Takes Courage Quotes & Sayings

Too many people are frightened. They want youth to last. They complain bitterly if sickness comes. But the world is always in tumult, and fortunes rise and fall and fail. It is the ambitious who accomplish things. It takes courage to be ambitious, for never was anything great achieved without risk. — Jeff Wheeler

Hey, Mom, I'm a married woman now. I want to have ten babies and live here forever and ever.
How weird is that? It's almost ROMANTIC.
And then I realized that my sister was trying to LIVE a romance novel.
Man, that takes courage and imagination. Well, it also took some degree of mental illness, too, but I was suddenly happy for her.
And a little scared. — Sherman Alexie

Never bury somethin' deep, baby," he murmured. "Takes twice as much courage to be who you are, say what you think, feel what you feel and let it show then it does to bury it. That shit you been holdin' onto will destroy you. You got a safe place to get rid of it, and you do, then you get rid of it like — Kristen Ashley

it takes more courage to live a life rather than end it, — Laura Landon

Art should take what is complex and render it simply. It takes a lot of skill, human understanding, stamina, courage, energy, and heart to do that. — Anna Deavere Smith

It is in the expectations of happiness that much of happiness itself is found. And it takes courage to expect happiness. — Earl Nightingale

Missional leaders not only feel the burden of God's mission but they also act on the burden and act upon it sacrificially. Leading a missional church is not for the faint of heart. It takes courage to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and to lead the church beyond it personal limits. Brokenness, inner turmoil and sacrifice will always be part of the missional leader's life. — Gary Rohrmayer

In some ways the operation of the feminine stereotype is so obvious and for many women entirely unattainable, that it can be easily reacted against. It takes a great deal of courage and independence to decide to design your own image instead of the one that society rewards, but it gets easier as you go along. Of course, a woman who goes her own way will find her conditioning is ineradicable, but she at least can recognize its operation and choose to counteract it, whereas a man might find that he was being more subtly deluded. — Germaine Greer

To create one's world in any of the arts takes courage. — Georgia O'Keeffe

It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people then to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind. — Alex Karras

I want you to think of two different situations. First, remember times when you've felt your best, at the top of your game, alive and vibrant. Pay attention to your posture, the muscles in your face, your breathing. Then, I want you to think of occasions where you've felt sick or anxious. Don't just think of people. Think of activities. This will help us reveal what makes you happy. Pay attention to how your body responds to these scenarios - it will serve as your biggest indicator in the future when you're actually doing things." This woman was damn brilliant. "And remember, it's okay to feel sad, but just try to limit your bouts with it to an hour a day. Let it all out, give yourself that time to heal, nurture and comfort yourself. You won't heal unless you grieve. Grieving is good."
"Good grief?"
"Yes. It takes courage to grieve. — Stephanie Klein

It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. We can grieve in tears or in meditative silence, in prayer or in song. In touching the pain of recent and long-held griefs, we come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability, with helplessness and hopelessness. These are the storm clouds of the heart. — Jack Kornfield

Dying well is easy,it only takes a moment of courage. It's living well that I couldn't do. What's death compared to that. — Brent Weeks

I knew people want most what they pretend to hate, that it takes courage to say what you really want. — Darcey Steinke

It takes courage to gather children from whatever they're doing and kneel together as a family. It takes courage to turn off the television and the computer and to guide your family through the pages of the scriptures every day. It takes courage to turn down other invitations on Monday night so that you can reserve that evening for your family. It takes courage and willpower to avoid over-scheduling so that your family can be home for dinner. — Larry R. Lawrence

It's scary to make major changes, but we usually have enough courage to take the next right step. One small step and then another. That's what it takes to raise a child, to get a degree, to write a book, to do whatever it is your heart desires. — Regina Brett

The arts can open the door to the imagination, pushing the envelope of how peace can be created. It takes courage to take this kind of risk, and courage is what we all need to create a better world. — Wayne Shorter

Launching a turnaround takes courage. I cannot measure that and so it is not going to be included in my analysis, but behind the moments of change there are always a few people within these societies who have decided to try to make a difference. — Paul Collier

A total commitment gives you the extra ounce of courage that it takes to win. — Arthur L. Williams Jr.

It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are. — E. E. Cummings

It takes more courage to be yourself than to live in the prison of ego with feelings of guilt. It takes a lot more courage to be happy than to be unhappy. — Human Angels

Makes sense to me. Sometimes starting over is exactly what a person needs. And I think it's admirable. A lot of people don't have the courage it takes to do something like that. — Nicholas Sparks

Real courage is being kind again, after you've felt that your kindness was thrown in your face. To risk it once more, or even twice more takes a special strength. — Clare Bell

The easiest thing in the world to do when you don't want to look inside yourself is to find escape hatches. You can always make it someone else's fault, it takes a lot of courage to admit that the fault
or rather the responsibility
is yours alone. And yet, as I've said before, this is the only way to go forward. If life's a road we travel, it's uphill all the way. — Susanna Tamaro

It takes courage to live in the midst of hate. And it requires strength to keep that hatred from eating your soul. — Mari Serebrov

You can always die. It's living that takes real courage. - Himura Kenshin — Nobuhiro Watsuki

Students teach all sorts of things but most importantly they make explicit the courage that it takes to be a learner, the courage it takes to open yourself to the transformative power of real learning and that courage I am exposed to almost every day at MIT and that I'm deeply grateful for. — Junot Diaz

What takes courage: no make - up. No make - up at all. Like The Matrix. I did the matrix and they had a rule all the characters in The Matrix, except the leads, of course, wore absolutely nothing on their face. — Ian McLeod

Creative takes courage -Henri Matisse — J. L. Silvermist

When ordinary people wake up, elites begin to tremble in their boots. They can't get away with their abuse. They can't get away with subjection. They can't get away with subjugation. They can't get away with exploitation. They can't get away with domination. It takes courage for folk to stand up. — Cornel West

Each of us is alone in the world. It takes great courage to meet the full force of your aloneness. ... When you face your aloneness, something begins to happen. Gradually, the sense of bleakness changes into a sense of true belonging. This is a slow and open-ended transition but it is utterly vital in order to come into rhythm with your own individuality. — John O'Donohue

It takes courage and strength to be sensitive to things and even more strength and courage to own up to it or be vocal about it. Robots, the only things with a perfect lack of emotional capacity, are easily controlled, and I suddenly realized that's why the military often trains people to suppress their emotions. Unfortunately for them, humans aren't machines. We feel, we love, we cry, we despair, and we rejoice. Anyone who's ever tried to convince me not to feel is someone I shouldn't have trusted. The only reason you should shut off your emotions and emulate a robot is if you're doing horrible things. How fatal my decisions have been. How many people would be loving, rejoicing, and feeling right now rather than crying indefinitely in the depths of the afterlife? If only I'd figured this out sooner. — Bruce Crown

To recognize that nature has neither a preference for our species nor a bias against it takes only a little courage. — James Randi

I always suggest to women to take time away from the norm. And that takes a lot of courage. Most people can't do that, they can't loose and run, and say, 'Look, I'm going to just have an entirely new environment, devoid of all the habitual concerns of the day.' — Maya Tiwari

Truth, like honor and courage and love, does not come in shades of gray. You either have it or you don't - there is no in between. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to uncover it, and sometimes it is clear and simple as a sunrise. Also like honor and courage and love, sometimes the truth can be lost, and you have to find your way back to it, crawling over fields of broken glass and dead bodies, your knees and hands bloody and raw, until you get to it and it's even sweeter than before because of what you suffered on the way. — J.T. Geissinger

It takes the faith of a child to follow Christ and the courage of a man to follow through on that faith and become a true servant. — Faith Blum

In a world full of quitters, it takes true courage to commit to marriage renewal. If you want a field manual for restoring your relationship, get The Phoenix Marriage: God creates beauty out of ashes. — Tony Jeary

The best thing to do is stare it in the face and move on. We have to face our fears and plow through. I think taking chances takes a lot more courage than staying stagnant and doing what's safe and comfortable. — Terri Clark

A novel takes the courage of a marathon runner, and as long as you have to run, you might as well be a winning marathon runner. Serendipity and blind faith faith in yourself won't hurt a thing. All the bastards in the world will snicker and sneer because they haven't the talent to zip up their flies by themselves. To hell with them, particularly the critics. Stand in there, son, no matter how badly you are battered and hurt. — Leon Uris

It takes greater courage to live. — Gail Tsukiyama

It takes some courage to write fiction about politically controversial topics. The dread is you'll be labeled a political writer. — Barbara Kingsolver

Courage changes things for the better ... [With courage you can] stay with something long enough to succeed at it, realizing that it usually takes two, three or four times as long to succeed as you thought or hoped. — Earl Nightingale

It takes a lot of courage to be true to yourself, true to your heart. — Jandy Nelson

It takes a tremendous amount of strength to be a single mother. To hold down the forte of a home, a life and your child's entire happiness. — Nikki Rowe

Sarah Vaughan is one of my greatest heroes. She personifies what an artist is all about, taking risks, daring to go beyond the boundaries of safety and convention. It takes courage to share your vulnerability. — Claron McFadden

Emotional self-defense ... Those who care so much, maybe too much, know that it takes wisdom and courage to sometimes say, "no" to others. — Steve Maraboli

When asked what it takes to succeed in the acting profession, Bette Davis would answer, "the courage to be hated." — Frank Langella

Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself — Charlie Chaplin

It takes courage to live your dream and bounce back up when you have been knocked down. Your dreams give you the energy and inspiration to live a great life. — Justin Langer

It takes more courage to smile than to frown. So meet the world with a smile and the courageous will smile back. — Jim Foley

It takes a great deal of courage and independence to decide to design your own image instead of the one that society rewards, but it gets easier as you go along. — Germaine Greer

It's easy to point out other people flaws, but it takes TRUE courage and strength take a look in the mirror, admit personal flaws AND strive to do and be better. That's growth! — Yvonne Pierre

It certainly takes bravery to remain skeptical; it takes inordinate courage to introspect, to confront oneself, to accept one's limitations
Scientists are seeing more and more evidence that we are specifically designed by mother nature to fool ourselves. — Nassim Nicholas Taleb

As an exercise bicycling is superior to most, if not all, others at our command. It takes one into the outdoor air; it is entirely under control; can be made gentle or vigorous as one desires; is active and not passive; takes the rider outside of himself and the thoughts and cares of his daily work; develops his will, his attention, his courage and independence; and makes pleasant what is otherwise irksome. — Frances E. Willard

The rightness of a thing isn't determined by the amount of courage it takes. — Mary Renault

Relationships: It takes wisdom to know when to turn the page and courage to know when to close the book. — Steve Maraboli

It takes great courage to accept the constant changes of the emotions within ourselves, and even more audacity to express them whenever they occur and without filter or delay. — Nityananda Das

Humans are cowards in the face of happiness. It takes courage to hold on to happiness. — Novala Takemoto

Just know that it takes a bit of courage to unlearn that shame, and to be there for others when they try to unlearn that shame, and that it all gets easier after you feel how healthy it is. — Hugh Howey

Giving up also takes courage. — Joanne Crisner Alcayaga

On sensitive issues, talk isn't cheap - it takes real courage to pry open topics nailed shut. — Marvin Olasky

It takes courage ... to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives. — Marianne Williamson

Listen to me. It takes a lot of courage to be true to yourself, true to your heart. You always have been very brave that way and I pray you always will be. It's your responsibility, Noah. Remember that. — Jandy Nelson

When we constantly hear that we should be smarter, better connected, more productive, wealthier - it takes real courage to claim the time and space to follow the currents of our talents, our aspirations, and our hearts, which may lead in a very different direction. — Sharon Salzberg

Inertia is, perhaps, the single most powerful stumbling block to writing. It takes energy, courage, patience, and commitment to keep writing in your journal. It's no small thing to open doors, let down barriers, enter sealed rooms, and walk obscure avenues of memory that haven't been traveled in years - or perhaps ever been traveled. — Frank McCourt

Dreaming is risky. While only some dreams can put you at physical risk, all dreams require that you take an emotional risk. By their nature, dreams create a gap between your present reality and the reality you want to have, causing you to question whether you can bridge that gap. This risk alone can be so daunting for people that they prefer to leave their dreams in their childhood or buried away beneath layers of fear, doubt, and resignation. That's why dreaming bigger dreams takes courage; it means risking the possibility that your dreams will not come true. — Margie Warrell

It takes courage to fail. — Debasish Mridha

Creating art is painful. It takes time, practice, and the courage to stand alone. — Maria Semple

Innovators and creators are persons who can to a higher degree than average accept the condition of aloneness. They are more willing to follow their own vision, even when it takes them far from the mainland of the human community. Unexplored places do not frighten them- or not, at any rate, as much as they frighten those around them. This is one of the secrets of their power. That which we call genius has a great deal to do with courage and daring, a great deal to do with nerve. — Nathaniel Branden

Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet.
My mother went through it.
I went through it.
I'll be damned if I allow my daughter to go through it.
I kiss her on the forehead and make her a promise. It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us. — Colleen Hoover

God is looking for fearless and courageous faith rooted in obedience of His law. This is what it takes to work for God. Joshua 1:1-9 — Felix Wantang

Science and its practice are no longer free and willing today but instead are constantly terrorized by research funding gravy trains and group thinking. This is why science needs defending and it takes courage to cleanse science from those cancerous elements and to bring her forward in its rightful place again. I am humbled and honored by this recognition. — Willie Soon

It takes courage and humility to recognize we are as messed up as the drug addict next door, and many of us never get that honest. — Judah Smith

It takes courage to believe the best is yet to come! — Robin Roberts

It takes courage to sit on a jury. How many of us want to decide the fate of another person's life or freedom? How many of us want to hold that kind of power in our hands? — Regina Brett

It is easy to hate and blame but it takes courage and love to appreciate. — Debasish Mridha

It takes courage to push yourself to places you have never been before ... to test yout limits ... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to stay tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossum. — Anais Nin

This religion takes away the courage of thinking of unusual things and prohibits self-examination above all as the most egregiousof sins ... It is one step away from protestantism. — Stendhal

God takes everyone he loves through a desert. It is his cure for our wandering hearts, restlessly searching for a new Eden ...
The best gift of the desert is God's presence ... The protective love of the Shepherd gives me courage to face the interior journey. — Paul E. Miller

It takes tremendous discipline, takes tremendous courage, to think for yourself, to examine yourself. — Cornel West

It takes an enormous amount of strength, courage and energy to allow yourself to be a positive person. It takes virtually no energy at all to allow yourself to become the opposite. — J.W. Collier

There had been a time when I owned my life and now I felt like I was coming around to myself again. It's like I've finally discovered bones in myself I never knew I had. I discovered that it takes bravery to be one's self. I now know that the only thing I needed to be afraid of was of not finding my true self and having the courage to be me. — Benilde Little

No matter what identity we cling to, it takes great courage to step out of the old masks we wear and the old scripts that we live by, and open ourselves to the mysterious inner core of our being. — Adyashanti

And then I realized that my sister was trying to LIVE a romance novel.
Man, that takes courage and imagination. Well, it also took some degree of mental illness, too, but I was suddenly happy for her.
And a little scared. Well, a lot scared. — Sherman Alexie

It takes courage and intelligence, you know, to do the stages of Yoga right, and to start with this Hatha Yoga ... It's just you and nothing but you, standing in one spot frozen like a statue with no place to go for help or excuse or scapegoat except inward. — Bikram Choudhury

Take care of him, Soteria. And remember it takes great courage and heart for a man who knows no kindness to show it to another. Even the wildest of beasts can be tamed by a patient and gentle hand. (Takeshi) — Sherrilyn Kenyon

It takes guts to be married to someone who, in times of crisis, may be more available to strangers than to his or her own family. It takes determination to stay home alone at night, fortitude to go to a party by yourself, persistence to be both mother and father, and spunk to say what you really think. It might even take courage for you to read this book. — Ellen Kirschman

Rilke wrote in one of my favourite books [Letters to a Young Poet], "Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love." It takes courage to live as our true selves; especially when doing so can be faced with such unkindness. But I believe the more we show of ourselves, the more we make space for positive change in the world. I feel so grateful I get to be a part of a series that is contributing to that change. — Elise Bauman

I'm convinced that the world, more than ever, needs the music only you can make. And if it takes extra courage to keep playing in spite of your loss, many will applaud the effort. And who knows? Others may be inspired to pick up their broken instruments, their broken lives, and begin again. — Steve Goodier

Believe me when I tell you this: the easiest choice is always the wrong one. Choose the path that matters in the long term, the choice that would never hurt others. It might seem difficult at this point, but the right choice is the one that takes the most courage. Its the one that seems impossible at first. — J.C. Reed

It takes real courage to do battle in the unspectacular task. We always listen for the applause of our co-workers. He is courageous who plods on, unlettered and unknown ... In the last analysis it is this courage, developing between man and his limitations, that brings success. — Alice Foote MacDougall

The path to big, systemic change is collective action. That takes Sister Courage. — Gloria Feldt

Scolding must be very, very fun, otherwise children would be allowed to do it. It is not because children don't have what it takes to scold. You need only three things, really. You need time, to think up scolding things to say. You need effort, to put these scolding things in a good order, so that the scolding can be more and more insulting to the person being scolded. And you need chutzpah, which is a word for the sort of show-offy courage it takes to stand in front of someone and give them a good scolding, particularly if they are exhausted and sore and not in the mood to hear it. — Lemony Snicket

Any media-brainwashed automaton can summon the insipid courage to peer into the horrifying abyss. But it takes a freaking genius with a fearless imagination to peer into the maw of happiness. — Rob Brezsny

A man is an island, but the water is deep
And the shore on the other side is ragged and steep
To look for perfection is a lonely old ride
It takes a whole lot of courage and a whole lot of pride
When you look for independence and you get what you want
How come you look back, thinking what have I done?
But time and again, it dawns on me
It's the price we pay for liberty
I should have know, we all need a place to call home — Joey Tempest

Science has too long focused on intelligence & talent as determiners of success. And it's not. The key to success is to set a specific long-term goal and to do whatever it takes until the goal has been achieved. That's called GRIT (defined as courage and resolve; strength of character). — Bob Mayer

I admire your courage. I know what you've given up to be here. I know the kind of artist it takes to land a role. I know that you won't receive one on your own. And I imagine you, myshka, two years from now, working at Phantom with the same aspirations, the same dreams, in the same place where you are now. It's wasted courage. And wasted love. You shouldn't have to waste those things."
I'm speechless.
And overwhelmed. When someone reaches out and gives you a hand - for no other reason than to see your success - it's powerful. And rare.
He wipes beneath my eye with his thumb. "I'd rather feed your hunger than watch you starve — Krista Ritchie

Maybe the job of the artist is to see through all of this strangeness to what really is, and that takes a lot of courage and a strong faith in the validity of the artistic vision even if there is not a conscious faith in God. — Madeleine L'Engle

It takes a great deal of courage to follow another person's lead. — Bill Hybels

Sometimes it takes more courage to be the passenger than to be the driver. — E.L. Konigsburg