R2D2: Beeps, clicks, whistles, etc. Luke: Oh no. We’ll never get it out now! Yoda: So certain are you? Always with you it cannot be done. Do you nothing that I say? Luke: Master moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different. Yoda: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned. Luke: Alright, I’ll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Maybe it was Jerry Seinfeld or someone like that was on the show and he said, "Look the thing about Hollywood is it's not filled with the best actors. It's filled with the ones who wanted it the most."
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.
To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.
Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.
As a person of faith, I’m a big believer in prayer. The Bible is very clear that God does not financially bless the lazy, or the incompetent. Praying for your corn to grow while failing to plant any is not a biblical principle nor one of successful people.
My humble invitation to all of us is to never give up! We are called to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”12 It is not so much about what we are going through in life but what we are becoming. There is joy in pressing toward the mark. I
It takes effort to distinguish what the Lord wants from what you want and the other person may want.
But because the universe naturally slides toward disorder, you have to expend energy to create stability, structure, and simplicity. Successful relationships require care and attention. Successful houses require cleaning and maintenance. Successful teams require communication and collaboration. Without effort, things will decay.
The true artist works in great gusts of effort, and in smaller gusts of apparent lassitude. He is not lying about waiting for some inspiration. He is in the travail of the dreamer entering into expression.
Sister Jones: “I’m curious to know if you might have a question that you would like to ask President Nelson. You’re sitting here with the prophet. Is there anything that you’ve always wanted to ask a prophet? Yes, Pearl.” Pearl: “Is it hard to be a prophet? Are you, like, really busy?” President Nelson: “Of course it’s hard. Everything to do with becoming more like the Savior is difficult. For example, when God wanted to give the Ten Commandments to Moses, where did He tell Moses to go? Up on top of a mountain, on the top of Mount Sinai. So Moses had to walk all the way up to the top of that mountain to get the Ten Commandments. Now, Heavenly Father could have said, ‘Moses, you start there, and I’ll start here, and I’ll meet you halfway.’ No, the Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it. For example, did you ever take piano lessons?” Children: “Yes.” Pearl: “I take violin.” President Nelson: “And do you practice?” Children: “Yes.” President Nelson: “What happens if you don’t practice?” Pearl: “You forget.” President Nelson: “Yes, you don’t progress, do you? So the answer is yes, Pearl. It takes effort, a lot of hard work, a lot of study, and there’s never an end. That’s good! That’s good, because we’re always progressing. Even in the next life we’re making progress.” President Nelson’s response to these precious children extends to each one of us. The Lord loves effort, and effort brings rewards. We keep practicing. We are always progressing as long as we are striving to follow the Lord.5 He doesn’t expect perfection today. We keep climbing our personal Mount Sinai. As in times past, our journey does indeed take effort, hard work, and study, but our commitment to progress brings eternal rewards.6
I've pretty much done all I can here and, you know, God will carry me the rest of the way, so I'm pretty comfortable with that.
Everybody shut up. Let us work.
I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.
“Run with the Swift” is my family’s unofficial motto. It’s how I encourage my daughter in tennis matches, when she battles by playing up a level. I say it to my son for reassurance when he chooses a heavy course load in school.
It is so easy to be halfhearted, but this only produces half the growth, half the blessings, and just half a life, really, with more bud than blossom.
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.
“I can’t” is the lie you tell yourself so that you don’t have to try.
If an ant seeks the rank of Solomon, don't smile contemptuously upon its quest. Everything you possess of skill, and wealth and handicraft, wasn't it first merely a thought and a quest?
Faith takes work. Receiving revelation takes work. But “every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”13 God knows what will help your faith grow. Ask, and then ask again. A nonbeliever might say that faith is for the weak. But this assertion overlooks the power of faith. Would the Savior’s Apostles have continued to teach His doctrine after His death, at the peril of their lives, if they had doubted Him?14 Would Joseph and Hyrum Smith have suffered martyrs’ deaths defending the Restoration of the Lord’s Church unless they had a sure witness that it was true? Would nearly 2,000 Saints have died along the pioneer trail15 if they did not have faith that the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored? Truly, faith is the power that enables the unlikely to accomplish the impossible.
The mountains in our lives do not always move how or when we would like. But our faith will always propel us forward. Faith always increases our access to godly power.
But what if becoming “even as [He is]” is not figurative, even in our mortal condition? What if it is, to some degree, attainable in this life and, indeed, a prerequisite to being with Him again? What if “even as I am” is exactly and precisely what is meant by the Savior? Then what? What level of effort would we be willing to give to invite His miraculous power into our lives so that we can change our very nature?
We would say, “I may not soon make it to the top, but I can do this next step right now.” Over time the daunting task ultimately became achievable—step by step.
By focusing deeply on one needed attribute, as you progress in obtaining that attribute, other attributes begin to accrue to you. Can someone who is focusing deeply on charity not increase in love and humility? Can someone who is focusing on obedience not gain greater diligence and hope? Your significant efforts to gain one attribute become the tide that raises all boats in the harbor.
True Christianity, in which we strive to become like our Master, has always required our best efforts.
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Vision without effort is daydreaming; effort without vision is drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize.
Such adjustment requires a daily and constant personal effort, in addition to reliance on the Savior, because our mortal inclinations will not disappear on their own. Fighting against temptation takes a lifetime of diligence and faithfulness. But please know that the Lord is ready to assist us in our personal efforts and promises remarkable blessings if we endure to the end.
It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
The Lord does not expect us to do more than we can do, but He does expect us to do what we can do, when we can do it. As President Nelson reminded us in our last general conference, “The Lord loves effort.”
Church leaders have often encouraged Latter-day Saints “to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.”8 At the same time, we are encouraged to “be wise” and “not go to extremes”9 in our efforts to establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.
Being temporally prepared and self-reliant means “believing that through the grace, or enabling power, of Jesus Christ and our own effort, we are able to obtain all the spiritual and temporal necessities of life we require for ourselves and our families.”
...the Lord will magnify our small but consistent efforts.
Elder David A. Bednar taught this principle when he said: “Taking action is the exercise of faith. … True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ and always leads to action.”
I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.
You will find the key to success under the alarm clock.
Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.
I would visualize things coming to me. It would just make me feel better. Visualization works if you work hard. That's the thing. You can't just visualize and go eat a sandwich.
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.
My father used to say that it's never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, 'You never know what you can accomplish until you try.'
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.
I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.
One of the most important principles of success is developing the habit of going the extra mile.
You will find that success in life comes far easier when you maintain a cool head and a warm heart, rather than a hot head and cold feet.