Success Nuggets
GOD / DIRECTION
"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
It is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose. Philippians 2:13
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour." John 12:24-26
He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked.1 John 1:6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart…remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way. Proverbs 3:5-6
I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me – I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me. Philippians 4:13
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him to help you do it and He will. Psalm 37:5
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
When God is going to do
something wonderful, He begins with a
difficulty. If it is going to be
something very wonderful, He begins with an
impossibility.
Charles Inwood
If you want to serve God, you will find a way; if you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. Unknown
The will of God is always a bigger thing than we bargained for. Jim Elliot
All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on Him being with them. J. Hudson Taylor
The Great Commission is not an option to be considered, but a command to be obeyed. J. Hudson Taylor
All that is required for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke
If the service of God is worth anything, it is worth everything. J. Oswald Chambers
There is nothing worth living for unless it is worth dying for. Elizabeth Elliot
You mind His business and He will mind yours. Charles Spurgeon
Have a dream so big that if God doesn’t help you, you will fail. Charles Stanley
FAITH
Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, and looks to that alone; laughs at impossibilities and cries "It shall be done!" Charles Wesley
Determine that the thing shall be done, and then we shall find the way. Abraham Lincoln
Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools. Napoleon Bonaparte
PURPOSE
Strong reasons make strong actions. William Shakespeare
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice; it’s not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved. William Jennings Bryan
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. William James
It’s not enough merely to exist. It’s not enough to say, “I’m earning enough to live and support my family. I do my work well. I’m a good father. I’m a good husband.” That’s all very well. BUT YOU MUST DO SOMETHING MORE! Every man has to seek in his own way to make his own self more noble and to realize his own true worth. You must give some time to your fellowman. Do something for those who have need of help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For remember, you don’t live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too. Dr. Albert Schweitzer
He who would do some great thing in this short life must apply himself to work with such a concentration of their forces as, to idle spectators, who live only to amuse themselves, looks like insanity. Parkman
The men who try to do something and fail are definitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. David Lloyd Jones
Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can. John Wesley
You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through. Rosalynn Carter
We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. Sir Winston Churchill
The longer I live, the more deeply I am convinced that which makes the difference between one man and another – between the weak and the powerful, the great and the insignificant – is energy, invincible determination, a purpose once formed and then death or victory. Powell Buxton
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. Helen Keller
Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot
Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. Jim Elliot
I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather respond to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not. Jim Elliot
Rest in this – it is His business to lead, command, impel, send, call or whatever you want to call it. It is your business to obey, follow, move, respond, or what have you. Jim Elliot
There is great meaning in life for those who are willing to journey. Jim Elliot
God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please; you can never have both. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Against criticism a man can neither protest nor defend himself; he must act in spite of it, and then it will gradually yield to him. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. Joseph Campbell
The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were. John F. Kennedy
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Jr.
Cowardice asks the
question - is it safe?
Expediency asks the question - is it politic?
Vanity asks the question - is it popular?
But conscience asks the question - is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position
that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular;
but one must take it because it is right.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King Jr.
The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just. Abraham Lincoln
Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes. Benjamin Disraeli
The secret of success is constancy of purpose. Benjamin Disraeli
Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade? Benjamin Franklin
If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth the writing. Benjamin Franklin
Live for something, have
a purpose,
And that purpose keep in
view;
Drifting like a helpless
vessel,
Thou canst ne’er to life
be true.
Half the wrecks that
strew life’s ocean,
If some chart had been
their guide,
Might have long been
riding safely,
But they drifted with the
tide.
Robert Whitaker
Look out for the man who is indifferent to his own success but strong for the success of the thing that he represents. Stand out of his way, for behind him are the thoughts of the Almighty. Woodrow Wilson
DREAMS
All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney
Dream no small dreams – for they have no magic to stir men’s souls. Norman Vincent Peale
Dreams can come true. Without that possibility, God would not incite us to have them. Braden Caldwell
One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. Helen Keller
Vision is the ability to see God’s presence, to perceive God’s power, to focus on God’s plan, in spite of the obstacles. Charles Swindoll
We've removed the ceiling above our dreams. There are no more impossible dreams. Jesse Jackson
Imagination grows by exercise and contrary to common belief is more powerful in the mature than in the young. W. Somerset Maugham
You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?" George Bernard Shaw
But I know somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. Martin Luther King Jr.
The only limit to our
realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds. Franklin D. Roosevelt
No pessimist ever
discovered the secrets of the stars,
or sailed to uncharted land,
or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.
Helen Keller
Is there anything worse than being blind? Yes, a man with sight and no vision. Helen Keller
OPPORTUNITY
The secret of success is for a person to be ready for their opportunity when it comes. Disraeli
There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity. General Douglas MacArthur
While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity. Publilius Syrus
Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory. George S. Patton
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in. Napoleon Bonaparte
Ability is of little account without opportunity. Napoleon Bonaparte
No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body, to risk his well-being, to risk his life in a great cause. Theodore Roosevelt
To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything. Bernadette Devlin, Irish politician
There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. John F. Kennedy
Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash. George S. Patton
Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Eleanor Roosevelt
Success cannot be guaranteed. There are no safe battles. Sir Winston Churchill
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Sir Winston Churchill
The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all. Jawaharlal Nehru
Every day I live I am
more convinced that the waste of life
lies in the love we have not given, the powers we have not used,
the selfish prudence that will risk nothing and
which, shirking pain, misses happiness as well.
Abraham Lincoln
In the long run, we get no more
than we have been willing to risk giving.
Abraham Lincoln
Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps. David Lloyd George
PERSEVERANCE
Victory belongs to the persevering. Napoleon Bonaparte
Because a fellow has
failed once or twice or a dozen times,
you don’t want to set him down as a failure
till he’s dead or loses his courage – and that’s the same thing.
George Horace Lorimer
Success is not in never failing, but in never fearing to begin again. Henry F. Cope
A distinguished investigator in physical science has left it on record that, whenever in the course of his researches he encountered an apparently insuperable obstacle, he generally found himself on the brink of some great discovery. The very greatest things – great thoughts, discoveries, inventions – have usually been nurtured in hardship, often pondered over in sorrow and at length established with difficulty. Samuel Smiles
Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. Sir Winston Churchill
Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. Sir Winston Churchill
Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. Sir Winston Churchill
Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting. Unknown
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller
Before opportunity crowns a man with great success, it usually tests him out through adversity to see what sort of mettle he is made of. Unknown
To wring victory from defeat, and make stepping stones of our stumbling blocks, is the secret of success. Orison Marden
Success presupposes the willingness to bear pain. Peter J. Daniels
We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough. Helen Keller
Genius, that power which dazzles mortal eyes, is often perseverance in disguise. Henry Willard Austin
I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot…and missed. I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordon
Common sense is the guy who tells you you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front end this week. Common sense is the Monday morning quarterback who could have won the ball game if he had been on the team. But he never is. He's high up in the stands with a flask on his hip. Common sense is the little man in a grey suit who never makes a mistake in addition. But it's always somebody else's money he's adding up. Raymond Chandler
A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her. David Brinkley
I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed. Booker T. Washington
It is no use saying, "We are doing our best." You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Sir Winston Churchill
Never give in - never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. Sir Winston Churchill
Love pushes us to create miracles…to succeed where we've failed before. Mark Finley
COURAGE
Come to the edge, he
said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, he
said.
They came.
He pushed them, and they
flew…
Guillaume Apollinaire
Any coward can fight a battle when he’s sure of winning, but give me the man who has pluck to fight when he’s sure of losing. George Elliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Courage faces fear and thereby masters it. Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it. Martin Luther King Jr.
It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life. Sister Elizabeth Kinney
Man cannot discover new oceans until he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. Unknown
Courage is very simply "positive action despite fear". Braden Caldwell
No coward soul is mine, no trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere; I see Heaven's glory shine, and faith shines equal, arming me from fear. Emily Bronte
Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth. Katherine Mansfield
Many a man has walked up to the opportunity for which he has long been preparing himself, looked it full in the face, and then begun to get cold feet. He didn't have the nerve to bet on himself the last dollar he has. He would be a damn fool to bet his last dollar on a horse race; but when it comes to betting on yourself and your power to do the thing you know you must do or write yourself down a failure, you’re a chicken-livered coward if you hesitate. B.C. Forbes
Caution, caution, sir! It is nothing but the word of cowardice. John Brown
The man who says, "It can't be done" tells the truth, but he speaks only for himself. Unknown
He who never fails will never grow rich. Charles Spurgeon
Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road. Dag Hannarskjold
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. Epicurus
Great deeds are usually wrought at great risk. Herodotus
Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice. George Jackson
Prayer for Strength:
Our Father,
when we long for life without trials and work without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow
strong in
contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure. With stout hearts may we
see in every calamity an opportunity
Peter Marshall
This is courage in a man: to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends. Euripedes
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. John F. Kennedy
Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared. Eddie Rickenbacker
Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death. Harold Wilson
Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. German Proverb
If you are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life, your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live. George Bernard Shaw
Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment. Napoleon Bonaparte
First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Courage is a special kind of knowledge: the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. Plato
Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway. John Wayne