Spiritual Quotes

Perseverance

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do not expect that you will always have easy sailing. Parts of your journey are likely to be rough. Don’t let the rough places put you out of commission. Keep on with the journey. Just the way you weather the storm shows what material you are made of. Never sit down and complain of the rough places, but think how nice the pleasant stretches were. View with delight the smooth plains that are in front of you. Do not let a setback stop you. Think of it as a mere incident that has to be overcome before you can reach your goal. —Theron Q. Dumont, The Power of Concentration

The spirit of “sticktoitiveness” is the one that wins. Many go just so far and then give up, whereas, if they had persevered a little longer, they would have won out. Many have much initiative, but instead of concentrating it into one channel, they diffuse it through several, thereby dissipating it to such an extent that its effect is lost. —Theron Q. Dumont, The Power of Concentration

Lack of Perseverance is nothing but the lack of the Will To Do. It takes the same energy to say, “I will continue,” as to say, “I give up.” Just the moment you say the latter you shut off your dynamo, and your determination is gone. Every time you allow your determination to be broken you weaken it. Don’t forget this. Just the instant you notice your determination beginning to weaken, concentrate on it and by sheer Will Power make it continue on the “job.” —Theron Q. Dumont, The Power of Concentration

Perseverance is the first element of success. In order to persevere you must be ceaseless in your application. It requires you to concentrate your thoughts upon your undertaking and bring every energy to bear upon keeping them focused upon it until you have accomplished your aim. To quit short of this is to weaken all future efforts. —Theron Q. Dumont, The Power of Concentration

There is nothing that can resist the force of perseverance. The way ahead of all of us is not clear sailing, but all hard passages can be bridged, if you just think they can and concentrate on how to do it. But if you think the obstacles are unsurmountable, you will not of course try, and even if you do, it will be in only a half-hearted way—a way that accomplishes nothing. —Theron Q. Dumont, The Power of Concentration

No one should give up when there is always the resources of Infinity. —Theron Q. Dumont, The Power of Concentration

Look at the almost miraculous things accomplished by prisoners desiring freedom. Look how they work through steel plates and stone walls with a bit of stone. Is your desire as strong as that? Do you work for the desired thing as if your life depended upon it?... If a [person] wants a thing as much as the prisoner wants freedom,...then that [person] will be able to sweep away obstacles and impediments apparently immovable. The key to attainment is Desire, Confidence, and Will. This key will open many doors. —William W. Atkinson, Thought Vibration

Energy and invincible determination—these two things will sweep away mighty barriers, and will surmount the greatest obstacles. And yet they must be used together. Energy without determination will go to waste.... “Energy and Invincible Determination”:—aren’t they magnificent words? Commit them to memory,...and they will be a constant inspiration to you in hours of need.... Say these words over and over again, and see how you are filled with new life, see how your blood will circulate, how your nerves will tingle. Make these words a part of yourself, and then go forth anew to the battle of life, encouraged and strengthened. Put them into practice. “Energy and Invincible Determination”—let that be your motto in your work-a-day life, and you will be one of those rare [persons] who is able to “do things.” —William W. Atkinson, Thought Vibration

If you have groveled in fear and a belief that you were born to poverty and failure, courage and success and opulence will be of slow growth. Yet they will grow and materialize, as surely as you insist and persist. Declare they are yours, right in the face of the worst disasters. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox, The Heart of the New Thought

If you waken some morning in the depths of despondency and gloom, do not say to yourself: "I may as well give up this effort to adopt the New Thought—I have made a failure of it evidently." Instead sit down quietly, and assert calmly that you are cheerfulness, hope, courage, faith and success. Realize that your despondency is only temporary; an old habit, which is reasserting itself, but over which you will gradually gain the ascendency. Then go forth into the world and busy yourself in some useful occupation, and before you know it is on the way, hope will creep into your heart, and the gray cloud will lift from your mind. Physical pains will loosen their hold, and conditions of poverty will change to prosperity. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox, The Heart of the New Thought

By persistent thinking you can undo any condition which exists. You can free yourself from any chains, whether of poverty,...ill health or unhappiness. If you have been thinking these thoughts half a lifetime you must not expect to batter down the walls you have built, in a week, or a month, or a year. You must work and wait, and grow discouraged and stumble and pick yourself up and go on again. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox, The Heart of the New Thought

Analyze your own abilities and find what you are best fitted to do. Then set about the task of doing your chosen work to the very best of your ability, and do not for an instant doubt your own capabilities. Perhaps they may be dwarfed and enfeebled by years of morbid thought; but if you persist in a self-respecting and self-reliant and God-trusting course of thinking, your powers will increase and your capabilities strengthen. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox, The Heart of the New Thought

The children of Israel were told that they could have all the land they could see. This is true of every man. He has only the land within his own mental vision. Every great work, every big accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement. —Florence Scovel Shinn, The Game of Life and How to Play It

The one who knows spiritual law, is undisturbed by appearance, and rejoices while he is "yet in captivity." That is, he holds to his vision and gives thanks that the end is accomplished, he has received. —Florence Scovel Shinn, The Game of Life and How to Play It