Quotes About Motivation

People change what they do less because they are given analysis that shifts their thinking than because they are shown a truth that influences their feelings. —John P. Kotter, The Heart of Change

I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be agressive. I had to get out there and go for it... I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it's an illusion to me.

If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

I hope the millions of people I've touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.

When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it's time for me to move away from the game.

I wasn't really a work conscious type of person.

You have to expect things of yourself before you do them.

You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.

Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.

Make It Happen.

My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.

The surest way to escape anxiety and defeat despair is action. Do, don't dwell.

I am involved with politics today because of the inspiration I received from Ronald Reagan.

One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.

Your chances of success are directly proportional to the degree of pleasure you desire from what you do. If you are in a job you hate, face the fact squarely and get out.

There is no secret" to success, Fred explained years later in accepting the Horatio Alger Award, given to people who overcame adversity. "There are just two things. One, you must like what you do. You must pick out the right business or profession. You must learn all about it . . . so you become enthusiastic about it. Nine out of ten people don't like what they do. And in not liking what they do, they lose enthusiasm, they go from job to job, and ultimately become a nothing.

Of course I'm excited about the Nobel. But I am passionate about my research. Passion is really important for anything you do; it's a general requirement

The pleasure of rooting for Goliath is that you can expect to win. The pleasure of rooting for David is that, while you don't know what to expect, you stand at least a chance of being inspired.

Di tanto in tanto spegneva i fari, come aveva fatto quella sera, guidando con l'eccitazione di poter finire in una cunetta a cento all'ora. Cosa cercava? Da cosa fuggiva? […] Non aveva mai trovato una risposta, perché non esisteva. L'azione di buttare fuori e rincorrere era diventata naturale, per lui. Rincorrere una sequenza di dati ignoti, fino alla sua origine in posti oscuri e selvaggi, o nell'anonimato di cemento dei paesaggi cittadini, era quell'azione che lo motivava.

The problem in most situations is not a lack of calling; but a fear of responding to the call.

The book trade invented literary prizes to stimulate sales, not to reward merit.

Persistence is the ability to maintain action regardless of your feelings. When you work on any big goal, your motivation will wax and wane like waves hitting the shore. Sometimes you'll feel motivated; sometimes you won't. But it's not your motivation that will produce results — it's your action. Persistence allows you to keep taking action even when you don't feel motivated to do so, and therefore you keep accumulating results.

Persistence is the difference that separates winners and losers. It is the difference between success and failure. Successful people fail and keep persisting. Unsuccessful people fail once and give up. It is well said that "we fall down, but we get back up again." Failure is not falling down, it's staying down.