The climb to the top of the mountain

John Muir - Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher

The mountains are calling and I must go.

Carlos Castaneda - American author

All paths are the same, leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart!

Robert T. Kiyosaki - American businessman and author

Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.

John C. Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn.

Denis Waitley - American motivational speaker, writer and consultant 

Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.

John C. Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor 

Don't cheat yourself out the possibility of the potential that’s on the other side of commitments. 

J.R.R. Tolkien - English writer, poet, philologist, and academic

Short cuts make long delays.

Denis Waitley - American motivational speaker, writer and consultant 

Commitment doesn't guarantee success, but lack of commitment guarantees you'll fall short of your potential.

Roy T. Bennett - Author

The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure. If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones.

Zig Ziglar - American author, salesman, and motivational speaker

Difficult roads always lead to beautiful destinations.

Simon Sinek - British-born American author and motivational speaker 

There is no such thing as winning, there is only advancing. 

Rumi - Poet

It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

Brian Tracy - Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author

Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new. 

Helen Keller - American author, political activist, and lecturer

The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place.

Robin Sharma - Canadian writer

Obstacles are the cost of greatness.

Roy T. Bennett - Author 

When you start living the life of your dreams, there will always be obstacles, doubters, mistakes and setbacks along the way. But with hard work, perseverance and self-belief there is no limit to what you can achieve. 

Og Mandino - American author

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.

Bruce Lee - Hong Kong American actor, director, martial artist, martial arts instructor and philosopher

A goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at.

John C. Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor 

Your first step to success is having the confidence that you will succeed.

Martin Luther King Jr. - American Christian minister and activist 

If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

Rajneesh (Osho) - Indian godman, mystic

Truth is pure awareness.

Ronda Rousey - American professional wrestler, actress, author 

Everyone wants to win. But to truly succeed - whether it is at a sport or at your job or in life - you have to be willing to do the hard work, overcome the challenges, and make the sacrifices it takes to be the best at what you do.

Eckhart Tolle - Spiritual teacher and best-selling author

Awareness is the greatest agent for change.

Gary Mack - Leading sports psychology consultant, counselor and author

Only climbers get to the top.

Samuel Beckett - Irish novelist

Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Steve Chandler - Bestselling author of 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, Time Warrior and 30 other books

I can choose to perceive every circumstance as an opportunity to grow and stay on my mission. And if this opportunity is also challenging, that’s even better. I have a chance to rise up--like a kite rises against the wind. If there’s no wind the kite can’t fly. Have you ever tried to fly a kite when there’s no wind at all? Have you ever tried to have a great life when there’s no challenge? If there’s no challenge for me I cannot become stronger. I cannot grow.

Samuel Smiles - Author and government reformer

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery

Ernest Holmes - American New Thought writer, teacher, and leader

You are an eternal being now on the pathway of endless unfoldment, never less but always more yourself. Life is not static. It is forever dynamic, forever creatingnot something done and finished, but something alive, awake and aware. There is something within you that sings the song of eternity. Listen to it.

Kelly McGonigal - Health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University

My favorite definition of the mindful path is the one the reveals itself as you walk down it. You cannot find the path until you step on to it.

Joseph Campbell - American professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion

The heroic life is living the individual adventure. There is no security in following the call to adventure. Nothing is exciting if you know what the outcome is going to be. To refuse the call means stagnation.
What you don’t experience positively you will experience negatively. You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path.
If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your potential.
The goal of the hero trip down to the jewel point is to find those levels in the psyche that open, open, open, and finally open to the mystery of your Self being Buddha consciousness or the Christ.

That’s the journey.

Joseph Campbell - American professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion

If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.

Joseph Campbell - American professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion

When you follow your bliss, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you.

Rumi - 13th-century Persian poet

The wound is the place where the Light enters you.

David Brooks - Political and cultural commentator who writes for The New York Times

Much of life is about failure, whether we acknowledge it or not, and your destiny is profoundly shaped by how effectively you learn from and adapt to failure.

Michael J. Gelb - American non-fiction author, executive coach and management consultant

Champions know that success is inevitable, that there is no such thing as failure, only feedback. They know that the best way to forecast the future is to create it.

Joseph Campbell - American professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion

Where you stumble and fall, there you will find gold.

Robin Sharma - Canadian writer, best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series

“I’ve learned that everything happens for a reason,” the yogi Krishnan told him. “Every event has a why and all adversity teaches us a lesson... Never regret your past. Accept it as the teacher that it is.”

Russ Harris - Internationally acclaimed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer and author of the best-selling ACT-based self-help book The Happiness Trap

Any search for a "pain-free existence" is doomed to failure.

George Burr Leonard - American writer, editor, and educator who wrote extensively about education and human potential

Perhaps we'll never know how far the path can go, how much a human being can truly achieve, until we realize that the ultimate reward is not a gold medal but the path itself.

George Burr Leonard - American writer, editor, and educator who wrote extensively about education and human potential

How to begin the journey? You need only to take the first step. When? There is always now.

George Burr Leonard - American writer, editor, and educator who wrote extensively about education and human potential

Mastery is a journey, and that the master must have the courage to risk failure.

Abraham Harold Maslow - American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization

One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.

Maxwell Maltz - American cosmetic surgeon and author of Psycho-Cybernetics, which was a system of ideas that he claimed could improve one's self-image leading to a more successful and fulfilling life

The greatest mistake a man can make is to be afraid of making one.

Atul Gawande - American surgeon, writer, and public health researcher

We always hope for the easy fix: the one simple change that will erase a problem in a stroke. But few things in life work this way. Instead, success requires making a hundred small steps go right - one after the other, no slipups, no goofs, everyone pitching in.

Tal Ben-Shahar - American and Israeli teacher, and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership

Attaining lasting happiness requires that we enjoy the journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable. Happiness is not about making it to the peak of the mountain nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain; happiness is the experience of climbing toward the peak.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership

The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership

If we are growing we are always going to be outside our comfort zone.

Tal Ben-Shahar - American and Israeli teacher, and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership

The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.

Trevor Moawad - Renowned Mental Conditioning expert and strategic advisor to some of the world's most elite performers

He responded with a classic SEAL way of looking at adversity: in the middle of a period of adversity, we have an opportunity to stress-test our own belief system.

Trevor Moawad - Renowned Mental Conditioning expert and strategic advisor to some of the world's most elite performers

The next time life presents you with a challenge, don’t simply assume everything will work out. Don’t tell yourself you can’t do it. Just evaluate the situation. Figure out what you can accomplish right now. Then draw your line. When you cross that line, draw another one. And keep going.

Abraham Harold Maslow - American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization

One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.

Paulo Coelho - Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist

The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.

Russell Simmons - American entrepreneur, record executive, writer, and film producer

There are no failures, only quitters.

Robert Toru Kiyosaki - American businessman and author. Kiyosaki is the founder of Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad Company, a private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos

In school we learn that mistakes are bad, and we are punished for making them. Yet, if you look at the way humans are designed to learn, we learn by making mistakes. We learn to walk by falling down. If we never fell down, we would never walk.

Robert Toru Kiyosaki - American businessman and author. Kiyosaki is the founder of Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad Company, a private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos

You’re only poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something. Most people only talk and dream of getting rich. You’ve done something.

Jack Canfield - American author, motivational speaker, corporate trainer, and entrepreneur

Don't worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.

Pema Chödrön - American Tibetan Buddhist. She is an ordained nun, former acharya of Shambhala Buddhism and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

Carlos Castaneda - American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs

All paths are the same, leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart!

Carlos Castaneda - American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs

A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you . . . Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself alone, one question . . . Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't it is of no use.

Carlos Castaneda - American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs

Never take a path that has no heart in it. You can't lose if your heart is in your work, but you can't win if your heart is not in it.

William Harry McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command

Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.

Michael Bernard Beckwith - New Thought minister, author, and founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Beverly Hills, California, a New Thought church with a congregation estimated in excess of 8,000 members

Fall forward, in your failing, and rise up with a soul on fire!

Debbie Ford - American self-help author, coach, lecturer and teacher, most known for The New York Times best-selling book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, which aimed to help readers overcome their shadow side with the help of modern psychology and spiritual practices

To live a life of excellence, you will have to take risks. You will have to step into new territory and climb new mountains. If you’re up to something that’s as big as you are, it’s going to be scary. If it feels perfectly safe, you are probably underachieving. To leave your mark in the world, you will have to stand someplace you’ve never been willing to stand before. And you will have to have the courage to aspire to excellence.

John Wooden - American basketball player and coach

The man who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success.

Denis E. Waitley - American motivational speaker, writer and consultant

Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.

Dale Carnegie - American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. 

Peter C. Brown - Writer and former management consultant

It’s not the failure that’s desirable, it’s the dauntless effort despite the risks, the discovery of what works and what doesn’t that sometimes only failure can reveal.

Ryan Holiday - American marketer and author. He is the former director of marketing for American Apparel and a media columnist and editor-at-large for the New York Observer

The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.

Josh Waitzkin - American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life

If I want to be the best, I have to take risks others would avoid, always optimizing the learning potential of the moment and turning adversity to my advantage. That said, there are times when the body needs to heal, but those are ripe opportunities to deepen the mental, technical, internal side of my game. When aiming for the top, your path requires an engaged, searching mind. You have to make obstacles spur you to creative new angles in the learning process. Let setbacks deepen your resolve. You should always come off an injury or a loss better than when you went down.

Josh Waitzkin - American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life

The human mind defines things in relation to one another—without light the notion of darkness would be unintelligible.

Robin Sharma - Canadian writer, best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series. Sharma worked as a litigation lawyer until age 25, when he self-published MegaLiving, a book on stress management and spirituality

Getting lost along your path is a part of finding the path you are meant to be on.

Neil A. Fiore - Renowned psychologist, lecturer, trainer, and bestselling author 

Replace “This project is so big and important” with “I can take one small step.

Neil A. Fiore - Renowned psychologist, lecturer, trainer, and bestselling author 

Just because you find more work and problems on your path than you anticipated doesn’t mean that you made a wrong choice or a mistake!

Michael Jordan - American businessman and former professional basketball player

Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.

Benedict Carey - American journalist and reporter on medical and science topics for The New York Times

It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.

Matthew Kelly - One of the great thought leaders of our time. His enormous success as an author, speaker, and business consultant is the result of his comprehensive worldview which springs forth from the single idea that we are each here to become the-very-best-version-of-ourselves

If you give your body a choice, it will always take the easy way out. Your body lies. It tells you it cannot when it can.

Carl Jung - Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology

No tree can grow to Heaven unless it’s roots reach down to Hell.

Og Mandino - American author. He wrote the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World. His books have sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into over 25 languages

I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.

Og Mandino - American author. He wrote the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World. His books have sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into over 25 languages

Never feel shame for trying and failing for he who has never failed is he who has never tried.

Og Mandino - American author. He wrote the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World. His books have sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into over 25 languages

Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus each obstacle is a comrade-in-arms forcing you to become better... or quit. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future.

Tim S. Grover - CEO of Attack Athletics, Inc., which he founded in 1989, and author of the international bestseller Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable

Being the best means engineering your life so you never stop until you get what you want, and then you keep going until you get what’s next. And then you go for even more.

Travis Macy - Speaker, author, coach, and professional endurance athlete

If you want to go big, failing repeatedly is part of the deal.

Bob Rotella - Consistently recognized as the world's premier sports psychologist. He has dedicated his life to helping coaches, athletes, business leaders, and salespeople use their minds and emotions to take them to the top of their chosen professions the creative process

Exceptional people really do come to believe that the journey is more important than the destination.

Matthew Syed - British journalist, author, broadcaster and former table tennis player. He competed as an English table tennis international, and was the English number one for many years

Progress is built, in effect, upon the foundations of necessary failure. That is the essential paradox of expert performance.

David Bayles - Accomplished photographer, author, workshop leader, and conservationist. He has studied with Ansel Adams and Brett Weston, among others, and has taught and written extensively in the arts for over thirty years

Artist get better by sharpening their skills or by acquiring new ones; they get better by learning to work, and by learning from their work.

Phil Knight - American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company

Life is growth. You grow or you die.

Phil Knight - American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company

Life is growth. You grow or you die.

Ben Bergeron trains some of the world's fittest athletes. A former Ironman triathlete turned CrossFit Games competitor, Ben has coached athletes to six world championships

What is grit, really? It's a word that's been used to describe everything under the sun, but it means something specific: when things get hard, you push harder; when you fail, you get back up stronger; when you don't see results, you don't get discouraged, but you just continue to pound away day, after day, after day, with relentlessness, consistency, heart, and passion -- that's grit.

Shane Snow - A science and business journalist and the co-founder of Contently, one of Inc's fastest growing companies and Crain's and Ad Age's best places to work in America

The research showed that experts—people who were masters at a trade—vastly preferred negative feedback to positive. It spurred the most improvement. That was because criticism is generally more actionable than compliments.

Oscar Wilde - Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, the early 1890s saw him become one of the most popular playwrights in London

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

Angela Lee Duckworth - American academic, psychologist, and popular science author. She is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies grit and self-control

...there are no shortcuts to excellence. Developing real expertise, figuring out really hard problems, it all takes time―longer than most people imagine....you've got to apply those skills and produce goods or services that are valuable to people....Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you're willing to stay loyal to it...it's doing what you love, but not just falling in love―staying in love.

Cal Newport - American non-fiction author and associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University

If you’re not uncomfortable, then you’re probably stuck at an "acceptable level."

Jim Kouzes - Coauthor with Barry Posner of the award-winning and best-selling book, The Leadership Challenge, with over 2.5 million copies in print. He's also the Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University

The climb to the top is arduous and steep. People become exhausted, frustrated, and disenchanted, and are often tempted to give up. Genuine acts of caring draw people forward.

Barbara Oakley - American professor of engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University whose online courses on learning are some of the most popular MOOC classes in the world. She is involved in multiple areas of research, ranging from STEM education, to learning practices

Focus on the process (the way you spend your time) instead of the product (what you want to accomplish).

Robert Greene - American author known for his books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written six international bestsellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature

Think of it this way: There are two kinds of failure. The first comes from never trying out your ideas because you are afraid, or because you are waiting for the perfect time. This kind of failure you can never learn from, and such timidity will destroy you. The second kind comes from a bold and venturesome spirit. If you fail in this way, the hit that you take to your reputation is greatly outweighed by what you learn. Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done.

Daniel H. Pink - American author. He has written six books, four of them New York Times bestsellers. He was a host and a co-executive producer of the 2014 National Geographic Channel social science TV series Crowd Control. From 1995 to 1997, he was the chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore

When the reward is the activity itself--deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one's best--there are no shortcuts.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897

When we are sure that we are on the right road there is no need to plan our journey too far ahead. No need to burden ourselves with doubts and fears as to the obstacles that may bar our progress. We cannot take more than one step at a time.

Carol Dweck - American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on mindset

Becoming is better than being.

Carol Dweck - American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on mindset

Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?

Jason Selk - One of the premier performance coaches in the United States, with dozens of professional athletes and Fortune 500 executives as his clients

Greatness rarely happens on accident. If you want to achieve excellence, you will have to act like you really want it. How? Quite simply: by dedicating time and energy into consistently doing what needs to be done.

Rory Vaden - One of the top 100 leadership speakers in the world according to Inc. Magazine. He is a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and has a TEDx talk with millions of views. Rory is a recognized expert and speaker on business strategy and leadership

Because in our never-ending search for the next destination, we miss out on one of life’s great truths, which is, just as the legendary philosopher Hannah Montana said, “It’s all about the climb.

Steven Pressfield - American author of historical fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays

Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.

Steven Pressfield - American author of historical fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays

Failure really can be an asset if what you’re trying to do is improve, learn, or do something new.

Ryan Holiday - American author, public-relations strategist, bookstore owner and host of the podcast, The Daily Stoic. He is a former director of marketing for American Apparel

Failure shows us the way—by showing us what isn’t the way.

Ryan Holiday - American author, public-relations strategist, bookstore owner and host of the podcast, The Daily Stoic. He is a former director of marketing for American Apparel

To argue, to complain, or worse, to just give up, these are choices. Choices that more often than not, do nothing to get us across the finish line.

Wendell Phillips - American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one white American wholly color-blind and free from race prejudice

What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better.

Jon Kabat-Zinn - American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School

You might be tempted to avoid the messiness of daily living for the tranquility of stillness and peacefulness. This of course would be an attachment to stillness, and like any strong attachment, it leads to delusion. It arrests development and short-circuits the cultivation of wisdom.

Jon Kabat-Zinn - American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School

We must be willing to encounter darkness and despair when they come up and face them, over and over again if need be, without running away or numbing ourselves in the thousands of ways we conjure up to avoid the unavoidable.

Gary Mack - Leading sports psychology consultant and counselor who has worked with athletes in the NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA, and Major League Baseball

In truth, life is based upon failures. If you don’t fail, you’re probably not challenging yourself enough.

Gary Mack - Leading sports psychology consultant and counselor who has worked with athletes in the NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA, and Major League Baseball

The paradox is that sometimes you have to get worse before you get better.

Gary Mack - Leading sports psychology consultant and counselor who has worked with athletes in the NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA, and Major League Baseball

Only climbers get to the top.

Epictetus - Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece for the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion

On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.

Scott Adams - American artist and cartoonist. He is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. Dilbert came to national prominence during the downsizing period in 1990s America and reached a worldwide audience

Failure always brings something valuable with it. I don’t let it leave until I extract that value.

Scott Adams - American artist and cartoonist. He is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. Dilbert came to national prominence during the downsizing period in 1990s America and reached a worldwide audience

Most important, understand that goals are for losers and systems are for winners.

Pema Chödrön - American Tibetan Buddhist. She is an ordained nun, former acharya of Shambhala Buddhism and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Chödrön has written several dozen books and audiobooks, and is principal teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia

Trying to run away is never the answer to being a fully human. Running away from the immediacy of our experience is like preferring death to life.

Brian Tracy - Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author. He is the author of over eighty books that have been translated into dozens of languages. His popular books are Earn What You're Really Worth, Eat That Frog!, No Excuses!

People invariably seek the fastest and easiest way to get the things they want, right now, with little or no concern for the long-term consequences of their behaviors.

Abraham H. Maslow - American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority

In a word, growth and improvement can come through pain and conflict.

Tal Ben-Shahar - American and Israeli teacher, and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership. As a lecturer at Harvard University, Ben-Shahar created the most popular course in Harvard's history

The choice is a simple one: Learn to fail, or fail to learn. 

Ellen J. Langer - American professor of psychology at Harvard University; in 1981, she became the first woman ever to be tenured in psychology at Harvard

There is always a step small enough from where we are to get us to where we want to be. If we take that small step, there's always another we can take, and eventually a goal thought to be too far to reach becomes achievable.

Teresa Amabile - American academic who is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School

Track your small wins to motivate big accomplishments.

Joe De Sena - CEO and founder of Spartan and the Death Race. He is also a NY Times best selling author of Spartan Up, Spartan Fit and The Spartan Way

These achievements ring hollow, because what matters is the journey, and there was no journey. Instant success imparts nothing of any real or lasting value. No adversity has been confronted and handled because everything came fast and easy. When adversity does arrive, and it always does, someone who has never encountered it before will have no clue what to do in response.

Lewis Howes - New York Times Bestselling author, lifestyle entrepreneur, high performance business coach and keynote speaker. A former professional football player and two-sport All-American, he is a current USA Men's National Handball Team athlete

In reality, failure is simply feedback. It’s not that you are bad or not good enough or incapable. Failure (or feedback) gives you the opportunity to look at what’s not working and figure out how to make it work.

Lewis Howes - New York Times Bestselling author, lifestyle entrepreneur, high performance business coach and keynote speaker. A former professional football player and two-sport All-American, he is a current USA Men's National Handball Team athlete

We only have one rule. You can’t stop. You can go as slow as you need to go, but you cannot stop. You can never drop out.

John McDonald - Editor and writer for Fortune magazine for three decades

There must be a positive and negative in everything in the universe in order to complete a circuit or circle, without which there would be no activity, no motion.

John McDonald - Editor and writer for Fortune magazine for three decades

There must be a positive and negative in everything in the universe in order to complete a circuit or circle, without which there would be no activity, no motion.

Jim Rohn - American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker

Enterprise is always better than ease. Every time we choose to do less than we possibly can, it affects our self-confidence. If we keep doing a little less every day, we are also becoming a little less every day. Can you imagine what you’d end up being after ten years of doing a little less every day? It’s devastating! Think about it… doing less could ruin your life!

Georges St-Pierre - Canadian former professional mixed martial artist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history 

You always recognize a great champion ... [by] how they come back from a loss. 

Dave Ramsey - American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman 

If you don’t own the goal and it doesn’t come from your dream, then you won’t have the toughness to persevere when the going gets tough. And I will promise you that the going will get tough. There is never an exception—everyone who wins must push through obstacles, lots of them. You simply will not get up at dawn for your three-mile run because your wife wants you thinner. Big goals require big backbone—wimps need not apply. 

Henry Ford - American industrialist, business magnate, and founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production 

Those who never make mistakes work for those of us who do. 

Jim Afremow - Leading sports psychology consultant and licensed counselor. He is the founder of Good to Gold Medal, former sports psychology consultant at Arizona State University, and the author of The Champion's Mind 

Setbacks are your opportunity to bounce back—to make a comeback! 

C.S. Lewis - British writer and lay theologian 

Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny. 

Ken Ravizza - One of the top sport psychology consultants in the world. His educational approach to performance excellence helped athletes, coaches, musicians, heart surgeons and performers at all levels achieve success through the use of mental skills training 

Adversity is the fertilizer to growth. 

Rumi - 3th-century Persian poet, Hanafi faqih, Islamic scholar, Maturidi theologian, and Sufi mystic originally from Greater Khorasan in Greater Iran

God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.

Malcolm Gladwell - English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996

What is learned out of necessity is inevitably more powerful than the learning that comes easily.

Malcolm Gladwell - English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996

Much of what we consider valuable in our world arises out of (these) one-sided conflicts. Because the act of facing overwhelming odds, produces greatness and beauty.

William H. McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014

Hope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can ease the pain of unbearable loss. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference.

William H. McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014

Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up.

William H. McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014

Quitting never makes anything easier.

David Goggins - American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL and former United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party member who served in the Iraq War. His memoir, Can't Hurt Me, was released in 2018

You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.

David Goggins - American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL and former United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party member who served in the Iraq War. His memoir, Can't Hurt Me, was released in 2018

The Buddha famously said that life is suffering. I’m not a Buddhist, but I know what he meant and so do you. To exist in this world, we must contend with humiliation, broken dreams, sadness, and loss.

David Goggins - American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL and former United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party member who served in the Iraq War. His memoir, Can't Hurt Me, was released in 2018

I don't stop when I'm tired. I stop when I'm done.

Fred Rogers - American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001

There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.

Grant Cardone - Businessman and writer, the author of the bestsellers and influential expert in the sphere of SEO international company. He founded the first online university for the sellers, where they are taught how to sell goods and services effectively, how to promote them, and achieve success in this as well

Until you become completely obsessed with your mission, no one will take you seriously. Until the world understands that you're not going away—that you are 100 percent committed and have complete and utter conviction and will persist in pursuing your project—you will not get the attention you need and the support you want.

Carol Dweck - American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on mindset

John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, says you aren’t a failure until you start to blame. What he means is that you can still be in the process of learning from your mistakes until you deny them.

Carol Dweck - American psychologist. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck is known for her work on mindset

Those with the growth mindset found setbacks motivating. They’re informative. They’re a wake-up call.

Alden Mills - American businessman, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and former Navy SEAL

Pain is weakness leaving the body.

Byron Katie - American speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as "The Work of Byron Katie" or simply as "The Work"

When you realize that every stressful moment you experience is a gift that points you to your own freedom, life becomes very kind.