John Lancaster Spalding Quotes

If you want to overcome the whole world, overcome yourself.

He who overcomes others has force; he who overcomes himself is strong.

The hardest victory is the victory over self.

We conquer ourselves by learning patience, for she gives to us our longed for victory only in the surrender of self.

Conquering others takes force, conquering yourself is true strength.

The first and the best victory is to conquer self.

because the hardest boss a man can ever have is himself.

The most important battle is one to conquer yourself.

Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself, from cleanliness in relation to oneself.

Victory in physical battles requires strength, muscles, and skill; but the fight is never tougher and victory is never sweeter than in the battles over self.

Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself.

The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself.

Make no mistake, I always want to win, but I never fight with an opponent. My fight is within me it is the struggle to be the best I can be at whatever I do.

Learn to self-conquest, persevere thus for a time, and you will perceive very clearly the advantage which you gain from it.

Those who defeat others are strong, those who defeat themselves are mighty.

Whatever liberates our spirit, without also giving us mastery over ourselves, is destructive.

The battle for self-discipline may leave you a bit bruised and battered but always a better person.

Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it.

Buddhism itself is all about empowering yourself, not about getting what you want.

Self-respect leads to self-discipline.

Your task is to conquer yourselves, not ships, lands and castles. This battle is the one in which you especially are to 'come off conqueror.' It is fought every day. In fact, it is a continuing process which commenced a long, long time ago.

It is much easier to conquer a country than to conquer ourselves.

There is no other way to change something or someone for the better except to occupy it first. The only person you can occupy is yourself. That is why the only person who can change you for the better is you. Without your decision to change and your commitment to change, you will not change.

We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.