Herman Melville Quotes

I was taught that everything is attainable if you are prepared to give up, to sacrifice, to get it. Whatever you want to do, you can do it, if you want it badly enough . . .

Be like a solid tower whose brave height remains unmoved by all the winds that blow; the man who lets his thoughts be turned aside by one thing or another, will lose sight of his true goal, his mind sapped of its strength.

Sheer persistence is the difference between success and failure.

I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.

We know what you want to accomplish... The real question is, 'what are you willing to push through the dip for?' What are you willing to stand up for, bleed for, commit to and generally be unreasonable about? Because that's what's going to actually get done.

Labor never quits. We never give up the fight - no matter how tough the odds, no matter how long it takes.

Know that every time you feel weak, you not only hurt yourself but also the cause. Infinite faith and strength are the only conditions of success.

Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination. The bloody solution of the crisis, the effort for the destruction of the enemy's forces, is the first-born son of war. Only great and general battles can produce great results. Blood is the price of victory.

We shall have our manhood. We shall have it or the earth will be leveled by our attempts to gain it.

Clearly, the American war planners misjudged the determination of the Iraqi forces.

The habit of persistence is the habit of victory.

One of my superstitions had always been when I started to go anywhere or do anything, not to turn back, or stop until the thing intended was accomplished. I have frequently started to go places where I had never been and to which I did not know the way, depending upon making inquiries on the road, and if I got past the place without knowing it, instead of turning back, I would go until a road was found turning in the right direction, take that, and come in by the other side.

Entrepreneurs don't finish when we are tired. We finish when we are done.

I say that when you have perceived or attained the goal, compromises, renunciations, do not exist. If you have seen the goal, compromise ceases to exist. It is then a question of a different attitude.

No, I shall not give in. I shall go on. I shall work to the end.

I never stop. I don't want to stop acting because I'm afraid it'll all end, so I never say no.

You have to be un-compromised in your level of commitment to whatever you are doing, or it can disappear as fast as it appeared. Commitment cannot be compromised by rewards.

If it takes a hundred years, it will be a pity, but I will not cease to work for it as long as I live.

The advice I give to every filmmaker is you have to be tenacious. You can't give up.

Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty.

I'm very determined and stubborn. There's a desire in me that makes me want to do more and more, and to do it right. Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit.

Determination can change your mind. Determination can change your heart. Determination can change your life altogether.

The only thing that I have done that is not mitigated by luck, diminished by good fortune, is that I persisted, and other people gave up.

The strong do not hesitate. They settle down, they sweat, they go on to the end. They exhaust the ink, they use up the paper.

We will stay the course until the job is done, Steve. And the temptation is to try to get the President or somebody to put a timetable on the definition of getting the job done. We're just going to stay the course.