W. Somerset Maugham Quotes

Courage is the capacity to conduct oneself with restraint in times of prosperity and with courage and tenacity when things do not go well.

When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.

Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.

Inner strength is very important.

What such a man needs is not courage but nerve control, cool headedness. This he can get only by practice.

Character isn't developed when we get what we want. Character is developed when we don't get what we want.

Sometimes you lose - perhaps because you play against the very best, or because surprises happen - but if there is organizational confidence, you bounce back from losses and convert them to successes.

I'm not insecure. I've been through way too much f**king sh*t to be insecure. I've got huge balls. But I've been humbled. That makes you grateful for every day you have.

Does what's happened keep you from acting with justice, generosity, self-control, sanity, prudence, honesty, humility, straightforward ness, and all other qualities that allow a person's nature to fulfill itself? So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.

I had a lot of successes, but what really made me fearless was my complete failure at Zidd-Davis. Once you've lived through that, you know you can survive, and you're not as scared... There's nothing to build confidence like real achievement, but also like real failure.

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.

Somewhere in the world there is a defeat for everyone. Some are destroyed by defeat, and some made small and mean by victory. Greatness lives in one who triumphs equally over defeat and victory.

I was raised to face any challenge.

Discipline is built by consistently performing small acts of courage.

You’ve got to worry about the next play…Keep believing because people aren’t always going to like you but you have to believe in the people around you…You’re going to get knocked down but it’s how many times you get back up.

We are reviled but we do not intend to speak evil in return. We are in desperate straits but do not despair. We are persecuted but not forsaken. It’s easy to humiliate and crush people who are open, but when I am weak, then I am strong.

Do not desire crosses, unless you have borne those already laid upon you well — it is an abuse to long after martyrdom while unable to bear an insult patiently.

Good soldiers are defined by what they can endure, not by what they can inflict.

It was bewildering and humbling to keep discovering how many brave things people can fail to talk themselves out of doing.

Humility is the surest sign of strength.

Courage allows the successful woman to fail - and to learn powerful lessons from the failure - so that in the end, she didn't fail at all.

I don't believe in failure. I believe every setback is an opportunity to learn, regroup, get stronger, and try again. This is my motto: Rejection is God's protection. When people feel that they have failed, it's usually because somebody or something caused them to feel that way and taste defeat. I refuse to dwell on that. Yes, it sucks at first, and the feeling is valid, but it all happens for a reason. Let go.

I've discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.'

I have a very thick skin. I take everything that comes and let it bounce right off me because I know the time will come when nobody will be able to speak falsely.