60 Effort Quotes to Unlock Your Full Potential

Do you want to go the extra mile in everything you do? We only waste time and energy if we make half-baked attempts to achieve our dreams. Instead, pouring in all our focus and determination will get us closer to realizing them. To get you going, we have prepared tons of effort quotes from motivational speakers to successful entrepreneurs to provide you with messages of encouragement on your way to your goals. 

Even if success does not come easy and fast, as long as we put in continuous effort, we will eventually harvest the fruits of our labor. In the end, we also have effort quotes that will improve and strengthen your relationships.

Quick links to our selection of effort quotes:

Best Effort Quotes

We’re always wise to start with preparation in everything we do, so our efforts are well-spent. So we ask questions like: What should I prioritize? How much time can I allot? Is it aligned with my goals? Are my tools ready? So on and so forth. 

Preparation might look like the most effortless stage - but no! Whether running a marathon or surviving a busy workweek, we continuously exert physical and mental energy from the beginning until the end, maintaining a positive attitude. 

Have you ever felt drained from a mentally exhausting day? We know physical fatigue is due to the buildup of lactic acid in our muscles. According to a study, the higher accumulation of glutamates, an excitatory neurotransmitter, during mentally taxing activities slows down our brain. That's why we most likely choose to go home and sleep rather than go out after a grueling day¹. Your body is telling you to rest!

In conclusion, when you dream big, put your best efforts in from start to finish. And remember to listen to your body when it needs to recuperate. May our best-effort quotes below motivate you at all times.

Related: Like these inspirational quotes? You might also like our focus quotes and progress quotes to inspire your own journey toward your goals. 

"For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward."
- Jim Rohn

"Going on one more round, when you don't think you can, that's what makes all the difference in your life."
- Sylvester Stallone

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."
- Napoleon Hill

"You get what you give. Next time you want something, give it all you got never forget."
- Rachana Rachel Carter

"Make every effort matter, and always make the following effort better than the last one."
- Hermann J Steinherr

"Happiness can be measured by how much effort you gave and how much it has paid off then."
- Unknown

"Nothing can come of nothing"
- William Shakespeare

Inspirational Effort Quotes To Push You

No one always has it easy. Struggles always go hand and hand when you exert effort. And you can only call an action effortless if there's no challenge. So that's the goal - getting out of your comfort zone! 

Since we were babies, we've always done this. Now, we know how to stand, walk, talk, cook, and do many other daily activities. This is our comfort zone, and it's a normal response to feel anxious once we're out of it. But Yerkes-Dodson Law shows how optimal anxiety will push us to improve. 

Achieving peak performance with the right amount of stress varies for each person. It will depend on your skills, personality, confidence, and the task's complexity. Finding that sweet spot can be difficult, so always take a moment to evaluate if you're feeling overwhelmed. Once that happens, step back to take care of your physical and mental health.

May our effort quotes below inspire you to use your blood, sweat, and tears to push through any roadblocks and setbacks. And for more reading, check out our mental health quotes that share how people have shared their experiences to help others. 

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."
- Robert Collier

"It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things."
- Theodore Roosevelt

"If you feel you are down on your luck, check the level of your effort."
- Robert Brault

"All things are difficult before they are easy."
- Thomas Fuller

"Opportunity follows struggle. It follows effort. It follows hard work. It doesn’t come before."
- Shelby Steele

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
- Roger Bannister

"A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success."
- Elbert Hubbard

"I learned from a very young age that no one owes you anything and nobody’s gonna give you a damn thing. But you can have anything you want if you work hard enough for it."
- Branch Warren

"Nobody gets to be good at something without effort, no matter what your aptitude is."
- Angela Duckworth

"Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you."
- Arnold Palmer

"Discontent, blaming, complaining, self-pity cannot serve as a foundation for a good future, no matter how much effort you make."
- Eckhart Tolle

"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known."
- Chuck Palahniuk

Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.

~ Helen Keller

Effort Quotes To Read To Start The Momentum

Starting a project, a task, or a habit can be challenging. But, soon, there will be less friction once momentum occurs after all the effort we pour into it. 

So, how can we be in the flow state? Positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (here on Amazon), says that when we are in the flow, we are focused and encouraged to perform the doable task that intrinsically motivates us. As long as it's something we can and love to do, we can eventually master getting in the zone, and self-discipline can be second nature.

Check out Csikszentmihalyi's 2004 Ted Talk to see the flow state in his chart about skills and challenges after reading the following effort quotes.

Related: Like his TED talk? You might also like our compilation of 6 inspiring positivity talks that you can watch to kick-start your motivation for that little extra effort.

"Talent without effort is wasted talent. And while effort is the one thing you can control in your life, applying that effort intelligently is next on the list."
- Mark Cuban

"Plough deep while sluggards sleep."
- Benjamin Franklin

"The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%."
- Andrew Carnegie

"Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt."
- José Ortega y Gasset

"Success is a ladder you cannot climb with your hands in your pockets."
- Unknown

"A winning effort begins with preparation."
- Joe Gibbs

"Life is too short to spend in negativity. So I have made a conscious effort to not be where I don't want to be."
- Hugh Dillon

"In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result."
- James Allen

"Life can be boring unless you put some effort into it."
- John C. Maxwell

Motivational Quotes About Effort And Its Fruits

One way to motivate ourselves during tough times is by looking at the finish line - recognition, comfort, happiness, wisdom, and many more. But what if we have already achieved the goal? 

Should we stop making an effort? First, we should celebrate and do it on every milestone, not just the end. Next, don't be complacent and start on a new goal while maintaining what you have already achieved. After winning a marathon, continue to run! 

And sometimes, as leaders, colleagues, or friends, we want to encourage and motivate others to make an effort. For more perspective on motivating others in the workplace, Dene Stuart covers his take on the leadership qualities you need to consider to drive positive change. 

Meanwhile, stay on the course of realizing all your potential throughout life, even as you achieve the fruits of your labor stated in the following effort quotes.

"Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort."
- John Ruskin

"Be willing to give that extra effort that separates the winner from the one in second place."
- H. Jackson Brown Jr.

"The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort."
- Colin Powell

"Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times."
- Aeschylus

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual."
- Vince Lombardi

"Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle."
- Helen Keller

"Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is."
- Zig Ziglar

"One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."
- Sigmund Freud

"Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."
- Vince Lombardi

"Camaraderie doesn't happen by accident; developing a strong sense of trust, accountability, and togetherness around team goals requires intentional effort."
- Don Yaeger

Funny Effort Quotes To Lighten The Load

Another technique to get your mind off the struggle of burning the candle at both ends is having fun. A study claims that playing improves the workplace as long as the fun activity simulates the overall engagement with the team. Still, some findings reveal that other people could find play a distraction². It's a tricky area to explore, but it's still worth exploring. 

Bob Nelson, author of Work Made Fun Gets Done (here on Amazon), shared his study regarding the effect of fun at work in a Harvard Business Review article. 

Eighty-one percent of the research participants who were employees of the 100 Best Places to Work For list described their work environment as fun. He also shared in the article ways to make one's work more enjoyable on a personal level. One common strategy is blasting music through our earbuds, which can relieve pressure or motivate us while working.

Check out the rest of the strategies after reading the funny effort quotes below, or click on to our distraction quotes and remind yourself to stay focused.

"Just because the office is casual doesn't mean you shouldn't make an effort."
- Tan France

"About the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age."
- Gloria Pitzer

"Problems are only opportunities in work clothes."
- Henry J. Kaiser

"The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen."
- Sarah Brown

"It can be a shock for people to realize it still takes time & effort to realize a dream."
- Steve Supple

"I don't know where you get the spark to start, only how to fan it into an inferno once you have it."
- Nick Winter

Quotes About Effort By Respected People

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort."
- Jesse Owens

Hearing the life stories of successful people inspires us to push harder. Jesse Owens' story is one of those. Despite the unabashed racism he faced, the 22-year-old Black American track and field athlete bagged four gold medals during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, leaving the Nazi dictator upset and sour. Yet, despite his feat, discrimination continued, leaving him struggling and bankrupt in the end. 

Nevertheless, his story of determination and perseverance prevailed. Finally, in his last years, he got the recognition he deserved by receiving the Medal of Freedom and the Living Legend Award from the White House and the Library of Congress, respectively. Furthermore, after his untimely death in 1980, his friends and family established the Jesse Owens Foundation to preserve his story and ideals.

Owen's life is the embodiment of letting your work talk for you. If his story inspires you, research more about the life of the inspiring people who have shared the effort quotes below.

"Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night."
- Michael Jordan

"The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be."
- Bruce Lee

"I never dreamed about success. I worked for it."
- Estee Lauder

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."
- Abraham Lincoln

Related read: Hustle Quotes.

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory."
- Mahatma Gandhi

"Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle."
- Napoleon Hill

"Continuous effort– not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential."
- Winston Churchill

"I am a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
- Thomas Jefferson

Other Effort Quotes About Relationships

Our relationships are another critical area of our lives that needs attention and effort. Whether romantic, familial, or platonic, maintaining a connection with people you care about is a two-way street. 

Sustain communication, respect boundaries, and spend quality time. These are just common advice we see everywhere that we should apply. We can also take the well-known love language test to know how we want to give and receive love.

May the rest of our effort quotes below remind you that relationships are a commitment we should continuously keep up with.

"If people put in the same effort to keep you as they did to get you, most relationships would last."
- Rashida Rowe

"People put so much effort into starting a relationship and so little effort into ending one."
- Marina Abramovic

"People stand in front of an officiant and say ‘I do' but that shouldn't mean ‘I'm done' when it comes to putting time and effort into growing their relationship."
- Beth Ehemann

"Hate is infectious, but so is love, the difference between the two is one takes effort and the other one doesn't."
- Dave Guerrero

"Stop putting in an effort into those who show no effort towards you. There's only so much you can do before you're wasting your energy and time."
- Unknown

"In today's world, options are everywhere. It takes a great effort to stay faithful, continue to honor your commitment, and do the work it takes to keep your relationship strong."
- Jane Greer

"Finding your soulmate isn't the hard part; staying together is."
- Neha Yazmin