RAG Music - Quote A quote so piercing it stirs your heart the moment you remember it. Just remembering them fills you with courage! Striking quotes that touch the heart from great figures and famous people 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.
The words of those who have achieved or mastered something can sometimes give us courage and hope, can’t they?
People who are striving toward their dreams and goals, or who are trying to face what truly matters, may feel this even more strongly.
This time, we’ve compiled a list of striking quotes by great and notable figures that we’d like such people to know.
Each one is powerful, yet gently guiding.
We hope you’ll recall them when you need a push forward or want to reconnect with your own heart.
Table of Contents Just remembering them fills you with courage! Striking quotes that touch the heart from great figures and famous people Whether I’m happy or not is something only I can decide. Matsuko Deluxe I’m not interested in where you stumbled. I’m concerned with how you rise from it. Abraham Lincoln If you work hard, will you be rewarded? That’s not it. You keep working hard until you’re rewarded. Lionel Messi If you believe in yourself, there are no limits. Cristiano Ronaldo Impossible is not a fact, but an opinion. Muhammad Ali Our lives are our art. John Lennon You don’t have to make yourself smaller for those around you. Let them catch up to you. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Small steps of progress add up to great success. Mahatma Gandhi If you try, you can achieve; if you don’t try, you won’t. Whatever fails to be accomplished fails because people do not attempt it. Uesugi Yōzan To love is to align your own happiness with the other person’s happiness. Gottfried Leibniz Don’t rush. But don’t give up. Shigeta Saitō Some believe that clinging makes you stronger. But sometimes, letting go is what makes you strong. Hermann Hesse If you fail, you can try again. If trying again doesn’t work, think it through once more and try again. Konosuke Matsushita Any person is capable of more than they think. Charles Chaplin If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t. This is an unshakable, absolute law. Pablo Picasso It’s never too late to become the person you wanted to be. George Eliot It is not the strong who win; it is those who win who are strong. Franz Beckenbauer To challenge yourself is to grow. LeBron James He who runs away can fight another day. Demosthenes Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller 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 You should have more faith in your talents and what you’ve done. Ichiro 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 A champion is defined not by how they act when they win, but by how they rise after they lose. Serena Williams 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 Everyone has talent. But it’s effort that makes talent blossom. Michael Jordan Prioritizing the team’s victory over personal glory ultimately leads to individual success as well. Lionel Messi There is no such word as ‘limit’ in my dictionary. LeBron James There is no absolute champion. A champion is always a challenger. Kosuke Kitajima Winning or losing is a small thing. What matters is whether you gave it your all. Shuzo Matsuoka We read “failure” as “success.” Katsuya Nomura You should be honest with your feelings. Hideo Nomo If you can’t believe in yourself, who will? Kei Nishikori Life’s only failure is not to try. Lindsey Vonn I’m glad we were able to make it back alive like this. Ayumu Hirano It is precisely because there are restraints that I can fly. It is precisely because there is sorrow that I can soar high. It is precisely because there is adversity that I can run. It is precisely because there are tears that I can move forward. Mahatma Gandhi Beyond the clouds, the sky is always blue. Louisa May Alcott If you don’t give up on yourself, there is no such thing as losing in life. Shigeta Saitō Happiness is always decided by your own heart. Mitsuo Aida If you stay focused, you can overcome any obstacle. Warren Buffett It is the heart that makes a world without amusements into an interesting one. Shinsaku Takasugi I kept telling myself that everything I was studying was for my goal. Miles Davis It’s not that we run because it’s hard; it becomes hard because we run. William James Do not avoid the difficult path. You must move forward if you want to reach your destination. Katherine Anne Porter The problem lies in the future. That’s why I don’t look back at the past. Bill Gates In this world, there is a unique path that only you can walk. Do not ask where that path will lead. Simply press on. Friedrich Nietzsche If you have a clear dream and a clear goal, the path will surely open up. Mahatma Gandhi No matter how many times you fall, you can start over as many times as it takes. “Failure” isn’t falling down; it’s not getting back up. Mary Pickford Any genius is born of passion. Isaac D'Israeli Love is not about gazing at each other, but about looking together in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Do not abandon the ambition you sought to achieve just because of a single defeat. William Shakespeare Sweat you shed never lies Chiyonofuji Mitsugu Because there was a humiliating defeat, my determination to absolutely win next time grew stronger. Kitanoumi Toshimitsu It’s hard to understand being criticized for asking pointed questions about what was discussed in the Diet. Katsuya Okada The fence isn’t built by others; it’s built by yourself. Aristotle No matter how much we study and how diligent we are, things sometimes don’t go well. This is because the time is not yet ripe, so we must all the more encourage ourselves and endure. Eiichi Shibusawa Other people’s rulers and your own ruler each have different measurements, don’t they? Mitsuo Aida Those who do not advance will surely fall back, and those who do not retreat will surely advance. Yukichi Fukuzawa 98% of our worries are needless Masahiro Fujimura Saying it must be this way just because it’s been that way for only 50 or 100 years is strange; I want to try absolutely everything without taboos. Kimi Onoda Let those who wish to leave, leave. Alexander the Great What I’m doing is by no means something big, but it is something necessary. Che Guevara Find a way. If there isn’t one, make one. Hannibal Barca Your happiness in life depends on the quality of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus People deserve praise or blame solely based on whether they have the perseverance to see things through. Leonardo da Vinci No success for those without dreams. Yoshida Shōin 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 Unless the whole world becomes happy, individual happiness is impossible. Kenji Miyazawa We came in with the resolve that even if we can realize just one or two policies that benefit the people, we will take all the criticism ourselves. Yuichiro Tamaki Politics moves. Yuichiro Tamaki An indecisive leader can even be harmful. Yoshihide Suga Without passion, no energy is born. Without energy, it’s the same as having nothing. Do not be easily satisfied—whether with yourself or with anything else. Even when the wind is against you, grit your teeth and refuse to compromise. 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. If you’re going to think, think big. If you’re going to live, live big. No dream is too big, and no challenge is too great. Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself. Coco Chanel The best way to pave the road to success is through effort and diligence, and by focusing on what is going well rather than on what isn’t. To have been born into this world—that in itself is the greatest opportunity, isn’t it? Ayrton Senna If you can take one step, you can take another. Todd Skinner Even if my life is a losing battle, I want to fight until the very end. Vincent van Gogh It’s in the moments you decide that your destiny is shaped. Anthony Robbins No one ever regrets having done their best. George Halas If you don’t give up, there will always be a way. Always. Sakichi Toyoda It is not noble to be superior to others. Ernest Hemingway What matters is getting back up every time you fail. Winston Churchill 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 There is only one way to succeed: never give up. Jeff Bezos 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 Knowledge is power. Francis Bacon As long as you keep challenging yourself, failure does not exist. Mark Zuckerberg Nothing is impossible. Muhammad Ali Even if I face setbacks, I don’t lose my pride—that’s because I’m putting in the effort. Shigeo Nagashima Do not fear change. It is part of growth. Elon Musk In the Way, one thinks without shunning death. Miyamoto Musashi I was born to accomplish something in this world. Hideyo Noguchi If you truly fought for what is right, there’s no shame in losing. Katherine Anne Porter ...to be continued Just remembering them fills you with courage! Memorable quotes that pierce the heart by great figures and famous people (41–50) If you stay focused, you can overcome any obstacle. Warren Buffett These are the words of Warren Buffett, an American investor who has built a record of steady results through long-term investing.
His success was not the product of split-second decisions, but of a sustained commitment to focus.
In studying as well, getting distracted by too much information scatters your results.
By identifying what needs to be done and concentrating on the task at hand, you can overcome difficult obstacles little by little.
Patiently sustained focus leads to significant outcomes.
It’s a famous quote that quietly teaches the importance of the quality of effort.
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It is the heart that makes a world without amusements into an interesting one. Shinsaku Takasugi “Make an unamusing world amusing”…
It is said that Shinsaku Takasugi composed only this upper line.
Shinsaku Takasugi was a feudal retainer of the Choshu domain at the end of the Edo period and is known as the founder of the Kiheitai militia.
He fell ill before fulfilling his ambitions, and this is the verse he composed at that time.
The lower line, “It is the heart that makes a place livable,” is said to have been composed by Nomura Botoni, who was nursing him.
Takasugi wrote that whether one lives amusingly in a world that is, by nature, not amusing depends on one’s state of mind, while Nomura Botoni answered that whether the world feels unamusing or not also depends on one’s own feelings.
It’s a verse through which you can enjoy the differing values of Shinsaku Takasugi and Nomura Botoni.
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I kept telling myself that everything I was studying was for my goal. Miles Davis These are the words of Miles Davis, a man who left his mark on jazz history and kept pushing the boundaries of what music could be.
He embraced not only technical skill, but also everyday experiences and even failures as part of learning.
The same is true for studying: times when things don’t go smoothly, or efforts that feel like detours, are never wasted.
As long as you stay mindful of your goal, every experience accumulates into strength.
In the toughest periods, there is often the most to absorb.
It’s a quote that affirms the process of effort and supports forward movement in life.
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It’s not that we run because it’s hard; it becomes hard because we run. William James William James was an American philosopher and psychologist, known as one of the founders of pragmatism.
He is also called the father of modern psychology and had a profound influence through his studies on consciousness and emotion.
This famous quote points out that running away itself creates suffering.
When we avert our eyes from difficulties and flee, the problem remains unsolved, anxiety and guilt increase, and our pain grows even greater.
Keeping these words in mind, it would be good to see the moments when we want to run away as opportunities for growth and to take positive action.
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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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The problem lies in the future. That’s why I don’t look back at the past. Bill Gates Bill Gates, one of Microsoft’s founders and a well-known American entrepreneur.
This quote that places importance on the future comes from a successful person—him.
People often look back on the past, don’t they? It’s fine to revisit good memories.
But if what you’re looking back on is past failures or mistakes, you might get stuck there.
What lies ahead of you isn’t the past—it’s the future.
Let the past be refined into experience and lessons, and live while imagining a bright future.
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In this world, there is a unique path that only you can walk. Do not ask where that path will lead. Simply press on. Friedrich Nietzsche Only you can walk your own life’s path.
That is what the words of Friedrich Nietzsche teach us.
Life is long, and the road ahead is unseen.
You may feel anxious, and at times fear risk and come to a halt.
Yet life is something through which we must keep moving forward.
There must be a way of living that only you can pursue.
Be unafraid and courageous—push ahead on the path you believe is right.
Doing so is the only proof of a life that only you can live.
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If you have a clear dream and a clear goal, the path will surely open up. Mahatma Gandhi These are the words of Mahatma Gandhi, who, no matter how many times he was imprisoned, upheld nonviolent civil disobedience and led the people toward India’s independence.
This quote gives courage to everyone living and helps them take the first step toward their dreams and goals.
Achieving your dreams and purpose is not an easy journey.
However, if you hold fast to how you want to live and what you want to do, and put in the effort, the path will surely open.
A strong heart that does not give up will become a great force that leads to your future.
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No matter how many times you fall, you can start over as many times as it takes. “Failure” isn’t falling down; it’s not getting back up. Mary Pickford Mary Pickford, a leading actress of the silent film era who also helped found the film production company United Artists, was someone who knew the countless challenges behind success.
Her words resonate with hearts that might hesitate for fear of failure when starting a new life.
Anyone can stumble; what truly matters is the will to stand up again.
Even on days when things don’t go as planned in an unfamiliar environment, her message reminds us that life allows us to start over as many times as we need.
It’s a quote that gives us the courage and the push to keep looking forward.
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Any genius is born of passion. Isaac D'Israeli These are the words of Isaac D’Israeli, who distinguished himself as a literary critic and explored the nature of intellect and creativity.
They convey the idea that talent is not something we are born with, but something nurtured by passion.
In study, too, you don’t have to be good from the start.
The desire to stay curious and keep learning deepens understanding and strengthens ability.
Passion enables us to face difficulties, allowing growth to build over time.
Cherishing what you love becomes the driving force that expands your possibilities.
It is a famous saying that reveals the source of effort.
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