Quotes About Persistence

Resistance is implacable, intractable, indefatigable.

The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.

Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance.

From the day I finally finished something, I've never had trouble finishing anything again.

You think Resistance isn't real? Resistance will bury you.

The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique not because he believes technique is a substitute for inspiration but because he wants to be in possession of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come. The professional is sly. He knows that by toiling beside the front door of technique, he leaves room for genius to enter by the back.

The children who were able to sit for three minutes with a marshmallow on the table in front of them without eating it were rewarded with two marshmallows when the experimenter returned. But that's as crazy as inbox-watching. Krishna said we have the right to our labor, but not to the fruits of our labor. He meant that the piano is its own reward, as is the canvas, the barre, and the movieola. Fuck the marshmallows.

Resistance has no strength of its own. Every ounce of juice it possesses comes from us. We feed it with power by our fear of it. Master that fear and we conquer Resistance.

You've got the watches," say the Taliban, "but we've got the time.

Do you understand? I hadn't written anything good. It might be years before I would, if I ever did at all. That didn't matter. What counted was that I had, after years of running from it, actually sat down and done my work.

The professional has learned better. He respects Resistance. He knows if he caves in today, no matter how plausible the pretext, he'll be twice as likely to cave in tomorrow.

The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps.

All that matters is I've put in my time and hit it with all I've got. All that counts is that, for this day, for this session, I have overcome Resistance.

The pro keeps coming on. He beats Resistance at its own game by being even more resolute and even more implacable than it is.

Do you understand? I hadn't written anything good. It might be years before I would, if I ever did at all. That didn't matter. What counted was that I had, after years of running from it, actually sat down and done my work.

The hill is a sonofabitch but what can you do? Set one foot in front of another and keep climbing.

The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.

The professional is prepared at a deeper level. He is prepared, each day, to confront his own self-sabotage.

The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it. He commits full-time. That's what I mean when I say turning pro. Resistance hates it when we turn pro.

Resistance, his all-encompassing term for what Freud called the Death Wish — that destructive force inside human nature that rises whenever we consider a tough, long-term course of action that might do for us or others something that's actually good.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.

Every sun casts a shadow, and genius's shadow is Resistance.

When I sit down to write in the morning, I literally have no expectations for myself or for the day's work. My only goal is to put in three or four hours with my fingers punching the keys. I don't judge myself on quality. I don't hold myself accountable for quantity. The only questions I ask are, Did I show up? Did I try my best?

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while.