Quotes About Determination

But when you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.

As I crossed the lobby to the boardwalk, all I could think was that regardless of the performance I'd just witnessed, it didn't make you noble to step away from something that wasn't working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you were the problem, chances were you could also be the solution. The only way to find out was to take another shot. (302)

I closed my eyes and saw not the flat black of the dark but something else. Something brighter, closer to light, shining small but ever steady. More than enough to go on as a part of me pushed up and out, finally, to meet it there.

it didn't make you noble to step away from something that wasn't working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you were the problem, chances were you could also be the solution. The only way to find out was to take another shot.

And with that, my mother was off and running. Hard to believe that once schmoozing was as painful to her as multiple root canals. But when you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well

I'd spent so many months feeling like I was underwater, half in dreamland with those mermaids, hearing all the voices from up above. And since I'd been at Evergreen I felt like I'd been swimming so hard, the water growing warmer and warmer the closer I got to the top. I wasn't there yet, but now I could see the surface, rippling just beyond my fingers.

That racing of my heart, the flushing of my face I was feeling: it was what happened when you got hurt, true, but also when you got back up and went on.

It was a feeling I'd woken up with one morning, a kind of whirring in my ears and an instability to the world, like things were coming to a head. I faced myself in the bathroom mirror and looked into my eyes, wondering if I would see something new in them, something crackling and different. I felt strong, as if every muscle in my body was taut and lean, not creaky and bony anymore.

When's something difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder- if not impossible- to lose.

You would be surprised by the strength of a desperate man.

This life will hit you--hard. In the face! It'll wait for you to get back up, just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you, is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

I like to be in charge of my destiny.

Oh, I can find Matt anywhere. I have perfect Matt-dar. I used to be able to spot him across campus in a group of a thousand. I'm like Edward sniffing out Bella. I'm a vampire. I can smell him in any room.

Whaddaya know? I didn't even win the read-a-thon and the two books I want most will still be ordered. And maybe, just maybe, I can find a way to uncurse Maryrose.

I spot my jewelry box on my dresser and think about Lana. I had wanted her to accept her life as is, but she wanted to fight for her dreams. Sure, sometimes you have to get what you get and not get upset. But maybe other times, you have to follow your heart and go after what you really want. Take a risk. Be brave. I guess part of growing up is learning when to do which.

defying gravity.

Whatever you do, don't quit. You can make it to the top of the hill!   The

As a teacher, I pride myself on education, but I quickly realized you can't motivate people who are unwilling to do what it takes to succeed. They need to want it for themselves more than you want it for them.

If I told you that you had three gold bricks in your backyard, would you continue to dig until you found them? I would!

If there's one thing that I know for sure about success is that it begins with a decision to be successful, a commitment to seeing it through, and you just can't quit.

I did not hesitate to be disagreeable to preserve my independence.

did not hesitate to be disagreeable to preserve my independence"—applied

The answer is no, said Melody firmly. "Undeniably, indisputably, categorically no.

Nut up, Ben would have said if he was there, although probably not to her face.