Toughest Quotes & Sayings

The toughest thing is facing yourself. Being honest with yourself, that's much tougher than beating someone up. That's what I call tough. — Joe Strummer

I would guess that the decision to create a small special purpose language or use an existing general purpose language is one of the toughest decisions that anyone facing the need for a new language must make. — Guido Van Rossum

Sometimes it's the toughest moments that you learn the most about yourself, and the more you know yourself, the less you are willing to give away. — Jennifer Love Hewitt

I stared so long that I got to seeing them as being dark, ugly sins in my body, smelling and dirty, but my touch face showed that I didn't give a damn. I was the toughest person in the whole world. And then inside the outline of my body a devil's face slowly took shape. It came to my chest, a dark, ugly thing with big lips that looked hot around yellow pointed teeth, eyeing me in a friednly way, as though it had been feeding on what was inside me and was trying to show how pleased it was. — Ian Cross

Toughest job in baseball is the general manager. Second toughest is the hitting coach. — Ken Harrelson

The toughest habits to break are the ones we take with us from childhood. — Charles F. Glassman

I love writing songs. One of the toughest things is structure; it just works when you use verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge. And as soon as you become aware of that formula, you start to have a bad conscience when you write with that particular structure. — Rivers Cuomo

It occurs to me that the peculiarity of most things we think of as fragile is how tough they truly are. There were tricks we did with eggs, as children, to show how they were, in reality, tiny load-bearing marble halls; while the beat of the wings of a butterfly in the right place, we are told, can create a hurricane across an ocean. Hearts may break, but hearts are the toughest of muscles, able to pump for a lifetime, seventy times a minute, and scarcely falter along the way. Even dreams, the most delicate and intangible of things, can prove remarkable difficult to kill. — Neil Gaiman

Explore your limits and get to know yourself. You'll never feel more real than after the hardest workout, the longest run, the toughest week, or the best race of your life. Constantly make your own standards tougher. — Luke Watson

A strange fact of life is that usually people who are counted out somehow transform into the action figures doing the toughest of times that people can count on. — Johnnie Dent Jr.

They thrive in the toughest circumstances because they know that impossible odds set the stage for amazing miracles. — Mark Batterson

Perhaps the truest axiom in baseball is that the toughest thing to do is repeat. — Walt Alston

It's been the toughest week of my life, not touching you. Not talking to you. Waiting to see what you were going to do." He kissed her again, a warm, damp touch of lips, exquisitely controlled. "But it doesn't matter whether you stay or go. I'll still need you. So if you want to go off to Boston, Ill wait. Right here, whenever you need me. — Rachel Caine

During the toughest challenges in my life I've come to most appreciate all Coach Wooden means to me. The things he would say - "Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses; worry about the things you can control, and not the things you can't" - were endless. Yet there is an appropriate one for every situation. The real — John Wooden

I fell so many times and got back up. I been through the toughest times with my family, but I'm still standing. — Kevin Durant

But Gus shook his head gloomily. "That was the toughest break we ever got," he said. He brought his chair down, and leaned forward across the table. "Listen, Mack," he said, "did you ever ask yourself what for were we chosen? How I see it is, we weren't chosen for no favors. We were chosen because we were tough; and He needed us like that, so we could tell the world about Him. Well, the world don't want to listen; they want it their way. So they kick us around. God don't care; He says, just keep on telling them." "And Jesus?" I asked. "He was a Jew, wasn't He?" said Gus. "He told them; and what did it get Him? If you did what Jesus said today, you'd be kicked around so fast you wouldn't know your tail from a hole in the ground." He sat up and looked at me, a dark look, like one of the old prophets. "That's where we got a tough break," he said; "being chosen." "Have — Robert Nathan

Often times, we think of girls as soft and vulnerable. And we don't really think of them as possibly being the solutions to some of the world's toughest problems, but they really are. — Queen Rania Of Jordan

The roughest and toughest fighter I fought was Joe Frazier — Muhammad Ali

Hearts may break, but hearts are the toughest of muscles, able to pump for a lifetime, seventy times a minute, and scarcely falter along the way. Even dreams, the most delicate and intangible of things, can prove remarkably difficult to kill. — Neil Gaiman

The woman next to you that looks really bad might be going through the toughest challenge ever with her teenage daughter; think about if it were you in her shoes before gossiping about her. The man at the checkout line using change may have lost his job and is buying diapers for his baby at home because its all the money he has left; think about it before you snicker to your friends because he could've bought beer or cigarettes. The child with holes in his shoes could be homeless but he's still going to school because he feels safe there even though others laugh at him; think about it before you judge the innocent. You never know what challenges you're going to face from day to day! — Barbara Morrison

Pennsylvania is home to some of the hardest-working, toughest, most decent people in America. — Bob Casey Jr.

For any producer I've ever worked with, their toughest job is to convince me to not to obscure my vocals. A lot of people don't like the sound of their own voice on, like, cassette tape or something. It's like that for me, and other songwriters I know. Like, "Oh God, that's what I sound like?" — Ryan Adams

I think the toughest part for me was when Herschelle said that he obviously looked up to his Captain, and he felt if his Captain could do it, then so could he, and that to me was when it really struck home. — Hansie Cronje

As an actor, the toughest thing is being subject to circumstance. Meaning: What scripts are out there that are available? — Paul Dano

It's a tremendous challenge, because there have been so many characters created over the years. Every time you think you come up with a great name, you find out somebody has already done it. Dreaming up the stories isn't that hard, but coming up with a good title is the toughest part. — Stan Lee

Going back down to the minors is the toughest thing to handle in baseball. — Gaylord Perry

My toughest opponent has always been me. — Muhammad Ali

I know what it's like to feel that fear and the need of affirmation and appreciation. To build confidence in yourself is the toughest thing. — Shakira

I've always said the toughest thing about learning to feel your feelings is that then you have to feel your feelings ... — Pam Houston

Attack work! Even the toughest work will start running away! Attack the difficulties! This is the Golden Rule of every kind of victory. — Mehmet Murat Ildan

The toughest thing in hitting shouldn't be deciding when to swing. It is, for me, deciding when not to swing. You should be swinging from the time you get into the batter's box until something says don't swing. — Chili Davis

One of the toughest guys in the world is Randy Couture - he is the true epitome of what a tough guy is. — Jason Statham

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a great guy.He endorsed me because I'm the best in immigration. And I think by his definition of the best, it's the best and the toughest. — Donald Trump

I think my expectations for myself are much more severe and much more direct. You can't work on a film for six years without being your own toughest critic. So you can't really be distracted by the expectations based on your previous performance. — Ken Burns

A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Time is the fairest and toughest judge. — Edgar Quinet

Toughest [lineup] I've faced. Hopefully, if it comes down to the playoffs, I can get my revenge. — Mark Buehrle

But the pain, the memories--those were the toughest. They'd come at you out of nowhere. — Marsha Cornelius

But I realize now that the toughest choices, the ones that will haunt us for the rest of our lives, are ones that my mom is still sheltering me from. — Susan Ee

If I'm in the studio, I'm completely on music. I try to go to that place and that's the toughest thing for me to do. When I'm with other musicians, sometimes I go back to, almost like, childhood, because that's what I always wanted to be. — Jamie Foxx

The toughest part was doing it in front of the world and recognizing that you had gotten to a point where if you didn't do something you were going to die. — Star Jones

The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it's very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the customer. — Thomas J. Watson

Honesty and unpopular opinions are the toughest sell in a country with an irony-deficiency. — Greg Proops

I'm not drawn to actresses, but I have no rules about that. I just want to be around positive people. The toughest thing will be to find a girl who will be prepared to live in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the country. I don't think L.A.'s the place to find one. — Travis Fimmel

You have to get hurt . That is how you learn . The strongest people out there , the ones who laugh the hardest , those are the people who have fought the toughest battles . But they've decided longback , they're not going to let anything down . They are showing the world who's the boss here — Anonymous

We got together in a few days a company of the toughest old salts imaginable
not pretty to look at, but fellows, by their faces, of the most indomitable spirit. — Robert Louis Stevenson

New York was the toughest place in the world if you couldn't afford your rent. On the other hand, if you could afford not only your own rent but the rent of a thousand other people, New York was the greatest city in the universe. — Kami Garcia

I think it's a tough road if you're a stay-at-home mom, a working mom, if you have a partner, if you don't. It's the best job in the world, and the toughest job in the world all at the same time. — Angela Kinsey

Daltrey was by all accounts the toughest man in the Who; maybe the toughest man in London. Filled with blue collar attitude, he strutted around the stage, screaming out the rage of a century of London's dead end lives, roaring like a young lion trapped in a decadent, dying England. Townsend wrote prettily, daydreaming foolishly individualistic dreams of artistic expression, but it was Roger's sledghammer voice that smashed the skulls of the enemy. — Dave Marsh

When your dealing with a lot of men talking about selling drugs, you have to be the toughest one there, you have to be the one putting in all the work that you are expecting them to do. I was tired of leading from the front and living that life. That was not the aggressive lifestyle that I wanted to live. I wanted to progress as a man. — Damon Dash

Daryl Dixon: [about Merle] Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails. — The Walking Dead

Coming back to life' is perhaps the toughest battle we keep fighting forever. U never know when will ur life throw u down from Zenith to Nadir and then the journey restarts again... — Reetwika Banerjee

poets. have
the toughest job
in the universe-

of turning silence
into eloquence. — Sanober Khan

The Five Points was the toughest street corner in the world. That's how it was known. In fact, Charles Dickens visited it in the 1850s and he said it was worse than anything he'd seen in the East End of London. — Martin Scorsese

The real winners are not those at the top but those who have come the farthest over the toughest roads. Your victory may never make the headlines. But you will know about it, and that's what counts. — Ernest A. Fitzgerald

I understand how much everyone wanted to see a British winner at Wimbledon and I hope everyone enjoyed it. I worked so hard in that last game. It's the hardest few points I've had to play in my life. I don't know how I came through the final three points ... that last game ... my head was kind of everywhere. That last game will be the toughest game I'll play in my career, ever. — Andy Murray

I vowed I wouldn't ever let anyone destroy me again. I was going to work at it every day, so hard that I would be the toughest guy in the world. By the end of practice, I wanted to be physically tired, to know that I'd been through a workout. If I wasn't tired, I must have cheated somehow, so I stayed a little longer. — Dan Gable

The toughest opponent of all is Old Man Par. He's a patient soul who never shoots a birdie and never incurs a bogey. And if you would travel the long road with him, you must be patient, too. — Bobby Jones

I've been in the same place for 10 years and having to say goodbye and clean out the locker is the toughest part. — Roy Oswalt

The toughest part of decluttering is deciding where to start and then getting motivated to actually get started. — Michael Kershaw

Outside of the cross of Jesus Christ, there is no hope in this world. That cross and resurrection at the core of the Gospel is the only hope for humanity. Wherever you go, ask God for wisdom on how to get that Gospel in, even in the toughest situations of life. — Ravi Zacharias

The toughest part of the whole damn sport is the X Factor. To me, the X factor is your soul. It's your courage. It's your unique driving force. Suppose for a moment that [you] and I were [running]. Suppose that in every possible way-physical and mental-we were identical. Which one of us would emerge as the champion? — Brad Alan Lewis

Even in the toughest of times ... don't give up hope. It may look dark but you will find the sun standing behind even the darkest of clouds. — Timothy Pina

CA study course in India is not the toughest study course. It's for them who are the toughest, the determined ones. I am a Chartered Accountant. — Vikrmn

Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed until it becomes sharp enough, hopefully, to cut through even the toughest meat and gristle. — Stephen King

World Class players can lay down the toughest hands and play any two cards at any time without fear. Their reads are impeccable. — Chris Moneymaker

The toughest part for me is the city - the people. They've got burgers named after me in Orlando, they've got a Web site saying, "Please stay." I love the people in the city. I've literally sat on the bench with a towel on my head crying, because I feel the passion in the stands. — Dwight Howard

Officials from the soccer organization FIFA, which decides which cities get to host the World Cup, are accused of accepting bribes when making their decision. Of course the toughest part for the soccer officials was taking bribes without using their hands. — Jimmy Fallon

December is the toughest month of the year. Others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, October, August, and February. — Mark Twain

Toughest job I ever had: selling doors, door to door. — Bill Bailey

My toughest enemy is in the mirror - would you look at that. — Ludacris

In life, some of the toughest battles we face are in between our own two ears. — Christian Cianci

You know, I really don't think you learn from teachers. You learn from work. I think what you learn, really, is how to be- you have to be your own toughest critic, and you only learn that from work, from seeing work. — Garry Winogrand

As a dancer I had worked with really hard choreographers, Jerome Robbins being the toughest. And you learned what it is to hit against a brick wall. And you learned pretty quickly to go around the wall or say, "I can't take this job." — Joan Tewkesbury

Old habits die hard, and sometimes the toughest addictions to shake are the ones that control our hearts. — Dannika Dark

Mr. Ballard, there's nothing in the world I wouldn't do to have my husband proved innocent. I know he's innocent. He begged me to ask you to help him. He said you were the toughest man he'd ever met, and that you tried to be honest with him, and that if you ever made up your mind to do something, nothing in the world could ever stop you." I — Harry Whittington

My best career decision was probably not giving up when I wanted to. God as well as my family and friends were there for me during my toughest times. — Jeremy Lin

I know you did, lass. You're the toughest girl I know." "'Lass'? Where did that come from?" "I don't know. I just felt the urge to call you that. — Gabrielle Zevin

The toughest job for a coach today is handling the press after a game. — Toe Blake

Over the last several years, I've passed defunding Planned Parenthood, the sonogram bill, voter ID. I passed the TSA anti-groping bill, sanctuary cities, loser pay, border security, and the toughest Jessica's law in the entire nation against sexual predators. — David Dewhurst

The toughest decision is always whether to open a restaurant. Two or three bad months, and you could be out of business. — Jean-Georges Vongerichten

At Murry Bergtraum [High School] if you were really funny you sat at this table at with all of the funniest dudes, the toughest, the coolest - everybody sat at that table. It was like the ghetto Algonquin Round Table. [Comedy] was my entry, my membership card. — John Leguizamo

The stage has a certain discipline. But the ultimate standard is more exacting in film, because you have to see yourself and you are your own toughest critic. — Jack Nicholson

I think people sometimes don't pay enough attention to what they do. I've done well, but the reason is pretty simple: I've worked my ass off. The toughest thing a performer can do is make it look as if it comes easy. — Justin Timberlake

When the toughest of the problems strike me, I just remind myself that God is on my side. - RVM — R.v.m.

Every fighter is my toughest challenge to date. After I get done with one fight, the next challenge is the toughest. — Andre Ward

Since I retired, I very much enjoy watching Serena Williams play. While I was playing, she was one of the toughest players I ever faced. Her ground strokes are so solid, her serve is one of the most powerful in women's tennis, and mentally she is just so strong. — Monica Seles

I think writing is one of the toughest things. — Eran Creevy

The three toughest fighters I ever fought were Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Robinson. I fought Sugar so many times, I'm surprised I'm not diabetic. — Jake LaMotta

With pro-gaming that's one of the toughest parts - living game to game. — Jeremy Lin

I have heard from people that the first year of marriage is the toughest. Brie [Bella] and I have definitely had our share of life difficulties with me having neck surgery and that sort of thing, but things are going really well and it is getting better after year one and that is phenomenal. — Daniel Bryan

It's that first step-getting out the door-that's the toughest. If you can do that, you've already won. — Mary J. Blige

I found the concept of hindsight bias fascinating, and incredibly important to management. One of the toughest problems a CEO faces is convincing managers that they should take on risky projects if the expected gains are high enough. Their managers worry, for good reason, that if the project works out badly, the manager who championed the project will be blamed whether or not the decision was a good one at the time. Hindsight bias greatly exacerbates this problem, because the CEO will wrongly think that whatever was the cause of the failure, it should have been anticipated in advance. And, with the benefit of hindsight, he always knew this project was a poor risk. What makes the bias particularly pernicious is that we all recognize this bias in others but not in ourselves. — Richard H. Thaler

The toughest nights when I was a young, unknown comedian were opening for these real old-time Italian singers. I'm like Grace Jones to them. "This guy is nuts-talking about socks. Where's the wife jokes, where's the fat jokes?" — Jerry Seinfeld

All I mean is that a board of directors is one or two ambitious men
and a lot of ballast. I mean that groups of men are vacuums. Great big empty nothings. They say we can't visualize a total nothing. Hell, sit at any committee meeting. The point is only who chooses to fill that nothing. It's a tough battle. The toughest. It's simple enough to fight any enemy, so long as he's there to be fought. But when he isn't ... — Ayn Rand

Principle 4: Tackle your toughest challenge today. Burnout doesn't occur because we're solving problems; it occurs because we've been trying to solve the same problem over and over. The problem named is the problem solved. Identify and then confront the real obstacles in your path. Stay current with the people important to your success and happiness. Travel light, agenda-free. — Susan Scott

What about feedback you've received about your leadership style over the years? Years ago, an executive editor of mine said, "You should count the number of times you praise somebody and then double that." Even the toughest, steeliest writer or editor often really wants to be told, "Hey, that was a great piece." Early in my career as a manager, it probably took me a while to realize that everybody wants that. It's just a human need. — Anonymous

I went to the Wharton School of Finance, the toughest place to get into. I was a great student. — Donald Trump

You don't have to be Einstein to see that horse racing is dangerous. Those two ambulances driving behind you aren't there for the scenery. I will never get over the fatalities of colleagues. It is the saddest and toughest part of this sport. — Tony McCoy

It's probably the toughest distance race in the world to win. World class runners from 1500m to the marathon contest it and instead of just three runners from each country, like in the Olympics or World Championships, in the senior men's race there are nine. — Paul Tergat