What do we do when things get hard? How do we stay inspired?

Many of us are doing great things while we’re snacking. We’re operating machines that fly more than 500 miles per hour. We’re managing teams of hundreds of people and overseeing decisions with millions of dollars on the line. And we’re accomplishing great feats while we’re raising families, staying fit, and maintaining social connections.

We often write about the importance of healthy eating, but ultimately, our focus on building airfare is much larger. We believe healthy eating leads to healthy minds, long lives, and, of course, buns of steel. All of which are good for ourselves, our community, and our world.

That all sounds nice. But, back to our original question: what keeps us inspired when things get difficult?

One place we find inspiration is in boos. Their striking snippets of wisdom and nuggets of insight help us see further, dream bigger, and hope longer. For a little Friday pick-me-up, here are 25 of our favorite quotes that keep us motivated.

Send us your own favorites to help spread the love.

Snack on, and stay inspired.

1. “A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world's torrent.”
   -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, playwright and author
   
2. “Be governed not by the tyranny of the urgent but by the elevation of the important.”
   -Kevin Kelly, founding editor of WIRED Magazine
   
3. “Character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.”
   -Joan Didion, author
   
4. “You can fight your way to a rebellion; you have to think your way to a revolution.”
   -James West Davidson, historian and writer
   
5. “Be patient. Be authentic. And be consistent. The trust will come.”
   -Ed Catmull, Pixar founder
   
6. “We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it as not as dreadful as it appears, discovering that we have the strength to stare it down.”
   -Eleanor Roosevelt, former first lady of the United States
   
7. “To endure uncertainty is difficult, but so are most of the other virtues.”
   -Bertrand Russell, mathematician
   
8. “Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum.”
   -Oliver Wendel Holmes Jr., former U. S. Supreme Court Justice
   
9. “The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”
   -Robert Pirsig, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
   
10. “You must forget that internal voice screaming and begging, ‘Not one more step!’ And when it’s not possible to forget it, you must negotiate with it.”
    -Phil Knight, Nike founder
    
11. “Progress is never permanent, will always be threatened, must be redoubled, restated and reimagined if it is to survive.”
    -Zadie Smith, novelist
    
12. “When you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them. When you stop searching, assuming they can’t be found, you guarantee they won’t.”
    -Angela Duckworth, Grit
    
13. “When you’re out of willpower, call on stubbornness.”
    -Henri Matisse, painter
    
14. “If you wish to be loved, be modest. If you wish to be admired, be proud. If you wish both, combine external modesty with internal pride.”
    -Will Durant, historian
    
15. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
    -Ralph Waldo Emerson, author
    
16. “Only those who are asleep make no mistakes.”
    -Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA founder
    
17. “Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”
    -Salvador Dali, artist
    
18. "Anyone can work magic, anyone can reach his goals if he can think, if he can wait, if he can fast."
    -Herman Hesse, Siddhartha
    
19. “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
    -Joseph Campbell, author
    
20. "Things that never happened before happen all the time."
    -Scott Sagan, political science professor
    
21. "Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic."
    -Frank Herbert, Dune
    
22. "Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through, and be silent."
    -Jalaluddin Rumi, poet
    
23. "If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid."
    -Epictetus, philosopher
    
24. “The whole universe is change, and life itself is but what you deem it.”
    -Marcus Aurelius, philosopher
    
25. “The cure to boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
    -Dorothy Parker, author