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In business, and in life, you’ll hear the word “no,” a lot. It can be frustrating and discouraging, but by being persistent you just might turn some of the “noes” into “yeses.”
Perseverance when it comes to achieving your goals is essential. Whether you want to go back to school, learn a new skill, start your own business, or pick up a new hobby you need to identify your goal and you need to have persistence in order to reach it.
Obstacles will always arise and they’re often out of our control, this has been the case throughout all of humanity. Take Odysseus, for example, for ten long years Odysseus persevered in his quest and desire to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. His queen, Penelope, and his dog, Argos, persevere in their wait for the return of Odysseus. Finally, thanks to their perseverance they are reunited after twenty years.
The point is that we must have perseverance in the face of obstacles if we are to succeed. Odysseus showed us this and there have been a million other tales of heroes’ journeys since the dawn of the written word that has also shown us this.
The next time you’re feeling defeated, read these quotes for inspiration and remember that you’re never truly beaten until you decide to give up.
Quotes About Perseverance and the Value of Continuing Even When Things Are Difficult
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.”
Jim Rohn
“Some people plant in the spring and leave in the summer. If you’ve signed up for a season, see it through. You don’t have to stay forever, but at least stay until you see it through.”
Jim Hightower
“The only thing in the middle of the road is yellow stripes and dead armadillos.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
Paul the Apostle
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
– Paul the Apostle, Letter to the Romans, 5:3-4
Confucius
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
John Quincy Adams
“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.”
Babe Ruth
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
“To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.”
Unknown
“Hard times make strong men, strong men make good times, good times make weak men, weak men make hard times.”
– Unknown
Odysseus
“Nevertheless I long—I pine, all my days—
to travel home and see the dawn of my return.
And if a god will wreck me yet again on the wine-dark sea,
I can bear that too, with a spirit tempered to endure.
Much have I suffered, labored long and hard by now
in the waves and wars. Add this to the total—
bring the trial on!”
– Odysseus, Book V
