Overcoming Obstacles Quotes

"Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. A maxim of Hill's, specifically cited as such, in Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude (1960), co-authored with W. Clement Stone, Ch. 14, p. 222."

"The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people."

"You have to realize that you are the one responsible for your life."

"Suppose that men kill thee, cut thee in pieces, curse thee. What then can these things do to prevent thy mind from remaining pure, wise, sober, and just?"

"I will avoid despair but if this disease of the mind infects me then I will work on in despair. I will toil and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep my eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows. Ch. 10 : The Scroll Marked III, p. 66."

"“Life pushes all of us around. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the lesson and move on. They welcome life pushing them around. To these few people, it means they need and want to learn something. They learn and move on. Most quit, and a few like you fight.”"

"Building alibis is a deeply rooted habit. Habits are difficult to break, especially when they provide justification for something we do. Plato had this truth in mind when he said, The first and best victory is to conquer self. To be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile. p. 173"

"Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide."

"If you don't think you are disciplined: it is because you haven't decided to be yet."

"Our actions may be impeded... but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting."

"I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity."

"If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people."

"The strongest oak tree of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun. p. 112"

"Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest."

"You have to be willing to do the things that other people aren't willing to do."

"What is not good for the beehive cannot be good for the bee."

"[...]take a loss and make it a win."

"When anger rises, think of the consequences."

"The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it."

"Go down swinging. And if you go down, get back up."

"If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now."

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."

"The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos."

"Prioritize and execute."

"Whatever anyone does or says, I must be good, just as if the gold, or the emerald, or the purple were always saying this: whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my color."

"To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy."

"Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily."

"Fear of failure is a good thing. Fear will keep you up at night, it will keep you training."

"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."

"The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success only comes later."

"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat."

"Good. We didn't get the funding? Good. We can grow more lean."

"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in so far as it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall."