At Southwestern Advantage, perseverance is a big part of our company creed – self-discipline, taking action, and “finding a way instead of an excuse.”
Perseverance is one of those things everyone talks about…right up until things get hard. It’s easy to feel motivated when everything is going your way – your day is going great, and time and money are on your side. The real test comes when life throws you a curveball (or 10), and suddenly quitting sounds way more appealing than pushing through. That’s where perseverance takes over – like a friend who won’t let you give up, even when you’re dramatically flopped on the couch insisting, “I’m done.”
Let’s be honest: sticking with things aren’t always glamorous. There’s no highlight reel for the nights you kept going when no one was watching, or the times you failed and had to try again… and again… and again. Perseverance is less about big, heroic moments and more about the small, stubborn decisions, like choosing to try one more time when you’d rather call it a day.
Sometimes, all it takes is a few well-timed words to remind you that struggle is part of the process – not a sign to quit. So if you’re feeling stuck, tired, or just in need of a reminder that you’ve got this, you’re in the right place! Think of this collection as your personal pep talk. Whether they come from athletes, leaders, or people who simply refused to give up, these quotes can give you that little push to keep moving forward!
65 Quotes on Perseverance
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge, former U.S. president
“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist
“I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” – John D. Rockefeller, businessman
“Here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you. That’s all there is to it.” – Pat Summitt, NCAA coach
“Little strokes fell great oaks.” – Benjamin Franklin, inventor
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” – John Quincy Adams, U.S. president
“Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” – Bo Jackson, athlete
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliott, priest
“Success” is just a pile of all the mistakes you’ve made, and you’re standing on it instead of buried under it.” – Dave Ramsey, financial expert
“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” – Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements.” – John C. Maxwell, author
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan, athlete
“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson, writer
“The universal line of distinction between the strong and the weak is that one persists; the other hesitates, falters, trifles and at last collapses or “caves in.” – Edwin Percy Whipple, essayist
“Storms make trees take deeper roots.” – Dolly Parton, musician
“We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power…The battle, sir, is not to the strong along: it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” – Patrick Henry, U.S. founding father
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison, inventor
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.” – Bob Marley, musician
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” – Marie Curie, chemist
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” – Jim Rohn, entrepreneur
“I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson, former U.S. president
“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” – Woody Allen, actor
“The man who moves mountains begins by carrying away small stones.” – Chinese proverb
“You may encounter defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou, poet
“Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.” – William Arthur Ward, writer
“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet
“Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.” – G.K. Nielson, author
“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.” – Winston Churchill, former British prime minister
“Don’t wait for opportunities. Create them.” – Madam C.J. Walker, entrepreneur
“By doing things when you are too tired, by pushing yourself farther than you thought you could – like running the track after a two-hour practice – you become a competitor. Each time you go beyond you perceived limit, you become mentally stronger.” – Pat Summitt, NCAA coach
“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called ‘guts.’” – Dan Gable, wrestler
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott, author
“A champion is someone who gets up when they can’t.” – Jack Dempsey, boxer
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth, pitcher
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet
“A diamond is a piece of coal that stuck to the job.” – Michael Larsen, writer
“Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” – Stephanie Bennett-Henry, author
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher, author
“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet
“Your greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall.” – Confucius, scholar
“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” – Julie Andrews, actress
“A little more persistence, a little more effort and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.” – Elbert Hubbard, publisher
“Dreams are lovely. But they are dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that makes things happen.” – Shonda Rhimes, producer
“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.” – Unknown
Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.” – Earl Nightingale, performer
“The secret of success is a constancy of purpose.” – Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis, author
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale, nurse
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” – Apostle Paul, Romans
Success is as much a matter of luck as it is ability, but perhaps even more, or persistence in “sticking to it” until the luck turns.” – B.H. Liddell Hart, soldier
“No one changes the world who isn’t obsessed.” – Billie Jean King, tennis player
“The great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up.” – Albert Schweitzer, humanitarian
“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” – Booker T. Washington, educator
“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” – Elizabeth Edwards, attorney
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee, actor
“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather, publisher
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk, businessman
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Will Durant, historian
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, former U.S. first lady
“Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” – Abraham Lincoln, former U.S. president
“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Apostle Paul, Galatians
“Self-discipline is the magic power that makes you virtually unstoppable.” – Dan Kennedy, author
“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success.” – Dwayne Johnson, actor
“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is hard work.” – Stephen King, author
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Lena Horne, actress and singer
“Do work with your whole heart and you will succeed – there is so little competition.” – Elbert Hubbard, publisher
Related: Read more about Southwestern Advantage Alumni and their stories of perseverance here.
