When chasing your dreams, it’s easy to get all fired up one minute and loss that motivation the next day. And that’s why you need to digest a lot of persistence quotes to help you stay motivated, inspired and keep going to achieve your goals.
Whether what passion you have be it’s building a business from scratch, writing a book, or whatever dream you have, rest assured that the road to success is filled with ups and downs.
The most successful people are those who never give up.
They stay focused and persistent in all that they do no matter how difficult it is to show up. They also don’t mind that they are not seeing immediate results and that no one is clapping for them, they show up and get the work done.
Below, you’ll find the best persistence quotes from famous authors and historical figures that will motivate and inspire you to stay consistent in your journey.
Be sure to check out our popular collection of beautiful life lesson quotes that are timeless as your daily reminder.
See as well the rest of our inspirational quotes compilation for even more motivational ideas and lessons.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in!
Persistence quotes about not giving up
- “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. The ‘slogan Press On!’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge
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- “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong
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- “It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. All that matters is you get up one more time than you were knocked down.” – Roy T. Bennett
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- “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston S. Churchill
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- “Keep going. Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.” – Roy T. Bennett
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- “If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success – but only if you persist.” – Isaac Asimov
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- “Courage doesn’t always roar, sometimes it’s the quiet voice at the end of the day whispering I will try again tomorrow” – Mary Anne Radmacher
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- “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” – Randy Pausch
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- “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
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- “You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.” – Tom Hiddleston
Persistence quotes to motivate you to keep going
- “When the going gets tough, put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. Don’t give up.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.” – James A. Michener
- “They key of persistence opens all door closed by resistance” – John Di Lemme
- “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” – Thomas A. Edison
- “First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.” – Octavia E. Butler
- “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” – Thomas A. Edison
- “If you are going through hell, keep going.” – Winston S. Churchill
- “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.” – Hal Borland
- “The phoenix must burn to emerge.” – Janet Fitch
- “Not to give up under any circumstances should be the motto of our life: we shall try again and again, and we are bound to succeed. There will be obstacles, but we have to defy them. The goal is ahead of you. If you do not give up, you are bound to reach your destined goal.” – Sri Chinmoy
Persistence quotes to inspire you to keep trying again
- “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
- “We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are.” – Tobias Wolff
- “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston S. Churchill
- “Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson
- “I am not concerned that you have fallen – I am concerned that you arise.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett
- “If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality.” – Roopleen
- “The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is, that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.” – Henry Ward Beecher
- “Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature’s laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems to by keeping its dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared.” – Tupac Shakur
- “You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.” – Richelle E. Goodrich
Persistence quotes to inspire you to rise again
- “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
- “Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in installments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day’s success.” – Israelmore Ayivor
- “Rise and rise again until lambs become lions” – Robin Hood
- “Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.” – Robert Strauss
- “The world’s greatest achievers have been those who have always stayed focussed on their goals and have been consistent in their efforts.” – Roopleen
- “Change course, but don’t give up.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing, in the end, can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.” – Margaret Atwood
- “You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying. To the best you can do every day.” – Jason Mraz
- “We love being mentally strong, but we hate situations that allow us to put our mental strength to good use.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
- “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Persistence quotes to inspire you when you feel like quitting
- “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Confucius
- “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills
- “Persistence is the key to solving most mysteries.” – Christopher Pike
- “Seven times down eight times up.” – Chris Bradford
- “Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.” – Roy Bennett
- “It’s just a matter of believing it as possible, and taking the cross millimeter by millimeter.” – Israelmore Ayivor
- “Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.” – John Quincy Adams
- “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti
- “Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “No one has the power to shatter your dreams unless you give it to them.” – Maeve Greyson
Persistence quotes to inspire to not forget your dreams
- “It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. All that matters is you get up one more time than you were knocked down.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “When it comes to fighting for your dreams, be a dragon. Breathe fire.” – Richelle E. Goodrich
- “No. Don’t give up hope just yet. It’s the last thing to go. When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope.” – Pittacus Lore
- “The sky is not my limit… I am.” – T.F. Hodge
- “Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
- “In my experience, nothing worthwhile has ever really been all that easy. But it certainly has been worthwhile regardless how difficult it seemed.” – Robert Fanney
- “Success doesn’t come to you; you go to it.” – T. Scott McLeod
- “If you lose what was most precious to you, never stop fighting for it until you have it once again in your possession.” – Imania Margria
- “Those who win never give up. Those who give up never win.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses – only results.” – Kenneth H. Blanchard
Persistence quotes to empower you to keep moving
- “Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next.” – Ben Carson
- “Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” – Harper Lee
- “The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal.” – Criss Jami
- “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God.” – Orson F. Whitney
- “Pursue your dreams. You will be amazed about what you can achieve.” – Lailah Gifty Akita
- “Do not sit still; start moving now. In the beginning, you may not go in the direction you want, but as long as you are moving, you are creating alternatives and possibilities.” – Rodolfo Costa
- “He believed in himself, believed in his quixotic ambition, letting the failures of the previous day disappear as each new day dawned. Yesterday was not today. The past did not predict the future if he could learn from his mistakes.” – Daniel Wallace
- “The speed of your success is limited only by your dedication and what you’re willing to sacrifice” – Nathan W. Morris
- “The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt, but in spite of doubt.” – Rollo May
- “You may encounter many 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
More persistence quotes to inspire you to take small steps towards success
- “Even if everybody says it’s impossible, with determination, there is always something you can do. The last thing is to give up without trying.” – Bangambiki Habyariman
- “No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.” – Greg Kincaid
- “Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.” – Ovid
- “It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” – Louis Sachar
- “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
- “Really, there was only one sensible thing to do. Stay the course. Pray it through, day by day, minute by minute. The Lord had an answer and it would surely come.” – Janice Hanna
- “He that can have patience can have what he will.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” – H.G. Wells
- “Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” – Gena Showalter
- “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison
Persistence quotes to empower you to stay strong
- “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” – Julie Andrews Edwards
- “The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who’s never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.” – Dalai Lama XIV
- “Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that’s what makes you strong.” – Sarah Dessen
- “Seems to me that there is a fine line between insanity and dedication…I call that line commitment” – Jeremy Aldana
- “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “This is one more piece of advice I have for you: don’t get impatient. Even if things are so tangled up you can’t do anything, don’t get desperate or blow a fuse and start yanking on one particular thread before it’s ready to come undone. You have to realize it’s going to be a long process and that you’ll work on things slowly, one at a time.” – Haruki Murakami
- “Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” – Molière
- “Great leaders get people to admit the truth because they know that dreams are buried under the lies they tell themselves, in order to feel okay with giving up.” – Shannon L. Alder
- “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
- “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” – A.A. Milne
- “But still try for who knows what is possible!” – Michael Faraday
- “It’s not how we fall. It’s how we get back up again.” – Patrick Ness
- “Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” – Vince Lombardi Jr.
- “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” – Peter F. Drucker
- “Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.” – Napoléon Bonaparte
Which of these persistence quotes motivated you the most?
The persistence quotes all highlight the importance of perseverance and determination when chasing a dream.
They remind us that setbacks are a natural part of the journey and it’s our ability to persist through these challenges that ultimately determines our success.
Most of these quotes are from individuals who have achieved great success despite the numerous challenges and setbacks they faced.
Hopefully, their wise words reignite that fire in you too, to stay consistent in your pursuit of success.
Remember that nothing good comes easy. You must learn to stay on track and push through difficult times. The success you’re yearning for is within your reach if you are willing to work hard and stay committed.
Go ahead and print these persistence quotes, write them down on sticker notes, and keep them in strategic areas either in your office or workspace, or bookmark this page if possible. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, you can come back and read them again.
I’m rooting for you always.
