“You can pray until you faint, but if you don’t get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.”
As transcribed in “ We're on our way,” Speech before a mass meeting held at the negro Baptist school in Indianola, Mississippi https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/hamer-were-on-our-way-speech-text/ (September 1964)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Fannie Lou Hamer 7
American civil rights activist (October 6, 1917 – March 14,… 1917–1977Related quotes

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (2005)
Context: In life, people tend to wait for good things to come to them. And by waiting, they miss out. Usually, what you wish for doesn't fall in your lap; it falls somewhere nearby, and you have to recognize it, stand up, and put in the time and work it takes to get to it. This isn't because the universe is cruel. It's because the universe is smart. It has its own cat-string theory and knows we don't appreciate things that fall into our laps.

It is very difficult to see your peers rising in status and you’re still sitting back working your way up because you won’t do certain things. You have to be true to yourself. As a performer, as a human being you have to be true to yourself, because once you compromise, you sell out.
Source: Interview with Morgan Brittany http://www.lifesupernatural.com/interview-with-morgan-brittany/

"Leap In and Try Things: Interview with Brian Kernighan" https://web.archive.org/web/20110701151454/http://www.harmonyatwork.in/blog/2009/10/leap-in-and-try-things-brian-kernighan/ from Harmony at Work blog http://www.harmonyatwork.in/blog/.

Love – That’s All Cary Grant Ever Thinks About (1964)