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Determination is the driving force that propels us to achieve greatness, overcome challenges, and turn dreams into reality. In times of adversity, motivational quotes on determination serve as powerful reminders of our inner strength and resilience. In this article, we present a collection of inspiring quotes that celebrate the essence of determination, motivating you to stay focused, persevere, and embrace success.

This article is a collection of inspirational determination quotes focusing on personal growth and development. Some of these quotes talk about perseverance, strength of your will and passion to achieve your dreams. These quotes on determination are a collection from various sources to provide a positive outlook on your quest for motivation.

Determination Quotes – Meaning and Importance

Quotes on determination ignite the flame of perseverance within us, reminding us of our inherent strength and capacity to achieve greatness. Embrace these inspiring words as guiding lights on your journey to success. With unwavering determination and belief in yourself, you can conquer obstacles and make your dreams a reality. Stay focused, keep moving forward, and let determination be the force that propels you to triumph.

1. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
2. “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” – Carol Burnett
3. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
4. “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
5. “Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.” – Arnold H. Glasow
6. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” – Vince Lombardi
7. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
8. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
9. “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill
10. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

The biggest motivator for this article is a lovely quote from George Ellen

“People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most people succeed because they are determined to”

George Ellen

This quote not only highlights the importance of determination but also questions the belief about IQ, resources, benefits etc people are born with. In this section, we focus on what determination means and how it can be used to achieve your dreams.

What is determination?

The meaning of determination is in the firmness of its purpose. It ties strongly to your goals, desires and passion. You can refer to our piece on breaking down dreams into goals for detailed information and strategies. Determination also closely ties with perseverance and the commitment to your goals regardless of difficult circumstances.

The power of determination is more apparent when situations are tough. It is that constant feeling within you which asks you to keep working even when things are not in your favour.

Collection of Quotes on Determination

With this inspiration, you will find a collection of determination quotes below. These quotes are tied to the idealogy of dreams, passion and your desire to achieve something.

A dream does not become reality through magic, it takes determination, sweat and hard work – Colin Powell

It is all about the dreams isn’t it? If your dreams are strong enough, you’ll find a way to make it work. Most often dreams are thought to be some unrealistic things.

Your dreams suffocate if you block them by constraints of reality, ease, society, peer pressure and other labels. Instead, let the dreams flourish – feel your emotions and commitment. Without these, the dream is just an item on your to do list. If it needs to constantly motivate you and create a determination to succeed, the dreams must be strong.

Focus on building the strength into your dream and the rest is about strategically making it work.

A dream does not become reality through magic, it takes determination, sweat and hard work

Colin Powell

We all have dreams, but to make these dreams a reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort – Jesse Owens

Dreams are a great starting point. They give you a direction to move. The purpose of these determination quotes is to bring the focus into actions that can produce results. As Kalam highlights – dreams are not the ones that come to you when you’re asleep. Dreams are the ones that don’t let you sleep. You can find more of the detailed Abdul Kalam quotes collection in our earlier discussion.

In short, it is rather a poor representation of dreams and commitment to it if you let them be a fantasy. Dreams can be a reality only if you let them. The best way to lead your dreams to reality is by pushing forward and creating an environment for determination and commitment ot make it happen

We all have dreams, but to make these dreams a reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort

Jesse Owens

The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the ability and determination to overcome bad luck – Channing Pollock

Luck is often a great excuse for not being able to reach your goals. That’s all it is. It may give a reason to make you feel slightly better. But that doesn’t change the fact that your heart still desires your dream.

At some point, we all have to ask this question -what is more important? – Is it your desire and determination for a dream? Or making it a reality?

The excuses serve as rationalisations and don’t yield you any results. Sure, it hurts to accept reality, but is there a different way to achieve what your heart truly desires? And if that asks for extra energy, you will have to find a way to bring that into your life and be determined to make your dreams a reality.

The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the ability and determination to overcome bad luck

Channing Pollock

The difference between impossible and possible in a man’s life lies in his determination – Tommy Lasorda

A simple yet powerful quote on determination. We can look back at numerous quotes and life stories where many things have been thought impossible. Yet, there are people who have gone out and done it.

There is no easy explanation as to how they managed to achieve it. But there is something strong in the personality – about a belief in the dream and its journey? Something about passion and desire to make things happen.

You need to look deep within and see if there’s anything within you asking for this determination. What are your dreams demanding out of you. Even after some feedback, if you feel that you are unable to achieve, but yet feel like you long for that dream – then perhaps the dream is not over. It is asking you to change your approach to reach your result.

The difference between impossible and possible in a man’s life lies in his determination

Tommy Lasorda

The dream doesn’t lie in victimization and blame; it lies in hard work, determination and good education – Alphonso Jackson

Personally, I think this is one of the most powerful quotes about determiination. In the previous segment of determination quotes, we talked about excuses and rationalisation.

Your dreams don’t lie in these excuses. They serve as good reasons as to why you did not achieve them. But these excuses will not make your achieve your results.

Your dreams lie in actions which can create results. These results maybe small, but they have fascinating way of building up to achieve the final goal your heart desires.

The dream doesn’t lie in victimization and blame; it lies in hard work, determination and good education

Alphonso Jackson

It has never been my object to record dreams, just the determination to realize them – Man Ray

This quote by Man Ray is about the desire of getting into action. I would slightly differ in opinion in the sense that your dreams need to be recorded. You need to identify what makes you passionate and committed.

These dreams have tremendous power in them. Most of it comes from the imagination of you achieving that dream. It is about feeling this final result and its influence on you personally.

These things drive you forward to create a plan of action to realise these dreams. Without these strengths, the dreams just become something in a task list to complete.

It has never been my object to record dreams, just the determination to realize them

Man Ray

At the core of life is a hard purposefulness, a determination to live – Howard Thurman

The purpose is one of the most powerful aspects of your dream. If you want to strengthen your dreams further, you need to work on why it is important. There are only 2 aspects to a dream. Firstly, it is about the vision – Why this dream is important to you. More details about how to do this are explored in our discussion about how to build your dream.

Secondly, the strategy to achieve this dream. These two play a pivotal role in helping you achieve your dreams. They both must go hand in hand for your determination to be strong enough to succeed. If you have a WHY, the HOW will usually appear when you think long and hard about it.

At the core of life is a hard purposefulness, a determination to live

Howard Thurman

It’s all about determination. There are a lot of people with talent but it’s that determination – Judy Blume

This is a beautiful addition to the collection of determination quotes. Most often, talent is misconceived as the biggest reason for success. Other common rationalisations are – resources, time, opportunity, etc.

If you think about it, there are various reasons for success. The same applies to failure as well. But the truth is, each one of us have opportunities and challenges. We cannot afford to sit behind these reasons in your quest for success. If your dream is important to you, you’ll need to find ways to get these pre-requisites. Or else the dream just withers away.

It’s all about determination. There are a lot of people with talent but it’s that determination

Judy Blume (Source)

A failure establishes only this – our determination to succeed was not strong enough – Christina Nestelle Bovee

Failures and successes are often two sides of a coin. In fact, both of these are nothing but mere feedback on your approach. A failure is not a denial and a success not the final goal.

They both do a very important thing of driving us forward. We have to be clever enough to use them appropriately. Don’t get sucked into the common mistake of treating them as the final outcomes. They are still small parts of your journey – whether it is your life or your dreams. Both play a significant role in driving you forward and enabling your determination and will to succeed.

A failure establishes only this – our determination to succeed was not strong enough

Christina Nestelle Bovee (Source)

They say love will find a way. I know determination will! –  Ronnie Milsap

One last quote to end our collection on determination quotes. I like the parallel between this and love. You might have already read our collection of inspirational love quotes. They focus on the beauty and journey in love.

The quote’s beauty lies in the strength and confidence in the word. Simply stated, if you are determined enough, you will find a way to make your dreams and goals a reality. It is a long journey and sometimes easy to get distracted.

If you manage to keep sight of your dreams and passions, you will find a way to achieve what your heart truly desires.

They say love will find a way. I know determination will! 

Ronnie Milsap (Source)

Hope you liked the collection of these determination quotes. If you think I’ve missed any, please let me know on a comment below. We are eager to keep improving the collection for better use.