Dean Karnazes Quotes

I've always, for whatever my faults have been, felt like I've never done anything halfway.

I was raised with the idea of maximum effort: as long as you could look in the mirror and say, 'I gave it everything I had,' it was OK. But if you gave it less, that would disgrace you.

My life is training.

One of my biggest influences of all time would probably be one of my soccer coaches, Coach Darlington, from high school. He was always trying to get me to push myself really hard. No excuses. I always hated him, but it paid off. I think that's what life is all about... when you push through the hard stuff and it pays off.

When I was about 15, I learnt that training hard doesn't get easier, you just learn to push harder. That's a powerful mentality to master.

If you want to be the best, you can't take the path of least resistance. Every morning, you wake up, and your mind tells you it's too early, and your body tells you you're a little too sore, but you've got to look deep within yourself and know what you want and what you're striving for.

People can say what they want to say, but at the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror. I know how hard I fought. I know how many storylines I pitched. I know how hard I worked in the ring.

If I started something, I had to finish. Like with violin. I started when I was seven only because my best mate wanted to. I hated it and wanted to quit, but Dad made me continue, and I got to grade seven. My parents said I had to know the value of stuff and work for stuff.

The hardest thing to do is work hard when no one is watching.

Most people want to avoid pain, and discipline is usually painful.

I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.

To remain a credible leader, I must always work first, hardest, and longest on changing myself. This is neither easy nor natural, but it is essential.

Discipline is based on pride, on meticulous attention to details, and on mutual respect and confidence. Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of the goal or the fear of failure.

Most players who play tennis love the game. But I think you also have to respect it. You want to do everything you can in your power to do your best. And for me, I know I get insane guilt if I go home at the end of the day and don't feel I've done everything I can. If I know I could have done something better, I have this uneasy feeling.

Do your best when no one is looking. If you do that, then you can be successful in anything that you put your mind to.

The academy gave me a grounding in discipline and hard work that has sustained me throughout my life, and the lessons I learned there I now try to impress on young people.

Delivering the 'Grand Rapids Press' taught me responsibility, accountability, and all the principles of the rewards of hard work.

It's not all about talent. It's about dependability, consistency, and being able to improve. If you work hard and you're coachable, and you understand what you need to do, you can improve.

One of the things Mother said to me, 'You want this, you're going to practice.' And I know how to practice.

I believe that in life, you have to give things your best shot, do your best. You have to focus on what needs to be done, do the right thing, not the popular thing.

Any time you're banged up, your body hurts, you don't really feel like going to the gym. That's when I feel like you really have to push through it. That's when you really make the leaps and bounds in your game. So, pushing through those days is never easy, but that's what gets you good.

I pride myself on what I do every night. I pride myself on my work ethic and how I carry myself. I want to be mature in my approach but focused and disciplined.

I'm just trying to work on my game and get better. That's all I can do. Keep working hard, keep trying.

Everything you do involves sacrifice. My work is to honor my principles, my opponent, and what I believe in. I stand for it, I fight, and I try to get better every day as a human being.

The hardest thing for me is to be patient and realize that it's not all going to happen right now. I just have to keep digging away, digging away. Just keep working on my game.