Etty Hillesum Quotes

I had so many outs in my career. I could have said, I don’t need this. I have money; I have fame; I have victories; I have Grand Slams. But when your love for something is bigger than all those things, you continue to keep getting up in the morning when it’s freezing outside, when you know that it can be the most difficult day, when nothing is working, when you feel like the belief sometimes isn’t there from the outside world, and you seem so small. But you can achieve great things when you don’t listen to all those things.

Taking action is hard, but know what? Enduring a bad situation can be its own hell.

And then he sank back and tried, as usual, not to think. He must succeed. That's what the world was made for. That's what he was made for. That was what he would have to do.

I don’t fear failure. I only fear the slowing up of the engine inside of me which is saying, ‘Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?

He that resolves upon any great and good end, has, by that very resolution, scaled the chief barrier to it. He will find such resolution removing difficulties, searching out or making means, giving courage for despondency, and strength for weakness, and like the star to the wise men of old, ever guiding him nearer and nearer to perfection.

Perseverance is an active principle, and cannot continue to operate but under the influence of desire.

When you've something to fight for, you get the best out of yourself.

I just have to keep working hard.

No one succeeds without effort... Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance.

I don't know what drives me, I don't have a clue, but I'm driven more today than I ever have been.

You will encounter many distractions and many temptations to put your goal aside: The security of a job, a wife who wants kids, whatever. But if you hang in there, always following your vision, I have no doubt you will succeed.

One thing I've come to learn about myself is that I have to keep going.

I used to lie awake at night, willing myself to put in the hard work, the determination, the passion.

I've definitely been in ruts, and I think having some kind of perseverance is important.

If I listened to my critics, I would still be at home under my bed right now.

I have too much drive and determination to let anything falter me. Because I know that life's short and there's so much that I wanna do, and I can't do anything that might hold me back or get stuck in.

Don't give up. There are too many nay-sayers out there who will try to discourage you. Don't listen to them. The only one who can make you give up is yourself.

You can get through anything if you want it bad enough.

I never had a lot of drive, but because I had family responsibilities, I had a lot of tenacity - the tenacity of a drowning man.

I've been strong and determined all my life about many things I've wanted.

My dream was bigger than anything else. My fight and me wanting to fulfill what I wanted to be in life. That was enough to keep me strong enough to endure anything.

You have to be driven by something greater than you, where you don't surrender, and you commit to something like that.

I've kind of been doubted my whole life. I use that as fuel to continue to push every single day.

I struggle with my training sometimes. The thing I look at is if you keep getting up and moving forward, you'll be successful. That's the way I've lived my life. I'm not going to stop doing something because somebody says it's time. I'm going to stop it when my body says it's over or the fans say, 'we're done watching you.'

I will not retreat; I will find the strength to reach my goal.