61 Persistence Quotes for Entrepreneurs

Looking for amazing persistence quotes? Persistence is key to succeeding, entrepreneurs often say. Whether you just need a little boost, or feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, persistence quotes can provide the spark to get your mojo back.

Everyone experiences setbacks, delays and obstacles. But many famous entrepreneurs point to one thing that made a difference in their careers. They kept going. They fell down, got up, dusted themselves off, and tried again.

We’ve collected persistence quotes from business leaders and professionals to share with you.

The Power of Persistence in Entrepreneurship

Every entrepreneur, at some point in their journey, will encounter setbacks, delays, and obstacles. It’s not the setbacks themselves that dictate success, but the determination to rise above them, dust oneself off, and keep moving forward.

Through the ages, many successful individuals have highlighted the significance of persistence. Here, we’ve curated a selection of persistence quotes from influential business leaders and professionals.

Below are 61 of the Best Persistence Quotes

• Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. ~ Thomas Edison, Inventor
• Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. ~ Bill Bradley, Starbucks Corporate Director
• Energy and persistence conquer all things. ~ Benjamin Franklin
• Be passionate and bold. Always keep learning. You stop doing useful things if you don’t learn. So the last part to me is the key, especially if you have had some initial success. It becomes even more critical that you have the learning ‘bit’ always switched on. ~ Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO
• The question is not whether you have the money. It is whether you have the hustle. There’s a difference! ~ Nicky Verd, Keynote Speaker

Persistence Quotes for Startups

Does tenacity beat talent or a great idea? Some startup leaders think so. Read their quotes on persistence.

• Persistence pushes me to be bold and seek out the opportunities I’ve wanted. It starts by envisioning what you want, no matter how big or small, and believing that you can achieve it. ~ Belinda Johnson, Former CEO of Airbnb
• Passion, Patience, and Persistence are the ingredients to be an entrepreneur. ~ Jawo, YouTuber and IT Specialist
• The successful entrepreneurs that I see have two characteristics: self-awareness and persistence. They’re able to see problems in their companies through their self-awareness and be persistent enough to solve them. ~ Alan Schaaf, Founder of Imgur
• Most entrepreneurial ideas will sound crazy, stupid and uneconomic, and then they’ll turn out to be right. ~ Reed Hastings, Netflix Co-Founder and CEO
• In my view, it’s irreverence, foolish confidence and naivety combined with persistence, open mindedness and a continual ability to learn that created Facebook, Google, Yahoo, eBay, Microsoft, Apple, Juniper, AOL, Sun Microsystems and others. ~ Vinod Khosla, Billionaire Businessman and Venture Capitalist
• I’ve known entrepreneurs who were not great salespeople, or didn’t know how to code, or were not particularly charismatic leaders. But I don’t know of any entrepreneurs who have achieved any level of success without persistence and determination. ~ Harvey Mackay, Best-Selling Business Author
• Building a successful business requires a combination of human capital, financial resources, market opportunity, persistence, community support, and even luck. ~ Andrew Yang, American Entrepreneur and Political Candidate
• I demand a lot from myself and reflect this attitude upon others: I consider it to be an important quality for a leader. I also think it is impossible to achieve success without persistence. ~ Yelena Baturina, Russian Billionaire Businesswoman
• With patience and persistence, even the smallest act of discipleship or the tiniest ember of belief can become a blazing bonfire of a consecrated life. In fact, that’s how most bonfires begin – as a simple spark. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf, German Businessman
• To succeed at anything worthwhile in life requires persistence, no matter how gifted, fortunate, or passionate you are. ~ Rich Karlgaard, Entrepreneur and Author
• Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. ~ Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
• Quantity and persistence will get you the outcomes you need. ~ James Altucher, Hedge Fund Manager, Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist
• Once you believe that you can do something, there is not a single person in the universe who can convince you otherwise. ~ Germany Kent, Author and Journalist
• Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. ~ Dale Carnegie, Author of ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’

Quotes to Overcome Failing

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Although humorous, it’s one of those quotes with profound meaning. Churchill, who is known for one of the most famous persistence quotes in history (“We shall never surrender“), is saying never give up. Be positive. Eventually you will triumph. Here are more:

• Success is not the absence of failure; it’s the persistence through failure. ~ Aisha Tyler, Broadcaster and Actor
• A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success. ~ Elbert Hubbard, Travelling Salesman and Writer
• My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories. ~ Bjorn Borg, Tennis Player
• Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. ~Thomas Edison, Inventor
• So when your mind tells you to quit or give up, you tell it to SHUT UP. Then you go about your healthy business. Believe me, it will listen after awhile of being persistent. ~ Harken Headers, Author
• I think the most important trait for an entrepreneur is persistence. When you try to do something new and difficult, you are more likely to fail than to succeed. ~ Trip Adler, Co-Founder of Scribd
• If you don’t accept ‘no’, don’t give up, and don’t bow to the status quo, a window of opportunity will eventually crack open and you’ll be standing in front of it. If it doesn’t crack open, just keep prying with a crowbar until it gives. ~ Anthony Iannarino, Entrepreneur and Sales Leader
• Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work though difficult problems. ~ Gever Tulley, Entrepreneur and Computer Scientist
• The key of persistence opens all doors closed by resistance. ~ John Di Lemme, Author and Founder
• No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear. ~ Greg Kincaid, Lawyer and Author
• Paralyze resistance with persistence. ~ Woody Hayes, College Football Hall of Famer
• The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail. ~ Napoleon Hill, Author of ‘Think and Grow Rich’
• Persist. Even when you’re heavy with emotion, pick yourself up bringing the axe of your actions down, repeatedly chopping at the day until you bring the sun low with success. ~ Curtis Tyrone Jones, Life Coach
• Keep going. Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end. ~ Roy T. Bennett, Thought Leader and Author of ‘The Light in the Heart’

Persistence Quotes to Achieve Goals

When the going gets tough, do you give up? Read these quotes to see why persistence is so important to achieving goals.

• The only thing that stands between dreams and reality is persistence. ~ Abhijit Naskar, Neuroscientist, Speaker and Author
• To persist with a goal, you must treasure the dream more than the costs of sacrifice to attain it. ~ Richelle E. Goodrich, Author of ‘Smile Anyway’
• What are you here to do? What are you uniquely good at? Add to that the importance of doing it persistently, being dogged. There are massive returns to doggedness. ~ Daniel Pink, Economist
• Setting a goal that may look a bit unreasonable at first feeds me with the needed energy and motivation to be persistent until I reach it. ~ Marcel Nickler, Digital Business and Board Advisor
• Countless great ideas are at this moment gathering dust in files and boxes simply because their owners didn’t stick with them. ~ Sam Harrison, Author of ‘Ideaspotting’
• The natural consequence of diligence and persistence is competence and success. ~ Vincent Okay Nwachukwu, Author of ‘Weighty and Worthy African Proverbs’
• Make a decision to keep pressing forward. Keep believing and keep stretching until you see your dream fulfilled. ~ Joel Olsteen, Pastor and Televangelist
• Even during a mid-life crisis do not deviate from your goal. History remembers only those who succeed. ~ Hockson Floin, Business Development Manager, Architect and Author
• The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is, that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t. ~ Henry Ward Beecher, Social Reformer
• Every obstacle in life can be melted by your undying persistence focus on the goal at hand. ~ Daniel Anikor, Researcher and Author
• To challenge myself to great things is to patiently and persistently expend myself in enduring all of the little things that make up every great thing. ~ Craig D. Lounsbrough, Professional Life Coach
• Just because you are a CEO, don’t think you have landed. You must continually increase your learning, the way you think, and the way you approach the organization. ~ Indra Nooyi, former PepsiCo CEO
• What I always say is, ‘Do every job you’re in like you’re going to do it for the rest of your life, and demonstrate that ownership of it.’ ~ Mary Barra, General Motors CEO
• If you truly can dedicate your life to one single mission, no matter the nature of the mission, then sooner or later the mission itself will pave its own way for you to keep on walking – so, close your eyes, visualize your mission and take the leap of faith. ~ Abhijit Naskar, World-Renowned Neuroscientist

Quotes on Daily Persistent Steps

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence each and every day. Choose a persistence quote to inspire you to take action.

• Do it badly; do it slowly; do it fearfully; do it any way you have to, but do it. ~ Steve Chandler, Author of ‘Reinventing Yourself: How to Become the Person You’ve Always Wanted to Be’
• As long as there’s breath in You – PERSIST! ~ Bernard Kelvin Clive, Personal Branding Coach
• You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain. ~ Tom Hiddleston, Actor
• Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence. ~ Hal Borland, New York Times Editorialist and Naturalist
• First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice. ~ Octavia Butler, Author and Multiple Hugo Award Winner
• What is often called exceptional ability is nothing more than persistent endeavor. ~ Pauli Murray, Civil Rights Activist
• The little step, long continued, the very gradual but persistent advance, is sure to attain its end. ~ Lord Robert Montagu, British Politician
• Discover a purpose that gives you passion. Develop a plan that makes you persistent. Design a preparation and motivates you to optimize your potentials. Do it because you love it! ~ Israelmore Ayivor, Inspirational Speaker
• Do not sit still; start moving now. In the beginning, you may not go in the direction you want, but as long as you are moving, you are creating alternatives and possibilities. ~ Rodolfo Costa, Author of ‘Advice My Parents Gave Me: and Other Lessons I Learned from My Mistakes’
• Slight persistent effort can move you successfully forward in anything you do. ~ Kelli Wilson, Author of ‘The Clutter Breakthrough’
• You can’t make anyone do anything, but you can knock on doors until the right one opens. ~ Jolene Stockman, TEDx speaker and Writer
• You must be very patient, very persistent. The world isn’t going to shower gold coins on you just because you have a good idea. You’re going to have to work like crazy to bring that idea to the attention of people. ~ Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines Founder
• Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it. ~ Ted Williams, Baseball Player and Coach
• A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence. ~ James N. Watkins, Award-Winning Author and Speaker

Persistence Quotes Summary

How do you use this list of persistence quotes? Simple. Start your day by reading a quote about persistence or share a quote with your team.

Get inspired with more: 

• Hard Work Quotes
• Success Quotes
• Sales Quotes
• All Motivational Quotes for Business