Character Quotables: Focus

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You don’t have to get it perfect, you just have to get it going. Babies don’t walk the first time they try, but eventually they get it right.
— Jack Canfield
Failing does not make us a failure, the only time we do become a failure is when we decide to stop trying anymore.
— Bob Proctor
Nothing is so difficult that diligence cannot master it.
— Malagasy Proverb
I never could have done without the habits of punctuality, order and diligence and the determination to concentrate on myself on one subject at a time.
— Charles Dickens
If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. It’s the hard that makes it great.
— Tom Hanks
If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.
— Jim Rohn
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
— Thomas Edison
When I was young I observed that nine out of every ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work.
— George Bernard Shaw
What we think, or what we know, or what we believe, is in the end, of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do.
— John Ruskin
Practice puts brains in your muscles.
— Samuel Snead
Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.
— Mia Hamm
There is no influence like the influence of habit.
— Gilbert Parker
Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.
— Jack Canfield
Where luck is wanting, diligence is useless.
— Spanish Proverb
The more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows.
— Michelangelo
What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence.
— Samuel Johnson
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.
— William Penn
It will take guts to admit that you have behaved in a way that prevents you from being your better self, and then choose to act differently.
— Sidney Poitier
Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.
— Denzel Washington
One of the main differences between those who succeed and those who fail can be found in how they approach life’s difficulties. Failures either try to avoid their problems or to work around them. Successful people accept them and work through them, even when it includes some suffering. It’s this process of meeting our problems head on and looking for solutions that gives life meaning.
— Hal Urban
Life doesn’t just happen to you. It’s all about choices and how you respond to every situation.
— Jack Canfield
Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.
— Kobe Bryant
Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.
— Oprah Winfrey
It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.
— Paul “Bear” Bryant
Diligence is the mother of good luck.
— Benjamin Franklin
You can’t hire someone Else to do your push-ups for you.
— Jack Canfield
By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.
— Mark Victor Hansen
My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
— Oprah Winfrey
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
— Colin Powell
Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
— Oprah Winfrey
Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.
— Les Brown
I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
— General George S. Patton
Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is in the doing, not the getting – in the trying, not the triumph.
— Wynn Davis
No man e’re was glorious, who was not laborious.
— Benjamin Franklin
Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains.
— William Penn
A racehorse that consistently runs just a second faster than another horse is worth millions of dollars more. Be willing to give that extra effort that separates the winner from the one in second place.
— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
— Jim Ryun

How can you use Quotes?

  • Start a discussion: Quotes can start a discussion about a character trait at the beginning of a meeting or the dinner table. You can ask questions about what it means, how they have seen the trait demonstrated in their own lives, or how they can develop it themselves.

  • Provide a model: Quotes can provide a model of good character. When you read a quote from a famous person or historical figure, you show that people they admire also value the same character traits.

  • Use quotes as writing/journal prompts: Ask them to write a short essay about a quote to help them think more deeply about its implications for their lives.

  • Post quotes: You can post quotes where they will be seen/heard often – classroom, breakroom, lobby, dining room, email signatures, video bulletin boards, morning announcements, social media, etc.

  • Read quotes aloud: You can read quotes aloud to your children during mealtimes, bedtime, or any other time you spend together.

  • Make it fun:  You can make it even more fun by incorporating games, activities, or crafts. Let children decorate signs with the quotes to hang in the classroom or a bedroom door. Record children saying it and post it on social media.

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Character Quotables: Flexibility

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Character Quotables: Enthusiasm