5 Motivational Quote Outtakes
Many of our greatest motivational quotes went through some…rough drafts first.
Motivational quotes! Gotta love ‘em.
Are some of them cheesy as hell? You’re damn right they are. Like carnival pizza or nachos.
But every now and then, the right turn of phrase activates something inside of us — a little voice that springs up in times of adversity to say:
“You can be great.”
“You can persevere.”
“You should 100% tattoo this quote onto a regularly visible body part. It’s not the buzz talking.”
At Confidently, our team of PhDs is steeped in the science of motivation, and we’ve been training universal tools to sustain motivation to Olympians, CEO’s, the military, and more for decades.
Simply put: motivation is the car that drives us from where we’re at to who we want to become.
That being said, our novelty coffee mugs aren’t going to emblazon themselves. Through a deep industry connection, we gained access to something truly special:
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OUTTAKES
It’s a common misconception that history’s most prolific quote machines just churn these babies out fully-formed and ready to slap on a pastel poster in a middle school computer room. But many of our greatest motivational quotes went through a process of fits and starts that mirrors the very trials they inspire us to overcome.
Today, we’re gonna get a look at some never-before-seen early drafts of five of our most enduring motivational quotes. Starting with this gem:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I sat on my ass and had a good cry about hard choices.”
— Robert Frost, Take 4
Before Robert Frost inspired generations to take calculated risks on “the road less traveled,” it appears the guy had a one-way ticket on the Tough Times Express!
“Don’t smile because it’s over. Cry because it happened.”
— Dr. Seuss, Take 2
Who knows what was going on in the good Doctor’s life that inspired this early draft of “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened,” but we’re glad he persevered.
By the way, this isn’t the only Dr. Seuss piece that began in a darker place. We also found stories titled “The Cat in the Vat” and “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, f*ck my life” that, in the end, were too dark to share here.
“Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration, and a little nipper of motor oil”
— Thomas Edison, Take 8
1% inspiration and 99% perspiration is a motivating formula that succinctly promotes the idea that we need to work hard to achieve our goals. Let’s all be grateful that the lightbulb turned on in his head to axe that 3rd piece…
“Do or do not. Either way, screwed you are.”
— Yoda, Take 67
Evidently, Frank Oz, the legendary voice actor who brought life to Yoda, was given permission to improvise lines on the set of Star Wars.
Oz finally delivered “Do or do not, there is no try” on take 68, but this was preceded by hours of morose takes on Yoda’s state of mind as a mentor to fledgling, insecure, Luke Skywalker.
“In the middle of every difficulty lies someone you can blame with the force of 1000 suns.”
— Albert Einstein, Take 3
Einstein is celebrated for his legacy of world-changing science, and justifiably so. But he also left us some truly inspiring quotes. “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity,” is one of his greats — a lovely rumination on the growth mindset — but clearly that’s not where it began.
Whoever it was that burnt big Al’s thought-tea as he was crankin’ out E=MC squared, we feel for you and appreciate your sacrifice.
SHOW US YOUR MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OUTTAKES!
We want to read them. Comment with them below!
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