Drink nothing without seeing it; sign nothing without reading it
—Spanish Proverb
The fixed determination to have acquired the warrior soul, to either conquer or perish with honor, is the secret of victory.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
Never let a day pass that you will have cause to say, I will do better tomorrow.
—Brigham Young (1801–77) American Mormon Leader
If a task is once begun
Never leave it till it’s done.
Be the labor great or small
Do it well or not at all.
—Anonymous
I have brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
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
Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
—Vince Lombardi, Jr. (1913–70) American Football Player, Coach
Make small commitments and keep them. Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
The commitments we make to ourselves and to others, and our integrity to those commitments, is the essence and clearest manifestation of our proactivity.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.
—Unknown
Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster.
—William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–91) American Military Leader, Businessperson, Educator
Men are allowed to have passion and commitment for their work … a woman is allowed that feeling for a man, but not her work.
—Barbra Streisand (b.1942) American Musician, Actor, Songwriter
Morale is the greatest single factor in successful wars.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
The difference between ‘involvement’ and ‘commitment’ is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was ‘involved’ – the pig was ‘committed’.
—Unknown
The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it’s not without doubt but in spite of doubt.
—Rollo May (1909–94) American Philosopher
Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
There’s always a way—if you’re committed.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
One advantage of marriage, it seems to me, is that when you fall out of love with him, or he falls out of love with you, it keeps you together until you maybe fall in love again.
—Judith Viorst (b.1931) American Psychoanalyst, Journalist, Writer
Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
I sincerely wish war was a pleasanter and easier business than it is, but it does not admit of holidays.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
If you start to take Vienna – take Vienna.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
A man with a half volition goes backwards and forwards, and makes no way on the smoothest road; a man with a whole volition advances on the roughest, and will reach his purpose, if there be even a little worthiness in it. The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder – a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life and having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
You must stick to your conviction, but be ready to abandon your assumptions.
—Denis Waitley (b.1933) American Motivational Speaker, Author
Committing yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying.
—Unknown
You know from past experiences that whenever you have been driven to the wall, or thought you were, you have extricated yourself in a way which you never would have dreamed possible had you not been put to the test. The trouble is that in your everyday life you don’t go deep enough to tap the divine mind within you.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment. As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility, and commitment.
—Ross Perot (1930–2019) American Businessman
Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.
—Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British Head of State
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
It is by losing himself in the objective, in inquiry, creation, and craft, that a man becomes something.
—Paul Goodman (1911–72) American Novelist, Essayist
So will I go in unto the king … and if I perish, I perish.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith