doesn't work, try another.
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Fred Astaire
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Surviving war is an excellent training process. If it weren't so brutal, I 'd recommend it as an excellent start-up course in life. I feel that over years of endurance, hard work and perseverance of determination and conviction, of claiming our rights to stay alive, to be free and to be ourselves, of fighting the biggest wars as much as the smaller ones, our will can indeed move mountains for us.
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Joumana Haddad (I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman)
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It's during our very worst fall that we can either die or learn to fly.
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Sira Mas
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Sometimes, something meaningless occurs, somewhere with meaning.
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F. Thomas Vincent
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You have to conquer every obstacle, before you can reach the top of the mountain.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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When push to the wall. You have to develop strategies to scale over the wall.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (On Eagles Wings:Rise)
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My priority is not about grades. I yearn for knowledge, skills and wisdom.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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In the midst of the turbulence, we hang onto hope.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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Maybe someday, if I succeed at something, I'll stop saying, "It isn't fair" about everything else.
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Lois Lowry (A Summer to Die)
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Be original and donβt be afraid to stand out. Never downplay your capabilities. Everybody wonβt believe in you and everybody wonβt rejoice with you, and thatβs quite alright. Self-motivation, self-love, and self-determination will guide you through. ALWAYS believe in yourself because thatβs what truly matters most.
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Stephanie Lahart
β
Crush your individuality first. Shake off the dreams of personal comfort. Then start to work. Inch by inch you shall have to proceed. It needs courage, perseverance and very strong determination. No difficulties and no hardships shall discourage you. No failure and betrayals shall dishearten you. No travails (!) imposed upon you shall snuff out the revolutionary will in you. Through the ordeal of sufferings and sacrifice you shall come out victorious. And these individual victories shall be the valuable assets of the revolution.
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Bhagat Singh
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Courage is risk. It is sacrifice . . . . . . commitment . . . perseverance . . . truth . . . determination.
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Ryan Holiday (Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave (The Stoic Virtues Series))
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What happens to us are tiny matters compare to us response to any situation.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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In every situation, may we find the grace of endurance.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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What lies ahead is often unknown. But keep traveling.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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What happens to us are tiny matters compared to us response to any situation.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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He did not falter, as long as there was a path that led toward his goal.
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J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1))
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Failure is not the end of life. It is the beginning of a greater success, if thy will persist.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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To esteem what makes you holy over what makes you happy - that is the greatest dare.
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Criss Jami (Healology)
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The obstacles were intended to be a distraction from the goal.
You must keep a persistence focus to realise the goal.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
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After all these years, all I know is, I need not to do anything as a part of remorse.
All I need is to write.
Because,'Poetry forgives.
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Nishikant (The Papery Onions)
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Life is a teacher. We are the student.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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As I faced each tragedy in my life, I learned to reach into the depth of my soul for strength and determination. Through this healing process, I discovered perseverance and resilience. I could not go into the past and use White-Out to erase any events; instead, I had to find a way to use my pain to help me heal and grow. I had to stare darkness in the face and accept that I could not change the past, but I could build a better future.
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Erin Merryn (Living for Today: From Incest and Molestation to Fearlessness and Forgiveness)
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All she captures is a moment and what she calls it is a memory,
Sometimes, it is assumptions that we use; all we need is a theory,
Because you donβt know what is there in the future,
And all you need is a vision to make a perfect picture.
I feel that I have known you for a century,
And whatever she calls is a memory.
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Nishikant (The Papery Onions)
β
People will insist on building high and wide barriers directly in your path, often with the intent of closing you in. If you treat these obstacles like fencing walls, they will prove mightily so. I choose to see them as grand towers meant to be scaled and conquered, providing an added victory as well as a great view of the journey ahead.
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Richelle E. Goodrich (Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year)
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I felt there was a lot I needed to teach her. I wanted to give her an early grounding in the basics of arithmetic and reading, but even more important, I wanted to get across the idea that the world was a dangerous place and life was unpredictable and you had to be smart, focused, and determined to make it through. You had to be willing to work hard and persevere in the face of misfortune. A lot of people, even those born with brains and beauty, didn't have what it took to knuckle down and get the thing done.
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Jeannette Walls (Half Broke Horses)
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The Warrior archetype is hard-wired into our brain structure. Socialization means repression, which only keeps aggressiveness in an all the more volatile, compressed, and explosive form. But aggression is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. In many ways legitimate aggression contributes vitally to our lives. In aggression we find our drives for life, career, social contact, self-definition, and service. Perseverance and fidelity are products of the Warriors determination. Though the Lover initiates a relationship, it is the Warrior who maintains it-without the Warrior the Lover is merely promiscuous. The answer then is not to banish any of the archetypes, but to work on achieving the maturity necessary to manage them.
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Douglas Gillette (The Warrior Within: Accessing the Warrior in the Male Psyche)
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Happiness is such a beautiful journey. It has its ups and downs, whether itβs in marriage or whether itβs in a career. Things are never perfect, but through love, you continue to persevere, and you move through them, you move through them. And then through that storm, a beautiful sun emerges, and inevitably, another storm comes. And guess what? You ride that one out too. So, I think love is a sort of determination, a persistence to go through the good times and the bad times with someone or something you truly love.
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β
Kobe Bryant
β
You take a step; rocks and dust fall off the cliff. You stumble and you move forward. The voices in your head call you a coward. You are beginning to second-guess yourself because you want to throw in the towel. You close your eyes; a tear falls and travels to your chin. As your eyes are closed the Great Divineβs voice is louder; yet, calmer, soothing; and you feel peace instantly. Your mind feels light, and your body feels balanced. The Great Divine whispers gently and softly in your ear:
βFallen Warrior, I know you have given everything youβve got, and you feel like you have nothing left to give.
Fallen Warrior, I know itβs been a while since you smiled.
Fallen Warrior, I see that you are hurting, and I feel your pain.
Fallen Warrior, this is not the end. This is the start of your new beginning.
Fallen Warrior, do not doubt My or your abilities; you have more going for you than you have going against you.
Fallen Warrior, keep moving, you have what it takes; perseverance is your middle name.
Fallen Warrior, you are not the victim! You are the victor!
You step back because you know why you are here. You know why you are alive. Sometimes you have to be your own Shero.
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β
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
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During difficult times I often turn to a gospel song called βStand.β In it, songwriter Donnie McClurkin sings, βWhat do you do when youβve done all you can, and it seems like itβs never enough? What do you give when youβve given your all, and it seems like you canβt make it through?β The answer lies in McClurkinβs simple refrain: βYou just stand.β Thatβs where strength comes fromβour ability to face resistance and walk through it. Itβs not that people who persevere donβt ever feel doubt, fear, and exhaustion. They do. But in the toughest moments, we can have faith that if we take just one step more than we feel weβre capable of, if we draw on the incredible resolve every human being possesses, weβll learn some of the most profound lessons life has to offer. What I know for sure is that there is no strength without challenge, adversity, resistance, and often pain. The problems that make you want to throw up your hands and holler βMercy!β will build your tenacity, courage, discipline, and determination.
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Oprah Winfrey (What I Know For Sure)
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I feel as if it were not for me to record, even though this manuscript is intended for no eyes but mine, how hard I worked at that tremendous short-hand, and all improvement appertaining to it, in my sense of responsibility to Dora and her aunts. I will only add, to what I have already written of my perseverance at this time of my life, and of a patient and continuous energy which then began to be matured within me, and which I know to be the strong part of my character, if it have any strength at all, that there, on looking back, I find the source of my success. I have been very fortunate in worldly matters; many men have worked much harder, and not succeeded half so well; but I never could have done what I have done, without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one object at a time, no matter how quickly its successor should come upon its heels, which I then formed. Heaven knows I write this, in no spirit of self-laudation. The man who reviews his own life, as I do mine, in going on here, from page to page, had need to have been a good man indeed, if he would be spared the sharp consciousness of many talents neglected, many opportunities wasted, many erratic and perverted feelings constantly at war within his breast, and defeating him. I do not hold one natural gift, I dare say, that I have not abused. My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest. I have never believed it possible that any natural or improved ability can claim immunity from the companionship of the steady, plain, hard-working qualities, and hope to gain its end. There is no such thing as such fulfilment on this earth. Some happy talent, and some fortunate opportunity, may form the two sides of the ladder on which some men mount, but the rounds of that ladder must be made of stuff to stand wear and tear; and there is no substitute for thorough-going, ardent, and sincere earnestness. Never to put one hand to anything, on which I could throw my whole self; and never to affect depreciation of my work, whatever it was; I find, now, to have been my golden rules.
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Charles Dickens (David Copperfield)