60 empowering quotes to read while pursuing your dreams.

Many like to talk about the success of famous people, but only a few are interested in what it took for them to get there. How often have we stopped to think about the process that leads up to their success? I'd like to talk about the waiting period. You won't hear many people talking about this. Who likes to wait? Who wants to wait for years? We get flustered when we are in traffic for hours, in long queues at the hospital, supermarket, theatre, etc. We just can't be bothered by the long wait. These scenarios are no different from pursuing our dreams. Many of us can't be bothered by the wait that's why we stop, not to rest, but to quit on our dreams. Take for example Abraham Lincoln.

Lost his job, in 1832
Defeated for the legislature, 1832
Failed in business, 1833
Elected to the legislature, 1834
His sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, in 1835
Had a nervous breakdown, in 1836
Defeated for Speaker, 1838
Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843
Elected to Congress, 1846
Lost renomination, 1848
Rejected for Land Officer, 1849
Defeated for Senate, 1854
Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856
Again defeated for Senate, 1858
Elected President, 1860
Source: https://sidsavara.com/famous-failures-michael-jordan-abraham-lincoln-and-jk-rowling/

Abraham Lincoln has had a long list of failures and tragedies in his life, but he was elected president twenty-eight years from the time of 1832. Everyone one of us faces setbacks in life. There's no guarantee that the dream that you're building now will be completed in the shortest possible time. There's no guarantee that your dream will be fulfilled within your lifetime, or that you'll be the one reaping the rewards. Take heart, don't quit on your dreams, “all great achievements require time.”― Maya Angelou

The waiting period isn't a joy ride. We wait in anticipation. We get frustrated. We become restless when we're not getting the results that we're looking for. Our patience grows thinner as time progress. How do we not lose our focus while waiting? What is it that fuels our spirit to continue when we're bombarded by failures?

I tell myself, I'm only in the planting season. The harvest isn't ripe as yet. Now isn't the time to reap. It's time to work harder. It's time to sweat. It's time to burn the midnight oil. It's time to forget all excuses. It's time to be rooted for the storms ahead.

It's time to weed out all distractions. It's time to face the sun, wind, and rain. It's time to labor for the harvest because the wait isn't over. What will you tell yourself? How long will you wait for your dreams to come true? Below I'll share some encouraging words with the hope that they'll empower you in the waiting period.

1.“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” Thomas A. Edison

2. “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas A. Edison

3. “We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work” Thomas A. Edison

4. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison

5. “The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary.” Thomas A. Edison

6. “The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas Edison

7. “If we did all things we are capable of, we would astound even ourselves Thomas Edison

8. “Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough”― Oprah Winfrey

9. “Surround yourself only with people who are going to take you higher.”― Oprah Winfrey

10. “One of the hardest things in life to learn are which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.”― Oprah Winfrey

11. “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a new way to stand.”― Oprah Winfrey

12. “We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”― Oprah Winfrey

13. “You are responsible for your life. You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.”― Oprah Winfrey

14. “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.”― Oprah Winfrey

15. “You are where you are in life because of what you believe is possible for yourself.”― Oprah Winfrey

16. “Your calling isn’t something that somebody can tell you about. It’s what you feel. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that you are supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself.”― Oprah Winfrey

17. “With every experience, you alone are painting your canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice.”― Oprah Winfrey

18. “It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you - always.”― Oprah Winfrey

19. “I believe there's a calling for all of us. I know that every human being has value and purpose. The real work of our lives is to become aware. And awakened. To answer the call.”― Oprah Winfrey

20. “You face the biggest challenge of all: to have the courage to seek your big dream regardless of what anyone says. You are the only person alive who can see your big picture and even you can't see it all.”― Oprah Winfrey

21. “The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”― Napoleon Hill

22. “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”― Napoleon Hill

23. “When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.”― Napoleon Hill

24. “You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”― Napoleon Hill

25. “Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”― Napoleon Hill

26. “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”― Napoleon Hill

27. “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.”― Napoleon Hill

28. “Our only limitations are those we set up in our minds”― Napoleon Hill

29. “Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them. If you are influenced by "opinions" when you reach DECISIONS, you will not succeed in any undertaking.”― Napoleon Hill

30. “Cherish your vision and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.”― Napoleon Hill

31. “I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down.”― Abraham Lincoln

32. “I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.”― Abraham Lincoln

33. “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”― Abraham Lincoln

34. “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”― Abraham Lincoln

35. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”― Lao Tzu

36. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”― Lao Tzu

37. “If you are depressed you are living in the past.

If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
― Lao Tzu

38. “Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”

― Lao Tzu

39. “At the center of your being

you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want.”

― Lao Tzu

40.“Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?”

― Lao Tzu,

41.“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

― Confucius

42. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

― Confucius

43. “Courage is knowing what not to fear.”

― Plato

44.“If you haven't confidence in yourself, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started. ”

― Marcus Garvey

46.“God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement. ”

― Marcus Garvey

47.“Let no voice but your own speak to you from the depths. Let no influence but your own raise you in time of peace and time of war. Hear all, but attend only that which concerns you.”

― Marcus Garvey

48. “Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.”

Christopher Markus

49.“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

― Maya Angelou

50.“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.”

― Maya Angelou

51.“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”

― Maya Angelou

52. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

― Maya Angelou

53. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. It may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

― Maya Angelou

54. “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”

― Maya Angelou

55. “The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.”

― Maya Angelou

56. “Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.”

― Maya Angelou

57. “No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.”

― Maya Angelou

58. “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”

― Maya Angelou

59. “You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

― Maya Angelou

60. “Nothing will work unless you do.”

― Maya Angelou

Thank you for taking the time out to read these powerful quotes. Many of these quotes are from authors who've had their fair share of failures and setbacks in life. Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelo, Marcus Garvey. When you find the time, read about the success stories of these authors. Their stories will give you hope while you wait on your dreams to come true. Patience is a part of the journey to success. It's not just a matter of when your dreams will come true, but how long you're willing to wait for your dreams to come true?