Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.
- Lao TzuSuccess
Success is the theme where the difference between a quotation and a slogan is easiest to see. A slogan promises an outcome; a quote worth keeping usually names a cost. That is why the most durable lines about success are so often about failure — the number of attempts, the years without result, what had to be given up along the way.
It is also worth noticing that the definition shifts by era. For ancient writers success sat close to virtue and had little to do with property; in the nineteenth century it attached to work and ascent; today it most often means visibility. One word, three measures. While reading, it helps to ask whose measure a line is using before applying it to your own.
Fortune favors the bold.
- Latin ProverbTry not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.
- Albert EinsteinGrain by grain a loaf, stone by stone a palace.
- Croatian ProverbWell done is better than well said.
- Benjamin FranklinI attribute my success to this — I never gave or took any excuse.
- Florence NightingaleFar and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
- Theodore RooseveltKnow yourself and you will win all battles.
- Sun TzuOptimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
- Helen KellerPleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
- AristotleEnergy and persistence conquer all things.
- Benjamin FranklinCharacter is destiny.
- HeraclitusKnowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
- Johann Wolfgang von GoetheComing together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.
- Henry FordGreat things are done by a series of small things brought together.
- Vincent van GoghOur deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.
- George EliotSlow and steady wins the race.
- AesopSuccess is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.
- Oscar WildeOnly those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.
- Friedrich SchillerExcellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.
- Booker T. WashingtonWithout tools there is no craft.
- Croatian ProverbPractice makes the master.
- German ProverbI have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
- Thomas EdisonNothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
- Ralph Waldo EmersonWith confidence, you have won before you have started.
- Marcus GarveyHe who has done his best for his own time has lived for all times.
- Friedrich SchillerNothing will work unless you do.
- Maya AngelouFirst say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
- EpictetusVictory belongs to the most persevering.
- Napoleon BonaparteGenius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
- Thomas EdisonThe man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
- ConfuciusPerfect is the enemy of good.
- VoltaireWhatever you are, be a good one.
- Abraham LincolnSuccess is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
- Booker T. WashingtonThe early riser grabs two fortunes.
- Croatian ProverbBy failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
- Benjamin FranklinIt is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.
- SenecaThe greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.
- Michelangelo