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"It Always Seems Impossible Until It's Done.": Motivation for Dreamers & Doers
Pursuing a dream is hard work, but the right words delivered at the right time—by people who’ve been there and done that—can give us just the motivation we need. The right words can rekindle our enthusiasm, re-energize our efforts, dispel doubt, let us know we’re not alone, and show us that the fight is worth it—and winnable.
Kathryn and Ross Petras are masters at choosing and delivering just the right words. Their books—such as “Age Doesn’t Matter Unless You’re a Cheese” and “Dance First. Think Later.”—and bestselling calendar, The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said, have over 5.2 million copies in print. Now comes a book for dreamers and doers, plus writers, entrepreneurs, graduates, artists, future movers and shakers. Collecting the hard-won, brilliantly expressed advice from pioneers who have paved the way, including everyone from Rumi to Steve Jobs, Michelangelo to Oprah to Tina Fey, “It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done” is like a rousing locker-room speech, inspiring courage, commitment, and perseverance.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
—Michael Jordan
“Go for it, baby! Life ain’t no dress rehearsal.”
—Tallulah Bankhead
“Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.”
—Neil Gaiman
“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?”
—T. S. Eliot
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
—Nelson Mandela
397 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 22, 2014
113 people are currently reading
1543 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 28, 2019
Full review: 28/08/19
I have a very good time reading this. Slightly a fresh reminder as this cute book is a collection of quotes, thoughts and beautiful words to make the reader more motivated. It keep telling us to keep striving and keep going as we’re not beaten yet.
Life sure would be easier if success came to us, but yeahhh.. you’ve got meet it half way. Working on yourself and putting in the hard work makes that big success feel that much more worth it. And, success is not measured by wealth, fame, etc. The definition of success is very broad -- all you have to do is decide -- what kind of success you want to achieve.
Though, as a muslim ultimately we yearns for success not only in this dunya but in akhirat.
InsyaAllah. May Allah bless. Aminnnn.
If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t really trying – Coleman Hawkins
I have a very good time reading this. Slightly a fresh reminder as this cute book is a collection of quotes, thoughts and beautiful words to make the reader more motivated. It keep telling us to keep striving and keep going as we’re not beaten yet.
Life sure would be easier if success came to us, but yeahhh.. you’ve got meet it half way. Working on yourself and putting in the hard work makes that big success feel that much more worth it. And, success is not measured by wealth, fame, etc. The definition of success is very broad -- all you have to do is decide -- what kind of success you want to achieve.
Though, as a muslim ultimately we yearns for success not only in this dunya but in akhirat.
InsyaAllah. May Allah bless. Aminnnn.
January 30, 2017
This book is simply a book of quotes, but it's a must for the bedside table for all those who love being inspired. I've read it once through quick, but plan to read 1 quote per day until I make it through again, to keep the inspiration flowing daily.
February 2, 2016
I love inspirational/motivational quotes. This book has a lot of good ones in it, but it also has a lot from celebrities that aren't inspirational in any way. They just got lucky or inherited their status. I don't find anything inspirational about that. They should stick to people who actually earned their way when it comes to trying to inspire or motivate people.
May 14, 2017
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."
—Pablo Picasso
—Pablo Picasso
April 14, 2018
A great book that I will come back to time and time again. So many amazing quotes!
May 9, 2018
I've kept this tiny (but thick) quote book in my bathroom for the past three months. Instead of taking my phone to the bathroom with me, I would read a few pages each day. I dogeared about two-dozen pages featuring my favorite quotes. This worthy ritual helped me to maintain a positive mindframe as I threw myself against my dissertation each day.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers." p.6
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist
"Don't be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand." p.17
—Henry Miller, writer
"Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems" (p.23).
—Bill Watterson, cartoonist
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightening to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself" (p.47).
—Chuck Close, artist
"There is nothing wrong with fear; the only mistake is to let it stop you in your tracks" (p.64).
—Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit, Choreographer
“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it” (p.80).
—Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, psychologist
"You just need to figure out what is in your control, and what isn't and be okay with it" (p.129)
—Santigold, musician
"The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one's negative experience is itself a positive experience."
—Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
"Hold serve, Hold serve, Hold serve. Focus, Focus, Focus. Be confident, Be confident, Be confident. Hold, Hold, Hold. Move Up, Attack, Kill. Smile. Hold!!!" (p.145).
—Serena Williams, tennis player
"If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win" (p.154).
—Carl Lewis, runner
"I don't control life, but I can control how I react to it" (p.155).
—Macklemore, musician
"It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters" (p.182)
—Paul "Bear" Bryant, football coach
"There is no such thing as a long piece of work, except one that you dare not start" (p.190).
—Charles Baudelaire, Poet
"There's few things that get you over your own crap more than working hard" (p.191).
—Adam Savage, special effects designer
"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are" (p.205).
—J.P. Morgan, financier
"You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a 100 percent effort that you gave—win or lose" (p.217).
—Gordie Howe, hockey player
"If you can't outplay them, outwork them" (p.231).
—Ben Hogan, golf player
"There is no point at which you can say, 'Well, I'm successful now. I might as well take a nap" (p.257).
—Carrie Fisher, actress and writer
"You have the capacity to be so much better than you are', he started saying to me in September of my senior year. He was still saying it in May. On the last day of classes, he said it again, and I said, 'How?', and he answered, 'Dare to fail'. I've been coming through on his admonition ever since" (p.264).
—Aaron Sorkin, producer and writer
"I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them" (p.269).
—Pablo Picasso, artist
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."
—Pablo Picasso, artist
"Nothing any good isn't hard" (p.269).
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer
"As long as you can start, you are all right. The juice will come" (p.271).
—Ernest Hemingway, writer
"The minute that you're not learning, I believe that you're dead" (p.276).
—Jack Nicholson, actor
"I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work" (p.284).
—Pearl S. Buck, writer
"I'm so sick of sarcasm and irony, I could kill! Sincerely, the real root of things is love and sacrifice. Everything else is an illusion. I'm not trying to preach here. I can't tell anybody anything. But I will say, if you're available to them, there are so many great secrets in the world, so many signs. It's when we stop for a moment and listen that the world gets interesting" (p.302). —Ben Foster, actor
"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory" (p.315).
—Mohandas K. Gandhi, activist and Indian leader
"Lesson learned? When people say, 'You really, really must' do something, it means you don't really have to. No one ever says, 'You really, really must deliver the baby during labor." When it's true, it doesn't need to be said" (p.319).
—Tina Fey, comedian and writer
Note: Many of these motivational quotes remind me of my friend, AshLee—a single mom of 2, she works 2 jobs, and goes to school, among other things. Whenever I need to feel motivated, I don't go to this book; I just think of her.
Funny Note: I freaked out when I began reading the biographies of those quoted, at the end of the book. I saw "Hank Aaron (1934- )" and was like, "WHAT?! No one knows when Hank Aaron—one of the most famous baseball players of all time—died?! And then I looked down and saw that Christina Aguilera and Muhammad Ali were without death dates either. The funny part was that I didn't immediately think, "Xtina is still alive." Instead, I thought, "Ali definitely pasted away in 2016. What is going on here?!" It didn't even occur to me that the book was published in 2014. And Hank Aaron is currently living in a retirement home near ATL, GA.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers." p.6
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist
"Don't be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand." p.17
—Henry Miller, writer
"Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems" (p.23).
—Bill Watterson, cartoonist
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightening to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself" (p.47).
—Chuck Close, artist
"There is nothing wrong with fear; the only mistake is to let it stop you in your tracks" (p.64).
—Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit, Choreographer
“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it” (p.80).
—Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, psychologist
"You just need to figure out what is in your control, and what isn't and be okay with it" (p.129)
—Santigold, musician
"The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one's negative experience is itself a positive experience."
—Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
"Hold serve, Hold serve, Hold serve. Focus, Focus, Focus. Be confident, Be confident, Be confident. Hold, Hold, Hold. Move Up, Attack, Kill. Smile. Hold!!!" (p.145).
—Serena Williams, tennis player
"If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win" (p.154).
—Carl Lewis, runner
"I don't control life, but I can control how I react to it" (p.155).
—Macklemore, musician
"It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters" (p.182)
—Paul "Bear" Bryant, football coach
"There is no such thing as a long piece of work, except one that you dare not start" (p.190).
—Charles Baudelaire, Poet
"There's few things that get you over your own crap more than working hard" (p.191).
—Adam Savage, special effects designer
"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are" (p.205).
—J.P. Morgan, financier
"You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a 100 percent effort that you gave—win or lose" (p.217).
—Gordie Howe, hockey player
"If you can't outplay them, outwork them" (p.231).
—Ben Hogan, golf player
"There is no point at which you can say, 'Well, I'm successful now. I might as well take a nap" (p.257).
—Carrie Fisher, actress and writer
"You have the capacity to be so much better than you are', he started saying to me in September of my senior year. He was still saying it in May. On the last day of classes, he said it again, and I said, 'How?', and he answered, 'Dare to fail'. I've been coming through on his admonition ever since" (p.264).
—Aaron Sorkin, producer and writer
"I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them" (p.269).
—Pablo Picasso, artist
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."
—Pablo Picasso, artist
"Nothing any good isn't hard" (p.269).
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer
"As long as you can start, you are all right. The juice will come" (p.271).
—Ernest Hemingway, writer
"The minute that you're not learning, I believe that you're dead" (p.276).
—Jack Nicholson, actor
"I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work" (p.284).
—Pearl S. Buck, writer
"I'm so sick of sarcasm and irony, I could kill! Sincerely, the real root of things is love and sacrifice. Everything else is an illusion. I'm not trying to preach here. I can't tell anybody anything. But I will say, if you're available to them, there are so many great secrets in the world, so many signs. It's when we stop for a moment and listen that the world gets interesting" (p.302). —Ben Foster, actor
"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory" (p.315).
—Mohandas K. Gandhi, activist and Indian leader
"Lesson learned? When people say, 'You really, really must' do something, it means you don't really have to. No one ever says, 'You really, really must deliver the baby during labor." When it's true, it doesn't need to be said" (p.319).
—Tina Fey, comedian and writer
Note: Many of these motivational quotes remind me of my friend, AshLee—a single mom of 2, she works 2 jobs, and goes to school, among other things. Whenever I need to feel motivated, I don't go to this book; I just think of her.
Funny Note: I freaked out when I began reading the biographies of those quoted, at the end of the book. I saw "Hank Aaron (1934- )" and was like, "WHAT?! No one knows when Hank Aaron—one of the most famous baseball players of all time—died?! And then I looked down and saw that Christina Aguilera and Muhammad Ali were without death dates either. The funny part was that I didn't immediately think, "Xtina is still alive." Instead, I thought, "Ali definitely pasted away in 2016. What is going on here?!" It didn't even occur to me that the book was published in 2014. And Hank Aaron is currently living in a retirement home near ATL, GA.
September 29, 2018
I mean... it's pretty sad when You can't AT LEAST come up with your own title... does Nelson Mandela get any money out of this? He should...
February 5, 2022
Great book of Quotes!
December 19, 2017
Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger.
Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic.
If you really like something, don’t ever think can I do this?! You have to say I’m gonna do this and nobody’s gonna stop me.
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing Do it.
Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems.
If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise don’t even start.
If you aren’t in over your head how do you know how tall you are.
A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.
The most effective way to do it is to do it.
They can’t scare me, if I scare them first.
Hold your head high and sway your hips when you walk.
Hard times ain’t quit and I aint quit.
When you look ahead and darkness is all you see, faith and determination will pull you through.
Knowing is not enough we must apply, willing is not enough we must do.
Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic.
If you really like something, don’t ever think can I do this?! You have to say I’m gonna do this and nobody’s gonna stop me.
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing Do it.
Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems.
If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise don’t even start.
If you aren’t in over your head how do you know how tall you are.
A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.
The most effective way to do it is to do it.
They can’t scare me, if I scare them first.
Hold your head high and sway your hips when you walk.
Hard times ain’t quit and I aint quit.
When you look ahead and darkness is all you see, faith and determination will pull you through.
Knowing is not enough we must apply, willing is not enough we must do.
January 6, 2022
I find this book to be one that every individual who is working towards their life's aspirations and goals should have in their possession. A book completely filled with around 300 Aspiring Quotes from Classics you tend to hear every day from renowned individuals such as Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Scott Fitzgerald, to quotes from people I've never even heard of but still resonated with my personal life and was sure to take note of for future reference. The Authors also took the time to add short Biographies at the end of the book providing a short synopsis on each person highlighted in the book. Overall, a book I believe everyone needs whenever they need some quick inspiration in their life.
December 14, 2020
I bought this book as a Christmas gift to someone else, so I thought I should read it beforehand. It isn’t a terrible gift for someone that doesn’t read books that often since it’s not a complex read (as you’d expect.)
As motivational quotes tend to be, some were definitely inspiring. The selection of people quoted was random, which was basically my only complaint. It made the book feel cheesy.
As motivational quotes tend to be, some were definitely inspiring. The selection of people quoted was random, which was basically my only complaint. It made the book feel cheesy.
July 5, 2020
This is an excellent quote book, that you can read daily. Negativity is all around us, that is the reason why we need good positive quotes to keep ourselves centered. These quotea help us think of a better world. I highly recommed it. This one is a keeper.
December 16, 2024
Less inspirational quotes and more random quotes from interviews with celebrities who are now either a bit dated in their relevancy to the zeitgeist or who are now known for problematic behaviors. I like quote books generally, but this one missed the mark.
September 9, 2017
Lots of motivational quotes from famous celebrities. There are both good and average quotes. Good to read one or a few at a time rather than devouring the whole book in one sitting.
December 18, 2017
Just a book that full of motivational quotes which I LIKE.
If you're feeling down and need something to dance your blues away. This book is for you!
If you're feeling down and need something to dance your blues away. This book is for you!
October 10, 2018
Nice mix of modern and old quotes. Nice to read a few a day over the course of a month.
October 15, 2018
i loved it!
i copied and pasted so many motivational sentences... i feel so inspired.
lovely. to read and to keep it for the rainy days
i copied and pasted so many motivational sentences... i feel so inspired.
lovely. to read and to keep it for the rainy days
February 5, 2019
A short read full of quotes from famous people- dead and alive. A cool read if you are looking for an inspirational quote.
October 16, 2019
This was a very good book . I would recommend this book to my friends
November 11, 2020
Awesome book, definitely going to buy the authors other books. I really enjoyed this! Something you can pick up anytime, turn to any page and get a dose of motivation.
May 14, 2021
Loving these little books of quotes...especially this one about trying and perseverance.
August 7, 2021
Interesting quote choices, but too much white space. Costs about a nickel a quote
August 17, 2021
i loved it!
October 8, 2022
A few precious nuggets in there.
June 22, 2024
Highly motivating. Keep a copy on your bookshelf.
December 17, 2024
Its a really great book to help with motivation and uplifting quotes
I recommend
I recommend
January 10, 2017
Pretty much inspiring.
April 26, 2022
This is go to book. Simple yet inspiring.
March 13, 2017
The mix of contemporary and old classic quotes make it an interesting and inspiring mix.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews