Quotes About Tenacity

comes from sturdy stock and knows how to work hard and take what comes.

kep on trying

Faliure is not an option.

Failure is not an option.

since the only way to avoid giving into depression and despair is to do something, even something you hate, anything in fact, I force myself to keep bashing away at something, anything.

I finished my first book seventy-six years ago. I offered it to every publisher on the English-speaking earth I had ever heard of. Their refusals were unanimous: and it did not get into print until, fifty years later; publishers would publish anything that had my name on it.

When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.

People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

The beginning of hardship is like the first taste of bitter food—it seems for a moment unbearable; yet, if there is nothing else to satisfy our hunger, we take another bite and find it possible to go on.

There are certain animals to which tenacity of position is a law of life,–they can never flourish again, after a single wrench: and there are certain human beings to whom predominance is a law of life,–they can only sustain humiliation so long as they can refuse to believe in it, and, in their own conception, predominate still.

The tenacity with which he strove to hide this inward drama made it the more vivid for him; as we hear with the more keenness what we wish others not to hear.

A battle won is a battle which we will not acknowledge to be lost.

I just never, ever want to give up. Most battles are won in the 11th hour, and most people give up. If you give up once, it's quite hard. If you give up a second time, it's a little bit easier. Give up a third time, it's starting to become a habit.

The game is never lost till won.

It was a tough year for me, '89, losing two Slam finals and losing another five finals. It wasn't until I won the Masters, or what's now called the ATP Finals, that things changed again. Suddenly I won seven tournaments in 1990 and became No. 1.

When I was a little boy, Marvin Hagler was my idol. He got no respect for most of his career. His fighting style was straight ahead. He took every shot thrown at him, and he kept punching back 'til he won. I honestly feel that's how I am. I take big shots from people. But I keep going.

I've been pretty good about keeping my nose to the grindstone. I feel like I won a lot of matches from hard work and persistence, even maybe when I had better options as far as shot-making.

I don't know what keeps me going. Sometimes I wonder... I think it's just pure perseverance and wanting to succeed and having that burning desire to always have success.

I wonder now how tough you have to be to get big things done.

If I'd been easily discouraged, I could have been a one-hit wonder.

I don't care when people use the term 'one-Slam wonder' with me.

There have been a few times when I wondered if I was ever going to take a wicket, but you never give up.

Failure is a word unknown to me.

The best advice I ever got - and it's the best advice I'd give anybody - is just don't believe the word 'no.' Be persistent. Persevere. Keep going. Never, ever, ever give up.