Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do.
—Kathleen Winsor (1919–2003) American Novelist
What great things would you attempt if you knew you could not fail.
—Robert H. Schuller (1926–2015) American Christian Televangelist, Author
Without risk, faith is an impossibility.
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.
—Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Man can have but what he strives for.
—Arabic Proverb
There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
To fail is a natural consequence of trying, To succeed takes time and prolonged effort in the face of unfriendly odds. To think it will be any other way, no matter what you do, is to invite yourself to be hurt and to limit your enthusiasm for trying again.
—David Viscott (1938–96) American Psychiatrist, Author, Businessman
Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is to you.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The attempt and not the deed confounds us.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.
—T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-British Poet, Dramatist, Literary Critic
Anyone who doesn’t make mistakes isn’t trying hard enough.
—Wess Roberts
The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.
—J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) British Scholar, Author
Until you try, you don’t know what you can’t do.
—Henry James (1843–1916) American-born British Novelist, Writer
Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock.
—Ben Hecht (1894–1964) American Screenwriter, Playwright
Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) Irish Novelist, Playwright
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized – never knowing.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
How long should you try? Until.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Set your target and keep trying until you reach it.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
Whatever course you have chosen for yourself, it will not be a chore but an adventure if you bring to it a sense of the glory of striving, if your sights are set far above the merely secure and mediocre.
—David Sarnoff (1891–1972) American Broadcaster, Businessman
Every time I catch myself saying, “Oh no, you shouldn’t try that,” I think, “Yes, I should.”
—Erica Jong (b.1942) American Novelist, Feminist
Life doesn’t require that we be the best—only that we try our best.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (b.1940) American Self-Help Author
What old people say you cannot do, you try and find that you can. Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
How high could you go if you knew you wouldn’t fall?
—Anonymous
If you spend life trying to be good at everything you will never be great at anything.
—Tom Rath (b.1975) American Consultant
When people keep telling you that you can’t do a thing, you kind of like to try it.
—Margaret Chase Smith (1897–1995) American Politician
A winner never stops trying.
—Tom Landry (1924–2000) American Football Coach, Player
Either do not attempt at all, or go through with it.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
‘Tis not what man does which exalts him, but what man would do.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
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