109 Quotes About Effort, Dedication, and Hard Work

Are you looking for some inspiring quotes about effort to give you a boost? This selection will help you in moments of insecurity and doubt.

Reviewed and approved by the psychologist Sergio De Dios González.

Written by Josberth Johan Benitez Colmenares

Last update: 29 August, 2023

Making an effort helps you achieve your goals. Regardless of whether it’s big or small, making an effort makes a huge difference when it comes to getting results. Below, we’re going to give you a list of the best quotes about effort. They’ll help you acquire enough inspiration and motivation to achieve your goals.

Since effort is often associated with perseverance, dedication, hard work, and success, our quotes about effort also allude to these values and skills.

The best quotes about effort

The achievements you attain throughout your life are a sum of all the efforts you’ve made along the way.

A good quote, assimilated at the right time, can change your perspective. So, when you find doubts taking you over, the following quotes about effort will help you stay calm and keep persevering:

1. “Your dreams will take time. They will require effort, dedication, and sacrifice. But in the end, it will be worth it”. (R.A Prakash)

Many of the frustrations of the new generations revolve around the need to achieve goals in a hurry. Indeed, reaching a certain age without having achieved certain goals, however basic they may be, can be a great blow to our spirits. However, all dreams take time to come true.

If you choose the path of effort, you’ll shorten the distance that separates you from your goals. But, you’ll have to wait a while. The important thing is that, in the end, you’ll be sure that all your efforts have been worthwhile.

2. “All the effort in the world won’t matter if you’re not inspired”. (Chuck Palahniuk)

This attitude is closely related to inspiration. When you’re inspired, effort doesn’t feel like effort.

On the contrary, it sprouts naturally and you can spend hours focused on a project without realizing how much time has passed. Don’t miss out on these moments of inspiration.

3. “Nothing in the world is worth having or doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well”. (Theodore Roosevelt)

Difficult times leave you with a series of lessons that you could only have learned first-hand. You only need to talk to someone who’s attained many achievements to realize that there’s a ton of effort behind them.

4. “Satisfaction lies in effort, not in achievement. Total effort is total victory”. (Gandhi)

When you manage to achieve something that makes you feel really excited, it’s not the achievement that you’re happy about, but the effort, attitude, work, and discipline you needed to attain it.

5. “Always make a full effort, even when the odds are against you”. (Arnold Palmer)

In fact, this quote defines the philosophy of effort. When the wind is against you, you have to push yourself as hard as possible. Only then will you increase the chances of achieving what you set out to do.

6. “Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom”. (Sandra Day O’Connor)

Even for the simplest things, effort is always welcome. You shouldn’t only reserve this attitude for the most important moments, or those that’ll bring you a substantial benefit.

7. “Leaders are made they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile”. (Vince Lombardi)

It’s extremely common to find people who believe that they’re not destined to achieve important goals. However, destiny isn’t written. You need to act, continue, and persevere. Only then, will your paths toward your goals and dreams increase.

8. “People pretend not to like grapes when the vines are too high for them to reach”. (Marguerite of Navarre)

Next time you find yourself refusing to do something because it’s too hard, remember this quote. If you really want something, one way or another, you’ll have to work to get it.

Things are not always within your reach. Sometimes, you have to go out and look for them in the midst of a sea of uncertainties and obstacles.

9. “A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success”. (Elbert Hubbard)

Every failure is a half-told story. You complete it with effort and, by the end of the day, you have a completed story.

10. “Goals are the end results of a long hard struggle that is considered the fruit of all efforts”. (Hermann J. Steinherr)

Don’t stop your march halfway. The point where giving up feels like the main option is when you should give more of yourself.

11. “Men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed”. (Lloyd-Jones)

These words aren’t a cliché. Nor are they a soothing balm to turn to when things haven’t turned out as you expected. As a matter of fact, this is one of the best quotes about effort, since it suggests the need not to lose hope and to try one more time.

How many success stories have behind them a succession of failures? More than you probably think. In fact, we’re usually good at counting our achievements, but not our mistakes.

12. “An excuse becomes an obstacle in your journey to success when it is made in place of your best effort or when it is used as the object of the blame”. (Bo Bennett)

It’s really easy to find an excuse. Indeed, justifying yourself is easier than making an effort. The worst thing about an excuse is that you might use it to fool yourself.

13. “Our errors, mistakes, failures, and sometimes even our humiliations, were necessary steps in the learning process”. (Maxwell Maltz)

As the previous quotes suggest, don’t fear failure. On the contrary, wish for it so that you can draw lessons from it.

After all, if you don’t fail from time to time, how can you improve on your mistakes? How can you bring out your attitudes and aptitudes? How will you ever learn to overcome the obstacles that life throws at you?

14. “Where there are difficulties, there are also ways. If you have the passion to do something and more, then you can achieve everything in life”. (R.P. Nishank)

Do you remember the last time you felt passionate about something? Think about that moment and how to move forward. Don’t consider the obstacles.

15. “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well”. (Martin Luther King Jr.)

Don’t let the characteristics of your work, your dreams, or your plans serve as a brake toward executing them with effort. Forget what others might say and focus on doing what you do in the best possible way.

16. “When I was young I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times as much work”. (George Bernard Shaw)

Life doesn’t always go the way you planned and you might often stumble and fall. However, with extra effort, discipline, passion, and perseverance, you’ll be able to increase your achievements.

17. “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things”. (Theodore Roosevelt)

Sometimes, your effort is linked to pain. Yet, despite the blows, hard work, obstacles, and exhaustion, you decide to keep going.

18. “Men are made stronger on realization that the helping hand they need is at the end of their own arm”. (S. J. Phillips)

There’s nothing wrong with achieving your dreams with the help of others. But, sometimes, the satisfaction of doing it solely via your own efforts is unparalleled.

19. “Sometimes things may not go your way, but the effort has to be there every night”. (Michael Jordan)

There’s no absolute certainty that you’ll achieve all your dreams just by making the effort to do so, but your chances are much higher than when you approach them reluctantly. As long as your effort is constant and you’re disciplined, you’ll be halfway there already.

20. “If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges”. (Pat Riley)

Positivism is important. It’s like inspiration and passion … an extra ingredient that helps you assimilate your efforts in a better way.

21. “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort”. (Paul J. Meyer)

This quote about effort suggests that being productive can never be seen as a stroke of luck. On the contrary, it’s the result of hours of planning, work, and a great deal of dedication. Indeed, if you want to be productive you have to get down to work, there’s no other way.

22. “A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them”. (L. H. Bailey)

Plants grow because someone has fertilized, watered, and cared for them for months. Do any flowers thrive without being cared for? Of course, but they’re the exception, not the rule.

23. “A great deal of talent is lost in the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort”. (Sydney Smith)

How many times have you regretted things that you now know you could’ve achieved with a little more effort?

24. “You must take the first step. The first steps will take some effort, maybe pain. But after that, everything that has to be done is real-life movement”. (Ben Stein)

Over time, you’ll find that trying hard becomes a natural manifestation of your personality. It won’t feel like this the first few times you practice it, but you’ll eventually do it so automatically that you won’t even notice that you’re trying.

25. “Grit, in a word, is stamina. But it’s not just stamina in your effort. It’s also stamina in your direction, stamina in your interests. If you are working on different things but all of them very hard, you’re not really going to get anywhere. You’ll never become an expert”. (Angela Duckworth)

These words are extremely important since they synthesize the meaning of our list of quotes about effort. As you’ll see later, it’s impossible for you to obtain good results if you divide your efforts between too many projects at the same time.

Similarly, your efforts should always point in the same direction. If you’re constantly changing your ideas you’ll have to start from scratch. Plan what you really want.

26. “Make each day count by setting specific goals to succeed, then putting forth every effort to exceed your own expectations”. (Les Brown)

Goals and projects are extremely important in your life. Without them, you’re like a drifting ship, one that’ll never reach the port of your dreams.

The higher they are, the more you have to work. If you fail, you’ll at least make sure you got as high as you could off the ground.

27. “The real Tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort – he never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature”. (Arnold Bennett)

In short, those who never take risks, don’t dare to leave their comfort zones, and prefer to live in monotony don’t learn anything as they’ve decided that the effort to achieve anything isn’t worth it. Part of growing up means making an effort.

28. “The man who succeeds is a man who has withstood the tests of time, trials, and has made every success count”. (H.J. Steinherr)

All your efforts count. At first glance, this isn’t easy to recognize, but every effort you’ve made in your life, even the smallest, has led you to where you are right now.

29. “Confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a result of something … hours and days and weeks and years of practice, constant work and dedication”. (Roger Staubach)

Confidence is the twin sister of self-esteem. It’s natural to gain confidence after overcoming obstacles that seemed insurmountable, obstacles that you’ve only managed to wade through via your efforts. However, you don’t achieve success in the blink of an eye, it takes hours of practice.

30. “When an unbiased study of successful people is made, the inevitable conclusion is reached that persistence, concentration of efforts, and determination of purpose are the main sources of their achievements”. (Napoleon Hill)

In one way or another, behind every success story lies effort, whether direct or indirect. This is why envying the achievements of others means envying their efforts.

Luck and privilege aren’t the only determining factors. Remember this the next time you find yourself envying the triumphs of others.

31. “Achievement is not always success, while reputable failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances”. (O.S. Marden)

Some of us learn more from our failures than those who reaped success along the same path. It all depends on how skilful you are at looking back, retracing your steps, and figuring out where you can improve to come out on top in the next race.

32. “In the game of life we each receive a unique set of unexpected limitations and variable questions on the field of play. How will you respond to the hand you’ve been dealt? You can either face what you are lacking or empower yourself to play the game sensibly or resourcefully”. (Mark and Angel Chernoff)

Some of us have both values in almost perfect balance, while others have the balance tilted more to one side than the other. If you only focus on your limitations, they’ll become an anchor that slows down your progress. But, if you concentrate on your attributes, you can use them in your favor to achieve your goals.

33. “When your efforts run in the face of conventional wisdom and accepted mastery, persistence can look like madness. If you succeed in the end, this extreme originality reformulates into a new level of mastery, sometimes even genius…”. (Hilary Austen)

This is another quote about effort that summarizes in a handful of words everything you need to know about it. Don’t be afraid to persist in a project that’s incomprehensible to everyone else. Half of the most successful stories involve ideas that were considered to be crazy at the time.

34. “Your first projects aren’t the greatest things in the world, and they may have no money value, they may go nowhere, but that is how you learn – you put so much effort into making something right if it is for yourself “. (Steve Wozniak)

You won’t necessarily reap the rewards you expected with your first projects, no matter how much effort you’ve dedicated to them.

However, the sum of your many attempts translates into important learning. You can use it to develop your ultimate successful ideas.

35. “We can do things the cheap way, the simple way, for the short-term and without regard for the future. Or we can make the extra effort, do the hard work, absorb the criticism, and make decisions that will cause a better future”. (Mike Rounds)

Naturally, not all your ideas are destined to last in the long term. But, remember that those that do will bring you greater stability.

36. “You’re always learning. The problem is that sometimes you stop and think you understand the world. This is not correct. The world is always changing. You never reach the point you can stop making an effort…” (Paulo Coelho)

Although you might exert it to a lesser degree, you’ll never reach a point where you should cease to make an effort. To be fulfilled, every worthwhile dream, project, or ambition demands a certain amount of effort.

37. “We all naturally want to become successful…we also want to take shortcuts. And it’s easy to do, but you can never take away the effort of hard work and discipline and sacrifice”. (Apolo Ohno)

A shortcut will eventually lead you to a place where you’ll have to make an effort again. Don’t be afraid to use a shortcut if the opportunity arises, as long as it doesn’t represent a risk of destroying everything you’ve achieved so far.

38. “Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt”. (Ortega y Gasset)

You can always try a little harder to achieve success, even though you may not realize it. Indeed, as long as you don’t neglect other aspects of your life, and the end result brings you benefits, don’t be afraid to discipline yourself and make more effort to accelerate your progress.

39. “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”. (Denis Waitley)

Pay attention to these words. Sometimes, when you’ve tried everything and find you’re stuck and unable to move forward, you must change course and direct your efforts in another way.

40. “Most achievers I know are people who have made a strong and deep dedication to pursuing a particular goal”. (Donald Johnson)

Like an iceberg, you can only see the tip of your goal, not the amount of work, effort, dedication, and perseverance that lies behind it. This applies to everything: from your financial undertakings to the achievements you obtain when exercising, for example.

41. “Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, you cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation”. (Plato)

Every harvest requires time before you can reap it. Sometimes, in a matter of weeks or months, you’ll be able to perceive the first benefits, at other times it’ll take years.

In any case, patience will be a good ally. It’ll help you not to lose your composure while you’re waiting. Without a doubt, this is one of the most accurate quotes about effort that’ll help you avoid faltering along the way.

42. “Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks”. (James Baldwin)

It’s much easier to thrive on things that excite you than on those that don’t ignite even the slightest spark of emotion in you. So, make sure all your projects align with what makes you happy. It’ll mean you’ll get them done without feeling like they’re an obligation or something you simply don’t enjoy.

43. “Talent without effort is wasted talent. And while effort is the one thing you can control in your life, applying that effort intelligently is next on the list”. (Mark Cuban)

You can’t choose whether or not you’re born with talent, but you can replace it with a dose of effort and discipline. In fact, no matter how much skill you possess, it’ll be of little use if you don’t dedicate yourself to cultivating it.

However, if you’ve had the good fortune to be born with some talent, and you’re sure that perfecting it will bring you several benefits, don’t be afraid to improve it every day and become an expert in it.

44. “Despite the success cult, men are most deeply moved not by the reaching of the goal, but by the greatness of the effort involved in getting there, or failing to achieve it “. (Max Lerner)

Some people enjoy the effort of reaching the top more than the top itself. But, it’s only thanks to your journey that you can appreciate how far you’ve come and the time and work you’ve invested toward achieving your goal.

45. “It’s the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance, sweeps away all obstacles”. (Claude M. Bristol)

Or, it at least allows you to wade through them in a smarter way. Effort doesn’t mean attacking things incessantly until they give way. On the contrary, it means carefully considering all the options you have in order to direct your progress in the safest way.

46. “Effort is directly related to interest”. (C.E. Szymanski)

The right words at the right time can make a radical difference when it comes to deciding whether to continue on the same path.

If you’ve come this far, you’ll understand this really well. Make sure you reread the quotes you liked the most so that you can apply them in your daily life.

47. “Anything that is wasted effort represents wasted time. The best management of our time thus becomes linked inseparably with the best utilization of our efforts”. (Ted Engström)

To adopt this kind of attitude, you need time. Therefore, being organized and planning every one of your movements is essential if you want to make it your philosophy of life.

Sometimes, you just need to sit down and manage your plans to fit your responsibilities without compromising them.

48. “On occasion, we need to make a second effort – and a third effort and a fourth effort, and as many degrees of effort as may be required to accomplish what we strive to achieve”. (Thomas S. Monson)

This is especially the case when you’re convinced that you’re on the right path, you have the necessary tools, and you’re working toward results you really want.

Don’t be afraid of what others will say about the time it’s taking you to reach your goal, the most important thing is that it’s what what you want.

49. “Never expect to reap anything from a relationship in which you’ve invested nothing. Returns are only realized where investment has been done and nowhere else”.  (L.D. Shallua)

Perhaps this is the biggest problem in today’s society: expecting to obtain more than the amount of effort devoted to the process deserves. This is another quote about effort that you shouldn’t forget if you don’t want to lose your way.

50. “The amount of time one wastes looking for quick fixes to life’s problems, I could have spent this effort developing lasting solutions. Quick fixes don’t last, effort does”. (CE Szymanski)

And, many quick fixes require the same amount of effort as long-term fixes. They’re just useful for a shorter period of time.

51. “Everyone wants to get to the top, but not everyone is willing to walk uphill”. (Luigina Sgarro)

Nor do some people train hard enough to get to the top without losing their breath. Training involves the failures you encounter along the way and the planning you’ve done to tackle your problems head-on. Even when your progress is slow, you’ll reach the top sooner or later.

52. “Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods? Because trying to impress people just isn’t worth the time and effort”. (Henry Rollins)

Avoid shouting about your projects and ideas from the rooftops. If you fail, do it in private. If you prosper, your reward will be greater for not having boasted about it. Many people’s dreams come true precisely because, when they faltered, they did so in secret.

53. “To fail is a natural consequence of trying. To succeed takes time and prolonged effort in the face of unfriendly odds. To think it will be any other way, no matter what you do, is to invite yourself to be hurt and to limit your enthusiasm for trying again”. (David Churchwell)

Along the way, you’ll come across thorny bushes, rocky mounds, and impassable slopes. It’s better to be prepared for them to avoid disappointment.

54. “The truth is it takes effort to do the right thing. It takes time to do it right. And it takes courage to get results”. (Asuni LadyZeal)

Courage because only those who possess this quality are able to withstand obstacles and adversity.

55. “The most fulfilled people are those who completely express themselves via their work. You know when this happens because even though you are working very hard – much harder than ordinary people – everything is in a sense effortless. Once you exist in such a way you cannot imagine doing anything else”. (Thomas Stark)

This is why some people dedicate endless hours to their work without it negatively affecting their lives. It happens because they don’t see their work as such, but rather as one more way of expressing their desires, ambitions, and even relaxation.

If you find your dream job, you’ll never perceive the effort you put into it as tiring.

56. “Only on the hard path can you actualize your potential, grow, mature, have peak human experiences, and enjoy epiphanies. The hard path alone allows you to fulfill yourself. The easy path destroys your soul”. (Thomas Stark)

And, if it doesn’t destroy you, it gets you used to easy work. Then, sooner or later, when difficult moments come, you’ll end up destroying yourself with your doubts, anxiety, and inaction.

57. “Be proud of yourself for the effort, especially the parts that no one else saw”. (Andrena Sawyer)

But, only when you have time to stop and catch your breath. Indeed, pride can be detrimental, as it can fill you with overconfidence, which works against you.

58. “Of course, motivating yourself has little to do with energy – and everything to do with decisions. Choosing whether to do something, especially if it seems difficult, might be hard. You need to decide whether the task is worth the effort”. (Gina Barreca)

It’s your decisions that lead you to the door of your dreams. Even the wrong ones.

59. “Sometimes you have to take a risk to create a possible opportunity for improvement. By any chance, if that opportunity fails, try to improve it the next time, but always take a risk because nothing happens without opportunity”. (SH Khan)

Opportunities don’t always present themselves as something you can easily take advantage of. Sometimes, you have to be the one to create them.

Passive waiting can end in failure, but the willingness to go out and get the keys that open the door to success often leads to good results.

60. “If you have worked hard and failed after giving every effort to make use of the opportunities available – so be it. At least you fought with all your might to make it otherwise. That is deserving of respect”. (Richelle E. Goodrich)

It’s better to try and fail than never to have tried.

61. “Have you ever had a day when you wonder what, if anything, is worth doing? Forget about doing things well, I’m talking about simply meeting basic standards”. (Gina Barreca)

You’ll often find yourself asking this question, both in the good and the bad times. In fact, it’s really common to continually ask yourself if your efforts are worth it, especially when you haven’t yet begun to glimpse the first results. Finding a reason to continue is the key to not giving up.

62. “The problem with being mediocre is that we invest too much time and effort in proving that we are not, instead of thinking about investing it in improving ourselves”. (S. H. Khan)

These words link well with the previous quote. They suggest that you shouldn’t spend time and effort on what doesn’t bring you anything positive. Better invest it in what will.

Remember that the amount of time you have to fulfill your dreams is limited. It’s better that you know how to take advantage of it and avoid wasting it on unproductive things.

63. “There are times when you feel like you give a great effort, you have prepared properly, and you got less than what you wanted. So, on the one hand, you should feel really good about that and let the results be what they are. On the other hand, you can’t be happy with it when you finished 19th”. (Tom Lehmann)

Being proud of what you’ve achieved has little to do with conformism. Feeling proud leads you to learn from the path while conformism means you get stuck there and do absolutely nothing to improve.

If you think you can get a better result the second time, feel free to try your luck again.

64. “Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to success in achieving the object of our effort”. (Epictetus)

This is another quote that teaches you how to face the decisive moments in your life. Although you know that persevering is really important, you should only do it when you’re sure that there’s a hidden reward behind your effort.

Some paths lead to a dead end, some to a precipice. Be wise when choosing which battles you want to fight.

65. “Great entrepreneurs focus intensely on an opportunity where others see nothing. This focus and intensity helps to eliminate wasted effort and distractions. Most companies die from indigestion rather than starvation; ie: companies suffer from doing too many things at the same time rather than doing too few things very well”. (Naveen Jain)

Remember these words the next time you want to develop a multitude of projects at the same time. Try to only deal with the amount of work that you can tolerate. This will prevent you from developing episodes of stress.

66. “It is not the truth that a man possesses, or believes that he possesses, but the earnest effort which he puts forward to reach the truth, which constitutes the worth of a man”. (Gotthold Ephraim Lessing)

Your value is determined by the conviction you have to achieve what you want.

67. “There is not necessarily a correlation between how much time or effort a thing demands and how important or useful it is”. (Mokokoma Mokhonoana)

Note that these words contradict some of the previous quotes about effort. Sometimes, a minimum of effort can take you to your goal, at other times, an extraordinary amount of it leads to absolutely nothing. At all times, bear in mind the fact that the greatest effort doesn’t always end in success.

68. “Make no mistake, the smallest effort can make the biggest difference, as long as we ignore stereotypes and start questioning our own failures”. (S.H. Khan)

This quote aligns with the previous one. Eliminate from your mind the prejudice that a great deal of effort will always end in more benefits. You must find the perfect balance between quantity and time.

69. “Far too often, the rewards for our efforts seem to be mere pennies as held against the fortune of time and sacrifice spent attempting to earn them”. (Craig D. Lounsbrough)

Your results won’t always live up to your expectations. However, this doesn’t mean that your efforts have been in vain. After all, you advance more by making an effort than not.

70. “Most times, the problem with your problems is that you make too much and not enough ‘noise’ or ‘effort’ about them. Focus, commitment, positive mental attitude, and all other positive qualities feed off (adequate) energy. No more, no less”. (Asuni LadyZeal)

Once again we add another star ingredient to the recipe for effort: commitment. In fact, few important things in life can be achieved without commitment. In reality, effort is just one of the many manifestations of commitment.

71. “There’s no such thing as putting extra effort in on one day than the other. Every single day is a lot of effort, usually maximum effort every day”. (Rob Gronkowski)

This is another mistake made by those who want to walk the path to success. If you decide to adopt the philosophy of effort, it must be permanent. It’s not worthwhile in intermittent doses, or only at times when you find the energy to employ it.

72. “To say ‘well done’ to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge”. (Phillips Brooks)

Expressly valuing work is something you shouldn’t only do with others, but also with your own actions. How many times have you congratulated yourself for the efforts you made to achieve something? How many times have you indulged yourself instead of others? Maybe it’s something you should do more often.

73. “Do a little bit more than average and from that moment on our progress multiplies itself out of all proportion to the effort put in”. (Paul J. Meyer)

If you want to adopt this lifestyle, you must do it progressively. Start by doing a little more than normal, then add a larger dose to avoid getting overwhelmed by too much work. If you do this, you won’t notice that you’re making a really big change in your routine.

74. “A stone is broken by the last stroke of the hammer. That doesn’t mean that the first stroke is useless. Success is the result of continuous efforts”. (A.P.J. Abdul)

Although at first glance your initial effort might seem pointless, in the end, your attempts may well end in resounding success. You just have to make sure you keep hammering away and you’ll find you’ll be able to muster the force needed to accomplish your objective.

75. “There are successful efforts and there are unsuccessful efforts, but between these two there is a door that leads us to self-discovery. Success or failure is never permanent and only opening that door gives a new perspective to our efforts”. (S.H. Khan)

No success or failure is ever permanent. Sometimes, your success can collapse faster than it took you to achieve. You must take care of it and watch it to prevent it from collapsing like a tower of cards.

76. “Anyone can negatively criticize – it is the cheapest of all comments because it requires not a modicum of the effort that suggestion requires”.  (Chuck-Jones)

Don’t pay attention to those who criticize you for your efforts with the simple intention of criticizing. Envy is the most perverse form of admiration.

77. “Sometimes I wonder if the cost of my dream is less about the efforts to achieve it and more about the disappointment I’ll experience if it doesn’t happen. But then I remember that the nature of a dream is such that it is worth dreaming even if it never comes true”. (Craig D. Lounsbrough)

Not to mention the fact that cutting dreams out of your life is like cutting out the seasoning that adds flavor to your food. Even when you can’t fulfill them all, having dreams to fulfill, and striving for them, will always be better than not having them at all.

78. “The real currency of your life is effort, which is best measured in the extra time you put into it”. (J.R. Rim)

In the end, it all comes down to the fact that effort is nothing more than the extra time you spend doing something. Not so much in its intensity, but in the extra patience you have to finish it in the best possible way.

79. “If you’re still upset because yesterday was a bad day, you’re destroying today. The results may not always bring happiness”. (S.H. Khan)

You should only collect what you learned from your failures. Then, you can abandon the idea of failure and replace it with the vision of success.

80. “Once you discover that you can, then you must. And it’s not easy. You have to take direct steps. You really have to count your blessings and you have to make a decided effort to not get seduced by the blues”. (Al Jarreau)

Failure will seduce you at various stages along the way. To fail means to lay down your energy, stop trying, and resting, so it’s always a tentative option.

81. “I think a certain amount of stress in life is good. The stress of just working, which takes effort – I think it keeps you going”. (Anthony Hopkins)

Everything in its proper measure is beneficial if you know how to take advantage of it and make it work in your favor.

82. “The fatigue produced on the muscles of the human frame does not altogether depend on the actual force employed in each effort, but partly on the frequency with which it is exerted”.(Charles Babbage)

This quote about effort suggests that a series of repetitive actions is worth more than a single one followed by a long rest.

83. “Those who belong to the clan of achievers live the idea that inspires them to dedicate their existence, efforts, and soul to its execution”. (Prem Jagyasi)

Inspiration is the spark that lights the fuse that leads you to action. If you’re not even a little inspired by what you’re doing, the effort you make will always feel like an obligation.

84. “You don’t have to achieve everything overnight. You just have to be willing to try. One day at a time. Just keep trying. Keep believing”. (Akiroq Brost)

One day at a time could be the best motto to remember from our list of quotes. Make it part of your life and remember it the next time you think you’ll never find the light at the end of the tunnel.

85. “Imagine a point where you want to get to and make a plan to get there. But be honest with yourself, and set your starting point”. (Jordan Belford)

As we’ve already mentioned, planning is essential if you want to reach your goals. Without an action plan, you won’t know what steps to take to get closer to them.

This quote about effort emphasizes the importance of knowing how to recognize your strengths and weaknesses when planning. You need to be aware of them and make a plan more adapted to your needs and capacities. Remember that we all have different rhythms and ways of acting, so there’s no one formula that works for everyone.

86. “Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to give up”. (Napoleon Hill)

Goals and objectives aren’t achieved overnight. In fact, to keep being successful, you must be willing to fail, because falls are excellent teachers of life. They show you where you’re failing and what you must improve.

87. “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort”. (John Ruskin)

As a rule, good results don’t come out of nowhere. If you want the greatest success, you must constantly work on your goals. Make sure you always aim at the best possible action plan, as your efforts will be wasted if you don’t act intelligently.

88. “Where there is no hope, there can be no effort”. (Samuel Johnson)

If you don’t harbor in yourself the hope of fulfilling your goals, where are you going to get the necessary effort to fulfill them? It’s essential to trust yourself and your action plan.

89. “It is always the beginning that requires the most effort”. (James Cash Penney)

Without a doubt, this is one of the best quotes about effort. The beginning is always the most difficult time, especially because of the fear of failure. But, you must be daring and take that first step.

90. “If you can’t excel with talent, triumph with effort”. (Dave Weinbaum)

Most people tend to possess natural talents in specific areas. For example, music, art, or mathematics. Therefore, they don’t have to make too much effort to achieve optimal results in their specialist field.

However, a lack of natural talent doesn’t necessarily mean failure. In these instances, effort and perseverance is the best way to achieve success.

91. “God gives each bird its food, but does not throw it into their nests”. (J.G. Holland)

You have to earn the things you think you deserve. You might tend to think that things belong to you by right, but the truth is that you have to earn most of them with hard work and dedication.

92. “Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds”. (Larry Bird)

This is another quote about effort that suggests the importance of continuing to fight for the achievement of your goals until the end, despite the setbacks and failures.

93. “Sweat is the cologne of accomplishment”. (Heywood Hale Brown)

This metaphorical quote demonstrates that hard work is closely linked to success.

94. “Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is”. (Zig Ziglar)

Many people only recognize and celebrate their achievements and forget that the efforts made to achieve their goals are also important. In fact, any work done, even if it’s been unsuccessful, has great value for learning and personal growth.

95. “There’s no taking trout with dry breeches”. (Miguel de Cervantes)

This is another metaphorical quote. In this case, the author emphasizes that you must fully immerse yourself in a task to achieve your proposed objectives.

96. “The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is that little ‘extra'”. (Jimmy Johnson)

You’re perfectly capable of completing your tasks successfully. But, with greater effort, you can make a real difference and be the best.

97. “What is not started today is never finished tomorrow”. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Another of the quotes about effort that emphasizes how difficult the beginning is and the need to take that first step to ultimately achieve success.

98. “The key to success is failure”. (Michael Jordan)

As we’ve already mentioned, failure is often necessary to learn to do better.

99. “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough”. (Mohamed Ali)

You might stop striving for your goals because you’re too afraid of failing. However, you need to face those fears and give yourself the opportunity to grow.

100. “If one has not given everything, one has given nothing”. (Georges Guynemer)

If you want to achieve great things, you must do everything in your power to achieve them. In other words, you must put all your resources to work.

101. “We all have dreams. But to turn dreams into reality, it takes a great deal of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort”. (Jesse Owens)

This is another quote about effort that demonstrates that it’s useless to dream about your goals if you don’t put into place the actions and resources necessary to achieve them.

102. “Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved”. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Enthusiasm can often help you take the first step. That said, it usually wears out with time and failures. That’s when you need to make the utmost effort and continue.

103. “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual”. (Vince Lombardi)

This quote emphasizes the value of effort within a team. If some members don’t commit to hard work, extraordinary results probably won’t be achieved.

104. “All growth depends on activity. There is no physical or intellectual development without effort, and effort means work”. (Calvin Coolidge)

Effort and hard work precede personal growth. Employing them will make you grow as a person.

105. “For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward”. (Jim Rohn)

Effort launched with perseverance, organization, and intelligence will guarantee you the greatest achievements.

106. “The greater the effort, the greater the glory”. (Pierre Corneille)

This is another quote that emphasizes that achievements are proportionally greater with regard to the dedication that you put into them.

107. “Effort without talent is a depressing situation, but talent without effort is a tragedy”. (Mike Ditka)

As we said earlier, natural talent is of no use to you if you don’t strive to optimize your performance.

108. “The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” (Émile Zola)

This is another of the phrases about effort that speaks of natural talent. In this case, it emphasizes that the gifts with which you’re born won’t take you too far if you don’t work to optimize them.

109. “Never work for a person’s approval. It’s that person that’s not worth the effort. Either they appreciate you or they don’t. Let them go off into their own world. Set yourself free and walk away proudly into your own”. (Baratono Rum)

We end this selection of quotes about effort with a few words that you should remember to avoid making unnecessary effort. Always work for your own approval, not that of others. If you do the latter, your decisions will never lead you to your dreams.

With this last reflection, we bring to a close our collection of some of the best quotes about effort. Naturally, you don’t have to take them all into account. Just choose those that are in tune with your own philosophy.