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Difficulty Quotes

Browse 2667 quotes about Difficulty.

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Difficulty Quotes

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down... So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. In climbing, take careful note of the difficulties along your way; for as you go up , you can observe them. Coming down, you will no longer see them, but you will know they are there if you have observed them well.”

IfsKnowsWayFirstsWellsDoeMotivationalForeverDifficultyNotesCarefulTake CareBotherClimbingSummitWhy Bother
Book:Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership
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“[My father] impressed upon me from the first, that the manner in which the world came into existence was a subject on which nothing was known: that the question, "Who made me?" cannot be answered, because we have no experience or authentic information from which to answer it; and that any answer only throws the difficulty a step further back, since the question immediately presents itself, "Who made God?”

WorldFirstsMadeFatherAnswersExistenceKnownStepsSubjectsInformationDifficultyImpressed
Book:Autobiography John Stuart Mill: Top Biography
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“There is an inconvenience which attends all abstruse reasoning. that it may silence, without convincing an antagonist, and requires the same intense study to make us sensible of its force, that was at first requisite for its invention. When we leave our closet, and engage in the common affairs of life, its conclusions seem to vanish, like the phantoms of the night on the appearance of the morning; and 'tis difficult for us to retain even that conviction, which we had attain'd with difficulty.”

FirstsMaySeemsNightForceDifficultCommonSilenceMorningStudyDifficultyAffairConvictionAppearanceInventionIntenseConclusionReasoningSensibleClosetsConvincingPhantomsInconvenienceAntagonist
Book:A Treatise of Human Nature: Top Philosophy Collections
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“Know that the difficulties which lead to confusion in the question what is the purpose of the Universe or of any of its parts, arise from two causes: first, man has an erroneous idea of himself, and believes that the whole world exists only for his sake; secondly, he is ignorant both about the nature of the sublunary world, and about the Creator's intention to give existence to all beings whose existence is possible, because existence is undoubtedly good.”

KnowsMenWorldGivingFirstsBelieveTwoIdeasWholePurposeUniverseCausesExistenceDifficultyIntentionSakeCreatorAriseWhole WorldIgnorantConfusion
Book:The Guide for the Perplexed
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“If an author be supposed to involve his thoughts in voluntary obscurity, and to obstruct, by unnecessary difficulties, a mind eager in the pursuit of truth; if he writes not to make others learned, but to boast the learning which he possesses himself, and wishes to be admired rather than understood, he counteracts the first end of writing, and justly suffers the utmost severity of censure, or the more afflicting severity of neglect.”

IfsWritingMindFirstsEndsSufferingWishUnderstoodDifficultyPursuitNeglectUnnecessaryBoastObscurityCensureSeverity
Book:The Rambler: A Periodical Paper, Published in 1750, 1751, 1752
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“There are circumstances of peculiar difficulty and danger, where a mediocrity of talent is the most fatal quantum that a man can possibly possess. Had Charles the First and Louis the Sixteenth been more wise or more weak, more firm or more yielding, in either case they had both of them saved their heads.”

MenFirstsCasesWiseTalentDangerCircumstancesWeakDifficultySavedFirmPeculiarMediocrityQuantum
Book:Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan
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“Here I come to one of the memoir writer's difficulties -- one of the reasons why, though I read so many, so many are failures. They leave out the person to whom things happened. The reason is that it is so difficult to describe any human being. So they say: 'This is what happened'; but they do not say what the person was like to whom it happened. And the events mean very little unless we know first to whom they happened.”

KnowsFirstsHumansMeanLittlesPersonsReasonDifficultHuman BeingsHappenedEventsDifficultyThings HappenMemoirReason Why
Book:Moments of being: unpublished autobiographical writings
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“Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim explicitly that man is a rational animal. His reason for this view was … that some people can do sums. … It is in virtue of the intellect that man is a rational animal. The intellect is shown in various ways, but most emphatically by mastery of arithmetic. The Greek system of numerals was very bad, so that the multiplication table was quite difficult, and complicated calculations could only be made by very clever people.”

PeopleKnowsMenWayFirstsHas BeensMadeReasonDifficultCan DoAnimalViewsVirtueDifficultyTablesVariousComplicatedIntellectCleverRationalGreekMasteryGreeceCalculationsComplicationArithmeticVery CleverMultiplicationNumerals
Author:Bertrand Russell
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“When in many dissections, carried out as opportunity offered upon living animals, I first addressed my mind to seeing how I could discover the function and offices of the heart's movement in animals through the use of my own eyes instead of through the books and writings of others, I kept finding the matter so truly hard and beset with difficulties that I all but thought, with Fracastoro, that the heart's movement had been understood by God alone.”

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Author:William Harvey
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“One whose troops repeatedly congregate in small groups here and there, whispering together, has lost the masses. One who frequently grants rewards is in deep distress. One who frequently imposes punishments is in great difficulty. One who is at first excessively brutal and then fears the masses is the pinnacle of stupidity.”

FirstsTogetherLostGroupsMassDifficultyRewardsStupidityPunishmentGrantsTroopsBrutalDistressHere And ThereWhisperingSmall GroupsPinnacle
Author:Sun Tzu
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“Crush your individuality first. Shake off the dreams of personal comfort. Then start to work. Inch by inch you shall have to proceed. It needs courage, perseverance and very strong determination. No difficulties and no hardships shall discourage you. No failure and betrayals shall dishearten you. No travails (!) imposed upon you shall snuff out the revolutionary will in you. Through the ordeal of sufferings and sacrifice you shall come out victorious. And these individual victories shall be the valuable assets of the revolution.”

NeedsFirstsDreamSufferingIndividualStrongSacrificeRevolutionVictoryComfortDeterminationDifficultyPerseveranceIndividualityValuableBetrayalRevolutionaryCrushShakesHardshipAssetsVery StrongInchesDiscouragingOrdealsNo FailureSnuffStrong Determination
Book:Selected writings of Shaheed Bhagat Singh
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“The first step of gratitude is to see the gift...if you are in the middle of difficulties and problems, how can you feel gratitude? You've got to fight to find the gift even in the difficulty...when you shift your perspective from the perspective of the mind because life will never make sense to your mind...mind is very logical and life is not. In order for life to make sense you've got to be out of your mind and you've got to be into your soul. When you begin to see life from the perspective of your soul then even in the midst of the worst of it you can see the gift.”

IfsFeelsMindFirstsSoulProblemLife IsOrderFightingStepsMiddleWorstPerspectiveGratitudeDifficultyYour SoulMake SenseMidstLogicalFirst Steps
Author:Neale Donald Walsch
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“One of the difficulties of politics is that politicians are shocked by those who are really prepared to let their thinking reach any conclusion. Political thinking consists in deciding upon the conclusion first and then finding good arguments for it. An open mind is considered irresponsible- and perhaps it really is.”

ThinkingMindFirstsPoliticalPoliticianFindingsArgumentDifficultyPreparedConclusionShockedOpen MindIrresponsiblePolitical Thinking
Author:Richard Crossman
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“If some should accuse us as if we held that people born before the time of Christ were not accountable to God for their actions, we shall anticipate and answer such a difficulty. We have been taught that Christ is the first-begotten of God, and we have declared him to be the Logos of which all mankind partakes. Those, therefore, who lived according to reason (logos) were really Christians, even though they were thought to be atheists, such as, among the Greeks, Socrates, Heraclitus and others like them.”

PeopleIfsShouldFirstsHas BeensReasonActionChristianChristBornAnswersMankindTaughtDifficultyAtheistGreekAnticipateLogos
Author:Justin Martyr
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“Reading their letters and the First Amendment of the US Constitution, I infer that this nation's founders noted that religions have been at the center of great deal of trouble, so they precluded the US government from getting involved in religion, i.e. "... shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Over the centuries, various religions have laid claim to various morals; consider the difficulties outsiders are having today in the Middle East, for example.”

FirstsHas BeensGovernmentTodayLawReadingNationsDealsMoralTroubleMiddleCenturyExampleInvolvedExerciseLettersConstitutionClaimsDifficultyVariousEastEstablishmentMiddle EastAmendmentsOutsidersFoundersFirst AmendmentUs Constitution
Author:Bill Nye
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“The clearer and deeper the public opinion of the world, in the first instance the opinion of the working masses, will understand the contradictions and the difficulties of the socialist development of an isolated country, the higher will it appreciate the results achieved. The less it identifies the fundamental methods of Socialism with the zigzags and errors of the Soviet bureaucracy, the less will be the danger that, by the inevitable revelation of these errors and of their consequences, the authority, not only of the present ruling group, but of the workers' State itself, may decline.”

WorldFirstsMayCountryStatesResultsOpinionGroupsDangerDevelopmentHigherAuthorityMassConsequenceAppreciateDifficultyMethodFundamentalsErrorsWorkersDeeperSocialismInstanceInevitableRevelationsContradictionSovietIsolatedDeclineSocialistBureaucracyRulingPublic Opinion
Author:Leon Trotsky
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“In matter-ism (materialism), there can be nothing wrong with the world since there is no right way for the world to be in the first place. Everything is just matter in motion and that's that. In Mind-ism (monism) there's a different route to the same problem. There cannot be a problem of evil, even in principle, since in Mind-ism even morality is maya; illusion. In neither story, then (if we're to be consistent with their principles), can the issue of evil be raised. But in real life the problem comes up all the time. That's the difficulty.”

IfsWorldWayMindFirstsDifferentRealMatterStoriesProblemEvilPrinciplesIssuesMoralityIllusionDifficultyRaisedCome UpReal LifeConsistentMaterialismRoutesRight WayIsmsProblem Of EvilMaya Illusion
Author:Greg Koukl
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“You don't achieve anything by stopping at the first sign of difficulty. If we'd stopped after Dieppe in World War II, where would we be right now as a nation? If we'd stopped before Vimy Ridge, we wouldn't have been a nation at all. Yes, you've got to know when to say "stop" as a leader, you sure do, but you've also got to know when to push for the final thing that's going to give you the full benefit.”

IfsKnowsWorldGivingFirstsHas BeensWarNationsLeaderAchieveRight NowBenefitsDifficultyFinalsWar Of The WorldsWorld War IiWorld War IStoppingRidges
Author:Rick Hillier
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“For families across the UK who are income-poor, but more than that, whose lives are blighted by worklessness, educational failure, family breakdown, problem debt and poor health, as well as other problems, giving them an extra pound - say through increased benefits - will not address the reason they find themselves in difficulty in the first place.”

GivingFirstsWellsReasonProblemPoorBenefitsDifficultyEducationalDebtIncomeExtrasAddressesPoundsBreakdownPoor Health
Author:Iain Duncan Smith
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“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”

PeopleIfsMenFirstsGovernmentWould BeLyingNextPoliticsDoubtMankindTaughtAngelDifficultyPrimariesNo DoubtInternalsDependenceFederal GovernmentBearing ArmsFederalistPrecautionFederalist PapersFramingGovernment And SocietyControlling Government
Book:The Origin of the Nation: Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and Other Amendments, Federalist Papers & Common Sense: Creating America - Landmark Documents that Shaped a New Nation
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“At first, when an idea, a poem, or the desire to write takes hold of you, work is a pleasure, a delight, and your enthusiasm knows no bounds. But later on you work with difficulty, doggedly, desperately. For once you have committed yourself to a particular work, inspiration changes its form and becomes an obsession, like a love-affair… which haunts you night and day! Once at grips with a work, we must master it completely before we can recover our idleness.”

KnowsWritingFirstsIdeasInspirationFormDesireNightPleasureParticularMastersDifficultyBoundsAffairCommittedDelightObsessionEnthusiasmIdlenessLove Affair
Author:Natalie Clifford Barney
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“When I first arrived in London, I so quickly tired of being surrounded by so many people that it was only with great difficulty that I refrained from seizing the next unfortunate who crossed my path and committing violent acts upon their person.”

PeopleFirstsPersonsNextPathDifficultyTiredLondonViolentUnfortunateSeizingViolent Acts
Book:The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel; Clockwork Prince; Clockwork Princess
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“Your call will become clear as as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God's Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns from diverting your attention.”

MindFirstsSpiritLyingReadingAttentionLordDestinyClearHolyConcernDifficultyScriptureGods WillHoly SpiritInternalsTransformedYour Destiny
Author:Charles R. Swindoll
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“Acceptance is not a state of passivity or inaction. We are not saying you can't change the world, right wrongs or replace evil with good. Acceptance is, in fact, the first step to successful action. If you don't fully accept a situation precisely the way it is, you will have difficulty changing it.”

IfsKnowsWorldWayInspirationalShouldFirstsStatesFactsActionEvilChangeSituationAcceptingStepsSuccessfulAcceptanceChangedDifficultyChanging The WorldFirst StepsInactionCan't ChangePassivity
Author:Peter McWilliams
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“It is among the commonplaces of education that we often first cut off the living root and then try to replace its natural functions by artificial means. Thus we suppress the child's curiosity and then when he lacks a natural interest in learning he is offered special coaching for his scholastic difficulties.”

TryingFirstsMeanChildrenInterestNaturalEducationLearningCuttingSpecialDiversityRootsFunctionDifficultySocial JusticeCuriosityEducationalCoachingArtificialCommonplaceSchoolingSchooledUnschoolingSchool EducationScholastics
Author:Alice Duer Miller
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“The great difficulty is first to win a reputation; the next to keep it while you live; and the next to preserve it after you die, when affection and interest are over, and nothing but sterling excellence can preserve your name. Never suffer youth to be an excuse for inadequacy, nor age and fame to be an excuse for indolence.”

FirstsCharacterAgeSufferingDiesNextWinningNamesInterestYouthFameDifficultyExcellenceAffectionExcuseReputationPreservesInadequacyIndolenceGood ReputationSterling
Book:Correspondence and Table-talk: With a Memoir
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“Workers must root out the idea that by keeping the results of their labors to themselves a fortune will be assured to them. Patent fees are so much wasted money. The flying machine of the future will not be born fully fledged and capable of a flight for 1,000 miles or so. Like everything else it must be evolved gradually. The first difficulty is to get a thing that will fly at all. When this is made, a full description should be published as an aid to others. Excellence of design and workmanship will always defy competition.”

ShouldFirstsMadeIdeasScienceBornResultsDesignEvolutionFutureCapableLaborRootsMachinesDifficultyCompetitionFortuneExcellenceWorkersAidsMilesFlyingFlightDescriptionAssuredFeesPatentsWorkmanshipFlying Machines
Author:Lawrence Hargrave
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“Another source of conviction in the existence of God, connected with the reason and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. This follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist.”

MenFeelsMindFirstsLooksReasonFeelingsUniverseCausesChanceResultsExistenceWonderfulAtheismSourceDegreesDeserveCapacityWeightDifficultyIntelligentBlindIncludingConvictionExtremesConnectedImmenseImpressBackwardsCompelledImpossibilityReflectingTheismExistence Of GodTheistConceiving
Book:The Autobiography of Charles Darwin
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“Lincoln's appeal to "the better angels of our nature" failed to avert a fratricidal war. But the compassionate wisdom of Lincoln's first and second inaugurals bequeathed to the Union, cemented with blood, a moral heritage which, when drawn upon in times of stress and strife, is sure to find specific ways and means to surmount difficulties that may appear to be insurmountable.”

WayFirstsMayMeanWarCompassionMoralBloodAngelDifficultyStressUnionsAppealsHeritageCompassionateStrifeInsurmountableAvert
Author:Felix Frankfurter
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