Unleashing Strength: Inspirational Quotes Every Marine Recruit Must Know

"Discipline is the soul of the Marine; it makes small numbers formidable."

- George Washington

"The Marine Corps does not build character. It eliminates the weak ones."

- Major General Lewis B. Puller

"The only easy day was yesterday."

- U.S. Navy SEALs

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."

- Winston Churchill

"Adapt, improvise, and overcome."

- U.S. Marine Corps

"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."

- Norman Schwarzkopf

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

- Timon

"Courage is endurance for one moment more."

- Unknown Marine

"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

"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -- that will enable you to attain the success you seek."

- Mario Andretti

"BE STRONG! We are not here to play, to dream, to drift; We have hard work to do, and loads of lift; Shun not the struggle–“tis God’s gift BE STRONG! Say not, “The days are evil. Who’s to blame?” And fold the hands of acquiesce–oh shame! Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God’s name. BE STRONG! It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong, How hard the battle goes, the day how long; Faint not–fight on! Tomorrow comes the song."

- Maltbie Davenport Babcock

"There isn't a ruler, a yard stick or a measuring tape in the entire world long enough to compute the strength and capabilities inside you."

- Paul J. Meyer

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."

- Norman Vincent Peale

"I've worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals. I will not let my teammates down and I will not let myself down."

- Mia Hamm

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."

- Confucius

"The Marines don’t have that problem. They are a problem-solving organization."

- Ronald Reagan

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid."

- Col. David Hackworth

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

- Joseph Campbell

"Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price."

- Sun Tzu

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

- Thomas Paine

"It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

- Edmund Hillary

"Perseverance is not a long race; it’s many short races one after the other."

- Walter Elliot

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before."

- Elizabeth Edwards

"Believe you can and you’re halfway there."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals."

- George S. Patton

"Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward."

- Victor Kiam

"The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how high you raise your foot."

- Benny Lewis

"Success is waking up in the morning, whoever you are, wherever you are, however old or young, and bounding out of bed because there's something out there you love to do, that you believe in, that you're good at - something that's bigger than you are, and you can hardly wait to get at it again today."

- Whit Hobbs

"Cherish your visions and your dreams. They are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements."

- Napoleon Hill

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

- Henry David Thoreau

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal."

- Pamela Vaull Starr

"For the strength of the wolf is the pack, the strength of the pack is the wolf."

- Rudyard Kipling

"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it."

- Moliere

"It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up."

- Babe Ruth

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, til it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."

- Harriet Beecher Stowe

"We need the iron qualities that go with true manhood. We need the positive virtues of resolution, of courage, of indomitable will, of power to do without shrinking the rough work that must always be done."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position reached in life, as by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed."

- Booker T. Washington

"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary."

- Vince Lombardi

"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have."

- Bob Marley

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."

- Winston Churchill

"When a goal matters enough to a person, that person will find a way to accomplish what at first seemed impossible."

- Nido Qubein

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope or confidence."

- Helen Keller

"No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation."

- General Douglas MacArthur

"At home and abroad, military men and women are showing purpose and dedication in defending American ideas. They are performing in our country’s best traditions under circumstances both difficult and complex. Thanks to their determined spirit of patriotism and professionalism, our country has a powerful and unified defense team, employing its forces in the constant quest for peace and freedom."

- Melvin Laird

"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

- Peter Drucker

"I believe in myself and all my possibilities. I turn doubt into dreams and fears into excitement. I lean upon God’s power within me, knowing that this energy motivates and supports me in all ways."

- Doreen Virtue

"Vision enables you to glimpse into the future, to sense its hope and power, because you yourself are the means for that future's creation."

- Sara Paddison

"A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra."

- Jimmy Johnson

"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes"

- Buddha

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A champion is someone who gets up, even when they can’t."

- Natalie Rogers

"I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship."

- Louisa May Alcott

"None of us will become perfect in a day or a month or a year. We will not accomplish it in a lifetime, but we can begin now, starting with our more obvious weaknesses and gradually converting them to strengths as we go forward with our lives. This quest may be a long one: in fact, it will be lifelong. It may be fraught with many mistakes, with falling down and getting back up again. And it will take much effort. But we must not sell ourselves short. We must make a little extra effort. We would be wise to kneel before our God in supplication. He will help us. He will bless us. He will comfort and sustain us. He will help us to do more, and be more, than we can ever accomplish or be on our own."

- Gordon B. Hinckley

"He loves his country best who strives to make it best."

- Robert G. Ingersoll

"Don't count the days, make the days count."

- Muhammad Ali

"Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence."

- Buddha

"He conquers who endures."

- Persius

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Don't wait for opportunities, create them."

- Charles R. Schwab

"The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement."

- Helmut Schmidt

"The harder you work, the luckier you get."

- Gary Player

"The wolf on the hill is never as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill."

- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet."

- Psalm 91:9-13

"There is no security in this life. There is only opportunity."

- General Douglas MacArthur

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"

- Maya Angelou

"For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The power of an air force is terrific when there is nothing to oppose it."

- Winston Churchill

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

- Lewis Carroll

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

- Steve Jobs

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

- Gandhi

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

- Walter Bagehot

"Remember, the storm is a good opportunity for the pine and the cypress to show their strength and their stability."

- Ho Chi Minh

"Don’t Quit When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don’t give up though the pace seems slow– You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than, It seems to a faint and faltering man, Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor’s cup, And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out– The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit– It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit."

- Author Unknown

"And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in."

- Haruki Murakami

"I am a kind of burr; I shall stick"

- William Shakespeare

"The sky is no longer the limit."

- Richard Nixon

"I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks."

- William Shakespeare

"Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone."

- Gladys Browyn Stern

"It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."

- Archie Griffin

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

- Steve Prefontaine

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

- Zig Ziglar

"Pain is weakness leaving the body."

"Marines don’t know how to quit; they only know how to win."

"We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training."

"Marines don’t cry for pain. They endure it silently."

"Do or die, Semper Fi."

"A Marine is not defined by their rank but by their willingness to serve."

"In the Marine Corps, teamwork is the cornerstone of success."

"Marines never retreat; they just advance in a different direction."

- Unknown

"Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory."

"Marines are trained not just to survive but to overcome."

"Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!"

"What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists…and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want…and are fully determined not to quit until you get it."

"Believe you can and you're already halfway there."

"It's not how hard you get hit, it's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

"Success isn't just about what you accomplish, it's about what you overcome."

"Success is not to be measured by the position that one has reached in life, but the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true."

"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds."

"Believe in yourself. You have everything you need to be successful."

"Never give up on your dreams, even when the going gets tough."

"You are capable of achieving great things, as long as you believe in yourself."

"Hard work and dedication will always pay off in the end."

"The biggest challenge in life is not knowing your limits, but pushing past them."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to face it head-on."

"Believing in yourself is the first secret to success."

"Be the soldier you would want fighting beside you."

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, and the urge to reach your full potential, these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."

"The true test of a soldier is not how many battles you win, but how you conduct yourself in times of peace."

"It's not about being the best, it's about doing your best every day."

"A strong mind and a determined heart will take you far in life."

"Always remember why you started, and let that be your motivation to keep going."

"The first step to greatness is the decision to try."

"Embrace the challenges and learn from them. They will make you stronger."

"The true meaning of success is not individual achievement, but the impact you have on the world around you."

"Every obstacle is an opportunity to learn and grow."

"Greatness is not a gift, but a choice, that only a few are willing to make."

"Nothing worth having comes easy."

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work."

"Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

"If you want to change the world, start by making your bed."

"The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them."

"It's not about how much you know, but how much you are willing to learn."

"Life is not a spectator sport so get off the sidelines and get in the game."

"No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude."

"No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another. Thank you."

"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."

"Every day in every way, you are getting stronger."

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."

"Freedom is never free."

"A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn’t will find an excuse."

"Only one thought at a time, one step at a time, one day at a time."

"Life is a gift; respect is EARNED."

"Life is a series of choices between the bad, the good, and the best. Everything depends on how we choose."

"A winner is one who accepts his failures and mistakes, picks up the pieces, and continues striving to reach his goals."

"Fighting for your dreams isn’t always easy but it’s so worth it."

"Just because you might need to take it slow, it doesn’t mean you’re stopping."

"Every step in your life’s journey is a choice."

"God is a place of safety you can run to, but it helps if you are running to Him on a daily basis so that you are in familiar territory."

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."

"So celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed."

"Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper Fidelis!"