RAG Music - Quote Powerful words to cheer on a determined back… words that lift your spirits Words that strongly push you forward and give you energy 10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminder kepiko Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
If you’re someone working hard toward your dreams and goals, there are probably times when you run into difficulties or feel discouraged.
While not giving up is a given, it’s reassuring to have something that helps you get back on your feet when your heart feels weakened.
So this time, we’ve put together a list of uplifting words that stay close to a heart that’s about to give out.
From mindsets that help you get through tough times to reminders of simple truths we tend to forget, we hope you find words that truly resonate with you!
Table of Contents Words that strongly push you forward and give you energy It’s never too late to become the person you wanted to be. George Eliot When you are given a dream, you are always given the power to make it come true. But to do so, you must put in the effort. Richard Bach It doesn’t matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop. Confucius A strong will to never give up becomes the steps that carry you all the way to the summit. Narumi Takahashi It’s not over when you lose. It’s over when you quit. Richard Nixon If you stay focused, you can overcome any obstacle. Warren Buffett Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Abraham Lincoln No matter how long it takes, that’s not the issue. What matters is having a goal. Eudora Welty I will defeat geniuses through hard work. Kisenosato Yutaka If you fail, you can try again. If trying again doesn’t work, think it through once more and try again. Konosuke Matsushita Our lives are worth only as much as the effort we put into them. François Mauriac You should have more faith in your talents and what you’ve done. Ichiro There are no solutions in life. What exists in life is only a force in motion. We have to create that force. The solutions will follow afterward. Saint-Exupéry What I want to tell people around the world is to make an effort. If you put your heart into it, you can achieve anything. Cindy Ngamba Don’t listen to others’ expectations. Live your own life and meet your own expectations. Tiger Woods What matters is not practice, but the passion for practice. Pelé There is no absolute champion. A champion is always a challenger. Kosuke Kitajima Believe in the 1% chance, believe in yourself, and believe in what you’ve done. Yuto Horigome Life isn’t for curling; curling is one of the things that make life shine. Mari Motohashi Effort is always rewarded. If there is effort that isn’t rewarded, then it can’t yet be called effort. Sadaharu Oh Doing things without changing what I aim for Ryo Ishikawa Don’t push yourself—take a rest. Recovering your energy is part of the job, too. Hiromu Arakawa We read “failure” as “success.” Katsuya Nomura You should be honest with your feelings. Hideo Nomo Failure is the mother of success. If you’re going to think, think big. If you’re going to live, live big. Do not avoid the difficult path. You must move forward if you want to reach your destination. Katherine Anne Porter You’ve got the wind at your back. Sweat is the highlight of effort; I’m shining again today. So what if you failed? Learn from the failure and just try again. Walt Disney We must win/earn every single step ahead of us. Florence Nightingale If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t. This is an unshakable, absolute law. Pablo Picasso There is only one way to succeed: never give up. Jeff Bezos Life doesn’t end when you lose. It ends when you quit. Richard Nixon There is no piece that cannot move forward. Makoto Nakahara Opportunities to take on challenges are equal for everyone. Steve Jobs The mental strength to endure—to dig in with “One more step!” the very moment you think “I can’t go on”—cultivates an unbeatable power to overcome anything. Taihō Kōki Sweat you shed never lies Chiyonofuji Mitsugu Other people’s rulers and your own ruler each have different measurements, don’t they? Mitsuo Aida If you believe in yourself, there are no limits. Cristiano Ronaldo Chase your dreams—even if you fail, it’s okay. Things will work out somehow. Maya Angelou Let those who wish to leave, leave. Alexander the Great As you stretch yourself to broaden your horizons, it’s possible you’ll actually grow taller. That’s part of what makes life interesting. Saburō Shiroyama An indecisive leader can even be harmful. Yoshihide Suga Without passion, no energy is born. Without energy, it’s the same as having nothing. If you admit defeat, you lose. Even if you acknowledge how bad the situation is, as long as you are determined to see it through to the end, a chance to win will emerge. Why not give it a try? Do you have anything to lose? One of the most important things is to never give up easily. Go your own way and let people say whatever they want. Dante Alighieri If you want to see a rainbow, you have to put up with a little rain. Dolly Parton If you firmly hold on to your dream and your purpose—what you aim for—then the way forward will surely open. Mahatma Gandhi As long as you keep striving without ever losing sight of a good purpose, you will surely be saved in the end. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe There’s no need to look back. There are countless paths ahead of you. Lu Xun Laughed at, laughed at, and grow stronger. Osamu Dazai If you don’t give up, there will always be a way. Always. Sakichi Toyoda Trust others, but trust yourself a hundred times more. Osamu Tezuka I have never failed. I’ve only found 10,000 ways that don’t work. Thomas Edison It is not noble to be superior to others. Ernest Hemingway Not being satisfied is the best technique for improving your ability. Wayne Gretzky Obstacles before you are opportunities. By facing difficulties, you can grow. Kevin Durant To solve a problem, don’t run away from it. Jack Dorsey You only realize your own strength once you’ve overcome your anxieties and concerns. Serena Williams It’s never too late to start something. Bill Gates As long as you keep challenging yourself, failure does not exist. Mark Zuckerberg Nothing is impossible. Muhammad Ali No matter how many times a person fails, as long as they don’t lose the courage to try once more, they will surely make something of themselves. Konosuke Matsushita Don’t rush. But don’t give up. Shigeta Saitō Do not fear change. It is part of growth. Elon Musk Only one thing is needed: to believe you can do it. Anthony Robbins To challenge yourself is to grow. LeBron James Fall down seven times, get up eight. Even if my life is a losing battle, I want to fight until the very end. Vincent van Gogh God doesn’t want us to succeed; He just wants us to try. Mother Teresa Just because you failed once doesn’t mean everything will fail. Marilyn Monroe In this world, there is a unique path that no one but you can walk. Friedrich Nietzsche Hardships are the best trials that forge me. Sanae Takaichi You can’t change other people or the past, but you can change yourself and the future. Eric Berne Do not rush. What matters is to keep moving forward boldly, like a cow. Soseki Natsume Life is one of two things: you either face it with courage, or you throw it away. Helen Keller To have been born into this world—that in itself is the greatest opportunity, isn’t it? Ayrton Senna Precisely because we’re serious, we run into walls. Shuzo Matsuoka If you truly fought for what is right, there’s no shame in losing. Katherine Anne Porter 98% of our worries are needless. Masahiro Fujimura If you keep looking down, you won’t find a rainbow. Charlie Chaplin Listen, the more scared you are, the more you should dive right into it. Taro Okamoto The secret to staying cheerful is to live with the firm belief that tomorrow will surely be better. Ryotaro Shiba Instead of seeking more than yourself, enjoy what you have. George Tokoro Live the present joyfully for the future, not endure the present for the future. Che Guevara The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer someone else up. Mark Twain There is never only one path in human life. There are hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of paths. Ryoma Sakamoto If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Walt Disney If you keep chasing your dreams and never give up, even the darkest path will begin to shine with light. Naoko Takahashi Let’s try to keep doing ‘just a little bit of effort’ every day. Naoko Takahashi Take the sky as a road, and see the road as the sky. Miyamoto Musashi Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. Hideyo Noguchi Do not abandon the hero within your soul. Friedrich Nietzsche Do not anticipate difficulties. Do not trouble your mind over things that may never happen. Always keep sunshine in your heart. Benjamin Franklin If you ever hear a voice within you say, ‘You can’t paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. Vincent van Gogh The goddess of fate favors those who act boldly. Niccolò Machiavelli No matter how ridiculous the idea, the world won’t change unless you take action. Michael Moore ...to be continued Energizing words (21–30) that give you a powerful push to keep going Doing things without changing what I aim for Ryo Ishikawa The 2013 season, in which he took on the challenge as a member of the U.S.
men’s tour.
These were the words Ryo Ishikawa spoke as he carried great expectations and pressure.
He said it was important not to change his playing style in order to maximize his abilities in an unprecedented environment.
When the environment changes, the people around you change as well, so it’s hard to do everything as usual.
But how you keep from losing yourself in that situation leads to victory.
You can really feel Ishikawa’s strong will, as someone who has always played golf to win.
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Don’t push yourself—take a rest. Recovering your energy is part of the job, too. Hiromu Arakawa Hiromu Arakawa is a manga artist who has released numerous popular works such as Fullmetal Alchemist and Daemons of the Shadow Realm.
In Silver Spoon, the series she serialized from 2011 to 2019, the heroine Aki Mikage’s mother says the following.
Working hard is important, and it’s necessary.
However, if you push yourself too far and your performance suffers—or in the worst case, you collapse—then it’s all for nothing.
She teaches us that in order to work hard, it’s also important to take proper breaks at times and recharge.
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We read “failure” as “success.” Katsuya Nomura These are words by Katsuya Nomura—renowned in professional baseball as a player, manager, and strategist—expressing his view on failure.
He tells us that continual growth is vital to achieving success, and that failure can be a powerful catalyst for that growth.
Rather than giving up by focusing only on the outcome, it’s important to analyze the causes of failure and apply what you learn next time.
It’s a famous quote that conveys a positive mindset: don’t lament failure—keep moving forward without giving up.
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You should be honest with your feelings. Hideo Nomo These are words from Hideo Nomo, who had a successful career as a professional baseball player, speaking about the importance of staying true to your own convictions.
They’re known as words he shared when he was preparing to take on Major League Baseball, expressing an attitude of believing in yourself and embracing the challenge.
A key point is that many around him reacted critically to his attempt to go to the Majors, yet he forged ahead and succeeded precisely because he moved forward in that situation.
Above all, it teaches a credo of prioritizing your resolve and moving ahead so you won’t have regrets—a memorable quote about that stance.
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Failure is the mother of success. This is a proverb meaning that by reflecting on the causes of failure and correcting one’s methods and shortcomings, one can ultimately achieve success.
There is a theory that it was introduced to Japan in the Meiji era as a translation of the English proverb “Failure teaches success.” It has been presented in expressions such as “Those who do not fail cannot become prosperous” and “Failure is a good teacher of success.” Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda, is known as someone who embodied the saying “Failure is the mother of success.” He left the words: “Success is the 1% supported by 99% failure.”
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If you’re going to think, think big. If you’re going to live, live big. When we set goals, we tend to choose targets that feel achievable.
Small steps are fine if they ultimately lead to a big goal, but it’s a waste to limit yourself from the start.
This quote teaches us that by thinking and acting on a larger scale, the dreams and goals we achieve grow larger too.
The version of yourself you imagine might actually be capable of much greater things.
Try setting goals on a scale that feels almost impossible at first!
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Do not avoid the difficult path. You must move forward if you want to reach your destination. Katherine Anne Porter When you take on a challenge, there may be no words more encouraging than these.
The road that leads to your dreams and goals won’t always be smooth.
There may be long hills, muddy paths that trip you up, and at times you might not see what lies ahead.
But if what you want is beyond that path, then you need to go through it.
Don’t be discouraged—move forward with courage and perseverance.
Everyone wants to avoid a hard road, but it’s precisely by walking it that you will grow.
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You’ve got the wind at your back. A headwind signifies adversity, while a tailwind, conversely, indicates that things are moving in your favor.
Saying that a tailwind is at your back conveys a message that the other person’s goals and dreams are within easier reach.
Even if they actually feel a headwind, this message communicates a warm intention to support them.
If it reaches them at the final push, it might help them make one more effort.
Please share it with someone important to you.
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Sweat is the highlight of effort; I’m shining again today. When these words are offered as encouragement, it feels as if the very attitude of moving toward your goal is being acknowledged.
Rather than focusing on results or progress, they shine a light on your “forward-facing effort,” allowing you to affirm your steps just as they are.
Instead of trying to rouse you, they tell you that the way you’re currently engaging is good, so you don’t tense up unnecessarily and can accept it honestly.
It’s something that makes you smile in the moment, and later on helps you cheer yourself on, lifting your spirits with the thought, “I’m shining!”
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So what if you failed? Learn from the failure and just try again. Walt Disney Many of you will recognize the name right away: Walt Disney, founder of the Disney Resort and the creator of Mickey Mouse.
Everyone is afraid of failing, and if possible, we’d all like to reach the goal without making mistakes.
However, if you run away from failure, you can’t succeed.
You can fail, learn, and try again—just as Walt Disney said, failure is not the end.
Whether you stop there or keep going is up to you.
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