Quotes about obstacle (457 quotes, page 5)

“I hope the next minister is not as radical as Marina. She was an obstacle to economic development in Brazil.”

Marina Silva (1958) Brazilian environmentalist and politician

Rui Prado, head of the agriculture federation of Mato Grosso, on Silva's resignation; quoted in " Brazil's Amazon minister resigns," http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7399715.stm BBC News (2008-05-14)

Hope

“Pride is not a wise counselor. People who believe themselves to be the incarnation of good have a distorted view of the world. The absence of any obstacle to the deployment of strength is dangerous for the strong themselves: passion takes precedence over reason. "No power without limit can be legitimate," as Montesquieu wrote long ago. Political wisdom does not consist in seeking only immediate victory, nor does it require systematic preference of "us" over "them."”

Tzvetan Todorov (1939–2017) Bulgarian historian, philosopher, structuralist literary critic, sociologist and essayist

Preface to the English edition (October 2002), p. xxi
Hope and Memory: Reflections on the Twentieth Century (2003)

Strong , Victory , People , World

“The right way to requite evil, according to Jesus, is not to resist it. This saying of Christ removes the Church from the sphere of politics and law. The Church is not to be a national community like the old Israel, but a community of believers without political or national ties. The old Israel had been both — the chosen people of God and a national community, and it was therefore his will that they should meet force with force. But with the Church it is different: it has abandoned political and national status, and therefore it must patiently endure aggression. Otherwise evil will be heaped upon evil. Only thus can fellowship be established and maintained.
At this point it becomes evident that when a Christian meets with injustice, he no longer clings to his rights and defends them at all costs. He is absolutely free from possessions and bound to Christ alone. Again, his witness to this exclusive adherence to Jesus creates the only workable basis for fellowship, and leaves the aggressor for him to deal with.
The only way to overcome evil is to let it run itself to a stand-still because it does not find the resistance it is looking for. Resistance merely creates further evil and adds fuel to the flames. But when evil meets no opposition and encounters no obstacle but only patient endurance, its sting is drawn, and at last it meets an opponent which is more than its match. Of course this can only happen when the last ounce of resistance is abandoned, and the renunciation of revenge is complete. Then evil cannot find its mark, it can breed no further evil, and is left barren.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi

Source: Discipleship (1937), Revenge, p. 141

God , Law , People , Revenge

“What if your enemy were your enemy because of poor communication and misunderstanding? What if your enemy were your enemy because of the instigative nature of the ego? What if your enemy were a necessary obstacle put in your life by fate to overcome in order to progress to the higher version of self? I wonder about that because what if your enemy is in fact your hero? Make sure the snake in your life isn't just your pride and ego.”

Scarlet Jei Saoirse (1984) American singer and actress

Fate , Communication , Nature , Self-confidence

“If we see each other as obstacles to progress, our assumption is the first and greatest obstacle. Mistrust is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our old-paradigm consciousness has guaranteed its own dark expectations; it is our collective negative self-image.”

Marilyn Ferguson (1938–2008) American writer

The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980), Chapter Thirteen, The Whole- Earth Conspiracy

Self-confidence

“The greatest single obstacle to the resolution of great problems in the past was thinking they could not be solved—a conviction based on mutual distrust. Psychologists and sociologists have found that most of us are more highly motivated than we think each other to be!”

Marilyn Ferguson (1938–2008) American writer

The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980), Chapter Thirteen, The Whole- Earth Conspiracy

Motivation , Problem , Thinking , Past

“The oligarchy understands that a “divide-and-conquer” strategy gives them more room to get what they want without opposition... oligarchies cannot hold on to power forever... When a vast majority of people come to view an oligarchy as illegitimate and an obstacle to their wellbeing, oligarchies become vulnerable. As bad as it looks right now, the great strength of this country is our resilience. We bounce back. We have before. We will again. In order for real change to occur – in order to reverse the vicious cycle in which we now find ourselves – the locus of power in the system will have to change. The challenge we face is large and complex, but we are well suited for the fight ahead. Together, we will dismantle the oligarchy. Together, we will fix the system.”

Robert B. Reich (1946) American political economist

The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/the-system-is-rigged-but-we-can-fix-it/, Alternet, 24 March 2020

Understanding , Country , Bad luck , People

“The real hero of Jaws is the mayor. A gigantic fish is eating all your constituents and he decides to keep the beaches open. OK, in that instance he was actually wrong. But in principle, we need more politicians like the mayor - we are often the only obstacle against all the nonsense which is really a massive conspiracy against the taxpayer.”

Boris Johnson (1964) British politician, historian and journalist

Speech given by Johnson at Lloyd's of London in 2006, quoted in * 2007-07-18

Boris Johnson inspired by Jaws mayor

Graeme Wilson and George Jones

The Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1557765/Boris-Johnson-inspired-by-Jaws-mayor.html
2000s, 2006

Fish

“The way from where we are to where we want to be next is a gray zone full of unforeseeable obstacles, problems, and issues that we can only discover along the way.”

Mike Rother (1958) American business academic

Way , Problem

“To overcome the obstacles and their accompaniments, the intense application of the will to some one truth (or principle) is required.”

Patañjali (-200–-150 BC) ancient Indian scholar(s) of grammar and linguistics, of yoga, of medical treatises

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect : a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary by Alice A. Bailey, (1927)

Truth

“Pain, despair, misplaced bodily activity and wrong direction (or control) of the life currents are the results of the obstacles in the lower psychic nature.”

Patañjali (-200–-150 BC) ancient Indian scholar(s) of grammar and linguistics, of yoga, of medical treatises

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect : a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary by Alice A. Bailey, (1927)

Despair , Pain , Life , Nature

“The obstacles to soul cognition are bodily disability, mental inertia, wrong questioning, carelessness, laziness, lack of dispassion, erroneous perception, inability to achieve concentration, failure to hold the meditative attitude when achieved.”

Patañjali (-200–-150 BC) ancient Indian scholar(s) of grammar and linguistics, of yoga, of medical treatises

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect : a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary by Alice A. Bailey, (1927)

Soul , Failure , Question

“By 1980, the work of Feldstein, Boskin, Summers, and others had convinced many economists that U.S. taxes were in fact a significant obstacle to investment. Nor was this all: another major U.S. policy, the Social Security system, was also discouraging saving and investment.”

Paul Krugman book Peddling Prosperity

Source: Peddling Prosperity (1994), Ch. 2 : Taxes, Regulation, and Growth

Summer

“The strongest of all the obstacles to progress, the reign of the dead.”

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) British politician and historian

Private notes, quoted in G. E. Fasnacht, Acton's Political Philosophy. An Analysis (1952), p. 60, n. 1
Undated

Dead

“From this comes the realisation of the Self (the soul) and the removal of all obstacles.”

Patañjali (-200–-150 BC) ancient Indian scholar(s) of grammar and linguistics, of yoga, of medical treatises

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary by Alice A. Bailey, (1927)

Self-confidence , Soul

“To overcome the obstacles and their accompaniments, the intense application of the will to some one truth (or principle) is required.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary (1927)

Truth

“Pain, despair, misplaced bodily activity and wrong direction (or control) of the life currents are the results of the obstacles in the lower psychic nature.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary (1927)

Despair , Life , Pain , Nature

“The obstacles to soul cognition are bodily disability, mental inertia, wrong questioning, carelessness, laziness, lack of dispassion, erroneous perception, inability to achieve concentration, failure to hold the meditative attitude when achieved.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

Source: The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary (1927)

Soul , Failure , Question

“From this comes the realisation of the Self (the soul) and the removal of all obstacles.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary (1927)

Self-confidence , Soul

“...they perceived that no beginnings should be considered too small to be capable of quickly becoming great by uninterrupted endurance and having no obstacle to their growth by reason of being despised.”

Plutarch book Parallel Lives

sec. 4
Parallel Lives, Caesar

“Diversity and integration are also needed in science and technology. Pride and prejudice are obstacles to scientific advancements and truth seeking.”

Newton Lee American computer scientist

The Transhumanism Handbook, 2019

Truth , Science

“It is a test mentally, physically and spiritually at times. You must try to stay in the process of creating which will always have obstacles.”

Zachary Laoutides (1986) film actor

La France: Paris Tribune (French) 2016: Le drame Roumain, l’architecte Mexicain et le Grec Odyssey

Time

“I do not underestimate the obstacles which the Congress will face in enacting such legislation. No one will be satisfied. Everyone will have his own approach, his own bill, his own reduction. A high order of restraint and determination will be required if the possible is not to wait on the perfect. But a nation capable of marshaling these qualities in any dramatic threat to its security is surely capable, as a great free society, of meeting a slower and more complex threat to our economic vitality. This Nation can afford to reduce taxes, we can afford a temporary deficit, but we cannot afford to do nothing. For on the strength of our free economy rests the hope of all free nations. We shall not fail that hope, for free men and free nations must prosper and they must prevail.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

Source: 1962, Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York

Perfection , Waiting , Hope , Men

“May you be able to overclimb the obstacles custom, tradition, thoughtlessness, and habit have built up; may even such poor words as mine win you to the realization that there is no joy in life like the joy of discipleship, no so-called sacrifice that can be made which is not as the dross cast into the fire where gold comes out instead; oh! that in the hearts of even a few of you — one here and there scattered through this vast audience — the feeble words may light the eternal flame, and the passing movement caused by speech may grow into resolute will and a determined endeavor. Oh, then for you, too, in the near future there awaits the Finding of the Master, for you also who seek shall find; if you knock with the hammer of these Qualifications, surely the door shall swing open before you, that you may find Him, as I have been blessed enough to find Him, that you may know that service which is perfect freedom, that joy which is in the presence of the Master.”

Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man, 1923, p. 83

Freedom , Light , Future , Heart

“It is the Path by which, to use a simile often used, instead of going round and round the mountain by an ever-climbing spiral, man climbs straight up the mountainside regardless of cliff and precipice, regardless of gulf and chasm, knowing there is nothing that can stop the Eternal Spirit, and that no obstacle is stronger than the strength that is omnipotence, because it has its source in Omnipotence itself.”

Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man (1923)

Mountain

“[T]here is no more formidable obstacle than the Established Church to the spirit of rash and theoretic change which we, almost alone among the nations, have escaped .”

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) British politician

'Church-rates', Quarterly Review, 110, 1861, p. 545
1860s

Change

“Strategy can be defined as a coherent plan on how to overcome an obstacle with the limited resources that you have at hand.”

Julian Cole (1985) Strategy Consultant

https://www.irishtimes.com/advertising-feature/inside-marketing/mastering-strategy-crucial-for-business-success-1.4394295

“If something is between God and you, then you have a problem, an obstacle, I believe I have a huge mission to write, or to record, or to give to the world or to Christians or people who are not Christian yet.”

Ian Mulder (1963) Dutch pianist, composer and conductor (*1963)

Meet Ian Mulder: A Christian composer who brings listeners to God https://www.osvnews.com/2020/11/30/meet-ian-mulder-a-christian-composer-who-brings-listeners-to-god/ (November 30, 2020)

World , Problem , God , People

“A lot of people give up just before theyre about to make it. You know you never know when that next obstacle is going to be the last one.”

Chuck Norris (1940) American martial artist and actor

People

“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher

Soul , Strong , Perseverance

“If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Michael Jordan (1963) American retired professional basketball player and businessman

“It takes facing obstacles to grow strong enough to overcome them.”

Daniel Dae Kim (1968) American actor

"How Daniel Dae Kim became a leading voice for diversity in Hollywood" in The Morning Call (24 September 2018) https://www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-ent-daniel-dae-kim-20180828-story.html

Strong

“My 2 line life story
When life starts going well then my misfortune starts putting obstacles in it.”

Shabdon Ka Jahan

Life

“In difficult transplanting operations, I talk to the tree with humility while doing my best to find the right solution. Then, the tree teaches me how to overcome the obstacle.”

Konami Tsukamoto (1949) Japanese tree doctor

Source: The Goi Peace Foundation Lecture Series - Lecture 18: Learning from trees - Lecture Series: Values for the 21st Century https://www.goipeace.or.jp/en/work/lecture/ - 4 Mar 2008 - Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20211107060323/https://www.goipeace.or.jp/en/work/lecture/

Tree

“The wonderful part of acting of acting is you don't know what your playmate is going to be offering as that obstacle, and that's the surprising part, that's the magical part, so it's like a game of tennis, you don't know what's going to be thrown at you, you've got to be on you toes.”

Joy Tanner (1966) American actress

Source: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joy_Tanner

Game , Parting

“Fear of suffering is a great obstacle to being a happy person in life. God wants us to be happy. Asceticism is not supposed to make us sad. It’s supposed to free us to be able to understand and do what God wants. He wants our happiness. He wants us to bring happiness to others.”

Alfred Clifton Hughes (1932) Roman Catholic archbishop

Source: 60 Years A Priest: An Interview with Archbishop Alfred Hughes https://nds.edu/blog-entry/60-years-a-priest-an-interview-with-archbishop-alfred-hughes/

God , Personality , Happiness , Suffering

“The obstacle has been Mackenzie King, the Canadian, who is both obstinate, tiresome and stupid.”

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (1859–1925) British politician

Source: Letter to his wife during the 1923 Imperial Conference (8 November 1923), quoted in Terry Reardon, Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King: So Similar, So Different (2012), pp. 52-53

Stupidity

“I don’t think anyone who wants to succeed—male or female—should concentrate on hurdles because you will find them if you are looking for them, and I have been just too busy to spend time looking for obstacles.”

Linah Mohohlo (1952–2021) Botswana banker

Source: "In On the Ground Floor" (December 2004)

Time , Business , Thinking

“Do not confuse dreams with wishes. There is a difference. Dreams are where you visualize yourself being successful at what's important to you to accomplish. Now, dreams build convictions because you work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true. Wishes are are hoping good things will happen to you, but there's no fire in your gut that causes you to put everything forth to overcome all the obstacles. So you have to dream more and never, ever, ever blame somebody else if it doesn't happen. That is in your department.”

Dolly Parton (1946) American singer-songwriter and actress

Source: " Dolly Parton Delivers Commencement Address at the University of Tennessee 2009 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuOm2lLIOoU&t=6m35s" (at 6m35s), University of Tennessee, Knoxville on YouTube.

Success , Dreams , Hope

“Every obstacle needs to be controlled by the defender through observation and fire. In the case of the challenge of tunneling, control by observation and fire means the IDF being able to disrupt digging activities and preventing the establishment of enabling infrastructure ahead of time.”

Brig. Gen. Eran Ortal (1971)

Source: Dado Center Journal vol. 15, March 2018, https://www.idf.il/media/37490/one-team-on-the-field-may-22-amended-2.pdf

Time

“Obstacles, not products, are the source of creating wealth.”

Jay Samit (1961) American businessman

Future Proofing You (2021)

Wealth

“Over the years of wrestling with the obstacles that stand between child and education, I have come to believe that government monopoly schools are structurally unreformable.”

John Taylor Gatto book Dumbing Us Down

Source: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992), p. xxxvi

School , Education

“I believe that diversity should be a mutual gift, enriching interpersonal and social relationships, opening minds and hearts to those who are different. Yet if we place too much emphasis on what distinguishes us, then peculiarities and nationalisms inevitably resurface, with the consequence that differences become obstacles or, even worse, walls. A Christian, the word itself indicates, even before belonging to a nation, belongs to Christ, who gave his life for us.”

Luciano Suriani (1957) Vatican archbishop and diplomat

Source: Archbishop Luciano Suriani: History Calls Us To Overcome Divisions https://cordmagazine.com/interview/archbishop-luciano-suriani-history-calls-us-to-overcome-divisions/ (31 August 2020)

Heart , Christ , Life

“1. Strive to be a leader of character, competence, and courage.
2. Lead from the front. Say, "Follow me!" and then lead the way.
3. Stay in top physical shape- physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.
4. Develop your team. If you know your people, are fair in setting realistic goals and expectations, and lead by example, you will develop teamwork.
5. Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their jobs. You can't do a good job if you don't have a chance to use your imagination or your creativity.
6. Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don't wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind.
7. Remain humble. Don't worry about who receives the credit. Never let power or authority go to your head.
8. Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask yourself if you did your best.
9. True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. The key to a successful leader is to earn respect- not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.
10. Hang Tough!

Never, ever give up.”

Dick Winters (1918–2011) American military personnel

Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters (2006)
Source: Leadership at the Point of the Bayonet: Ten Principles for Success, p. 293

Night , People , Way , Imagination

“[T]he main work of life lies in carrying on worthily the great common task of civilization: to play one's due part in the enterprise of feeding some hundreds of millions of men, in seeing that they are protected against violence and fraud, that they have access to justice, and as far as may be to education, that they have some freedom to pursue life and happiness, and are not cut off altogether from the wonders and beauties of the world and the mind of man. To succeed in doing this is civilization: to fail is the defeat of civilization. For civilization is, ultimately, the process whereby a human society in search, as Aristotle puts it, of a "good life for man", gradually overcomes the obstacles, material and other, that stand in its way and makes man increasingly master of his environment.”

Gilbert Murray (1866–1957) Anglo-Australian scholar

1920s, The Ordeal of This Generation: The War, the League and the Future (1929)
Source: "Peace and Strife as Elements in Life: The Ideal of “Unhindered Activity”", pp. 37-38

Search , Fraud , Life , Men

“Science, if it is to be redintegrated should primarily not be limited, and thus be fearless. Any conditional limitation will be an evidence of mediocrity, and thus will become an unconquerable obstacle on the path of achievement.”

Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947) Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, enlightener, philosopher

Source: The Invincible (1936), Ch. 1 Fearlessness

Science

“This world is a strange world. We have to learn many lessons. One of the disciples of the Lord Jesus betrayed the Lord. Many obstacles will come to the growing aspirant at every step. We will have to show our strength.”

Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) Indian philosopher

You Cannot Get Away From Evil
Autobiography of Swami Sivananda (1958)

Learning , World

“All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

Walt Disney (1901–1966) American film producer and businessman

As quoted in The Story of Walt Disney (1957)

World , Life

“We cannot overcome obstacles with ignorance.”

Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) American evolutionary biologist

Source: Full House (1996), Chapter 4, “Case One: A Personal Story” (p. 46)

“One of the most serious obstacles to genuine diversification is that on most campuses the faculty remains lily-white and male”

Elizabeth Martinez (1925) American community organizer, activist, author, and educator

De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century (2017)

“It is a hard rule of life, and I believe a healthy one, that no great plan is ever carried out without meeting and overcoming endless obstacles that come up to try the skill of man’s hand, the quality of his courage, and the endurance of his faith.”

Donald Wills Douglas Sr. (1892–1981) American businessman

Courage , Faith , Life

“When you come from a dark tunnel of life… and step by step you advance overcoming all obstacles, at the exit you will find your light.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Quando provieni da un oscuro tunnel della vita... e passo dopo passo avanzi superando tutti gli ostacoli, all'uscita troverai la tua luce.
Source: prevale.net

Life , Light

“Enjoy every minute of the process that leads you to goodness, to success. No matter how difficult the challenges, obstacles and trials you have to face. If you fail, try again! Fall down, get up again! When you succeed, what you have gone through will be a great story.”

Titon Rahmawan

Success

“Every goal requires a process. It cannot be accomplished on its own without planning, learning, testing and overcoming obstacles. One step must be followed by the next. Only commitment, perseverance, persistence, hard work and consistency will bring us closer to our goals.”

Titon Rahmawan

Learning , Perseverance

“The biggest obstacle for rulers is upholding the commitments they have been entrusted with since they came to power. How easy it is for rulers to forget what they have said and how easy it is for them to break the promises they are supposed to keep.”

Titon Rahmawan

Forgetting

“Only difficulties, obstacles and challenges will force you to keep moving. Keep changing and stay alert, because there are so many dangers out there.”

Titon Rahmawan