Words of Inspiration

Words can be powerful motivators. We can use them to bless or curse others; encourage or discourage; hearten or dishearten; embolden or frighten; exhilarate or dispirit; inspire or deprecate. Here are some words of inspiration for you to use or share with others for mutual encouragement.

Attempting to Reach a Goal

I would rather stumble a thousand times
Attempting to reach a goal
Than to sit in a crowd
In my weather-proof shroud
A shriveled and self-satisfied soul.
I would rather be doing and daring
All of my error-filled days
Than watching, and waiting, and dying
Smug in my perfect ways.
I would rather wonder and blunder
Stumbling blindly ahead
Than for safety's sake
Lest I make a mistake
Be sure, be safe, be dead.

– Unknown

Don't Quit When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and debts are high, And you want to smile but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit… Rest if you must—but don’t you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won if he’d stuck it out. Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than It seems to a faint and faltering man; Often the struggler has given up When he might have captured the victor's cup, And he learned too late, when the night slipped    down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems afar. So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit, It's when things go wrong That you mustn't quit. – Unknown