Twenty Motivational Quotes
Is everyone fired up with new projects and resolutions as we start the new year?
It's a great idea to set goals, but I recently read that more than 64% of people quit on their New Year's resolutions by February, according to studies.
The main issue is that we try to tackle everything and make massive changes simultaneously instead of focusing on daily incremental progress over time.
I've personally never been very fond of New Year's resolutions. Why wait until an arbitrary date like January 1 to change your life? You can do that all year round.
The key is incremental progress, and the battle you need to win is to sustain your motivation after you've made a decision. A great way to achieve that goal is to read books. A few times a year, I'll pick up great books about discipline, resilience, endurance sports, and the like to keep me fueled.
I've compiled twenty quotes from some of my favorite books in this spirit. All the books are listed at the bottom. If you're looking for a motivational boost this year, pick one of them up. You won't regret it.
Doing physically hard things is an enormous life hack. Do hard things and the rest of life gets easier and you appreciate it all the more.1
Passion and obsession, even talent, are only useful tools if you have the work ethic to back them up.2
Doing things—even small things—that make you uncomfortable will help make you strong. The more often you get uncomfortable the stronger you’ll become, and soon you’ll develop a more productive, can-do dialogue with yourself in stressful situations.2
The ticket to victory often comes down to bringing your very best when you feel your worst.2
The mind will take you where your body won’t. It’s a simple concept, but one few people truly understand, or put into practice. Those who harness the power of adversity, who seek out difficult experiences rather than retreating to lives of comfort, those are the people who will achieve what they want in life.3
We’ve all heard that old saying, “Don’t work harder. Work smarter!” It’s reassuring for all the wrong reasons. It suggests that the main goal in life is to find the easy way, to skip out on hard work and struggle and to hack your way to achieve your goals. Repeat after me: there are no shortcuts. Not for the stuff that really matters, anyway.3
No one grows in their safe zone. It’s a static place. No change, no evolution, no learning.3
There is a saying: ‘There are no crowds lining the extra mile.’ On the extra mile, we are on our own: just us and the road, just us and the blank sheet of paper, just us and the challenge we’ve set ourself. It’s the work we do behind closed doors that makes the difference out on the field...4
Pressure is a privilege – it means you’re playing to the highest level.4
You weren’t created to play it safe. The greatest risk of all is playing it safe, and I refuse to believe the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. The unlikely hero of your story is you, and if you play it safe, you may not like how your story turns out.5
The greatness inside of you is buried underneath all your excuses and rationalizations.5
In sports, business, and life it is a guarantee you are going to hit a lot of adversity: that’s why it’s not about the game. The game is just another place to experience adversity and refine your character. Your character is all that matters. If you miss that, you miss everything.5
The real work is unseen. Your performance matters most when nobody is watching.6
It’s all well and good to have success and reach a certain level, but I really don’t give a fuck what you did yesterday. Maybe you finished Ultraman or graduated from Harvard. I do not care. Respect is earned every day by waking up early, challenging yourself with new dreams or digging up old nightmares, and embracing the suck like you have nothing and have never done a damn thing in your life.6
The struggle is the whole journey.6
Discipline builds mental endurance because when effort is your main priority, you stop looking for everything to be enjoyable.6
The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation.7
Such is the paradox of success. Precisely when we think we’ve earned the right to relax our discipline is exactly when we need it most. The payoff for all our efforts? So much more temptation. So many more distractions. So many more opportunities.8
Decide to do something every day for a year. Whether it’s running a mile, reading a chapter, writing a paragraph, eating breakfast, or drinking a gallon of water: find something that will help you improve yourself and do it every day for a year. That’s how you build a work ethic.9
Imagine if you were blind. Ask yourself how badly you’d like to see. If pushing yourself to your limits could give you sight, would you do it? If there was a cure, would you let anything stand in your way? Would you risk the haters and the critics to see again? Be blind as you chase your goals.9
I know I’m venturing out of investing quite a bit. I love reading about these topics, and I hope you can take a little something away from this post. Let me know if you enjoy this type of content.
Now let’s make the most out of 2024 🔥
Happy reading!
Books:
The Comfort Crisis - Michael Easter (link)
Can’t Hurt Me - David Goggins (link)
25 Hours a Day - Nick Bare (link)
Legacy - James Kerr (link)
Pound the Stone - Joshua Medcalf (link)
Never Finished - David Goggins (link)
The Art of Resilience - Ross Edgley (link)
Discipline is Destiny - Ryan Holiday (link)
Endure - Cameron Hanes and Joe Rogan (link)
Disclaimer
This publication is for informational purposes only. Nothing produced under the Stocks & Stones brand should be construed as investment advice or recommendations. Mathieu Martin, the author, is employed as a Portfolio Manager with Rivemont Investments. This publication only represents Mathieu Martin’s own opinions and not those of Rivemont.
If you’d like to invest in small public companies, check out this post.
Recently read The Comfort Crisis. Good book.
Thanks for sharing these.