Words to motivate — when things get tough
This post is adapted from a conversation held on Elpha, a place where women in tech talk candidly.
What gets you inspired? So often we work tirelessly on projects driven by passion that we are deeply invested in, yet we can find ourselves exhausted and sometimes unmotivated. Many are left wondering how they can feel stuck, tired, or hopeless while working on projects they care so deeply about. These feelings are not unique and are often shared among women in tech.
Recently on Elpha, the question was posed, “Are there any favorite, extra motivating quotes you ever refer back to when things start to feel tough?” The responses were unsurprisingly motivating, below are a few favorites from Elpha users!
- “I recommend to you to take care of the minutes; for hours will take care of themselves. I am very sure, that many people lose two or three hours every day, by not taking care of the minutes.” — Philip Dormer Stanhope
- “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs
- “I can’t be a pessimist because I’m alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter, so I’m forced to be an optimist. I’m forced to believe that we can survive whatever we must survive.” — James Baldwin
- “The days are long but the decades are short.” — Sam Altman
- “I never lose. I either win or learn.” — Nelson Mandela
- “Leadership is not a position to earn, it’s an inherent power to claim. Leadership is the blood that runs through your veins — it’s born in you. It’s not the privilege of a few, it is the right and responsibility of all. Leader is not a title that the world gives to you — it’s an offering that you give to the world.” — Abby Wambach
- “Lo hemos perdido todo al juego… Todo menos las ganas de volver a jugar.” — Los Carpinteros (translation: “We’ve lost everything to the game… Everything except the desire to keep playing.”)
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