In the clutch of circumstance, I have not winced or cried aloud; under the bludgeoning of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed.
—William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) English Poet, Critic, Editor
We can do whatever we wish to do provided our wish is strong enough. But the tremendous effort needed – one doesn’t always want to make it – does one? … But what else can be done? What’s the alternative? What do you want most to do? That’s what I have to keep asking myself, in the face of difficulties.
—Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand-born British Author
Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
Like ships, men flounder time and time again.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
When we see ourselves in a situation which must be endured and gone through, it is best to make up our minds to meet it with firmness, and accommodate everything to it in the best way practical. This lessons the evil, while fretting and fuming only serve to increase your own torments.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
An arch never sleeps.
—Indian Proverb
Many can brook the weather that love not the wind.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Plodding wins the race.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
Endurance and to be able to endure is the first lesson a child should learn because it’s the one they will most need to know.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
Any man can work when every stroke of his hand brings down the fruit rattling from the tree to the ground; but to labor in season and out of season, under every discouragement, by the power of truth … that requires a heroism which is transcendent.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Those who can bear all can dare all.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
It is the nature of the strong heart, that like the palm tree it strives ever upwards when it is most burdened.
—Philip Sidney (1554–86) English Soldier Poet, Courtier
How many years you have to keep on doing, until you know what to do and how to do.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Every kind of fortune is to be overcome by bearing it.
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
We shall live to fight again, and to strike another blow.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
What cannot be altered must be borne, not blamed.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
Not in achievement, but in endurance, of the human soul, does it show its divine grandeur and its alliance with the infinite.
—Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–80) American Preacher, Poet
He that endureth to the end shall be saved.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
There is but one philosophy and its name is fortitude! To bear is to conquer our fate.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
To be happy, drop the words “if only” and substitute instead the words “next time.”
—Smiley Blanton
If you start to take Vienna – take Vienna.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
In the realm of ideas, everything depends on enthusiasm; in the real world, all rests on perseverance.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
The first and final thing you have to do in this world is to last in it, and not be smashed by it.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.
—Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958) American Inventor, Entrepreneur, Businessperson
The secret of success is constancy of purpose.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
I am not the smartest or most talented person in the world, but I succeeded because I keep going, and going, and going.
—Sylvester Stallone (b.1946) American Actor, Screenwriter, Director
If something is boring after 2 minutes, try it for 4. If still boring, try it for 8, 16, 32, and so on. Eventually, one discovers that it is not boring, but very interesting.
—Zen Proverb Japanese School of Mahayana Buddhism