Søren Kierkegaard on motivation and goals

People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought, which they avoid.

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.

The tyrant dies and his rule is over; the martyr dies and his rule begins.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Do, or do not. There is no ‘try.’

Never give in⁠—never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Winston Churchill1874–1965Speech given at Harrow School, Harrow, England, October 29, 1941. Quoted in Churchill by Himself (2008), ed. Langworth, PublicAffairs, 2008, p. 23