Quotes: Hope
Hope on this page is presented as more than feeling: it is a lever for action and a shield in hard moments. The selections range from the spiritual counsel of the Bhagavad Gita to Eleanor Roosevelt’s confidence in dreams and Barack Obama’s insistence on getting up; together they treat hope as both refuge and responsibility.
The running question is whether hope asks us to wait or to move. These voices answer that hope asks for courage and effort — to begin again, to dream boldly, to face tomorrow with steadiness — without pretending to erase difficulty.
13 quotes on this theme, each with its source and insight
The quotes
“On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.”
Source: Bhagavad Gita, 2.40 · Check the source
Verified attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The sentiment matches Bhagavad Gita 2.40: sincere effort on the path is not lost and even small practice protects from great fear.
- What remains uncertain
- The English sentence is a contemporary translation/paraphrase; published translations of 2.40 vary in wording and emphasis.
This line says that sincere practice always counts: effort on the spiritual path accumulates and shields you from deep fear. It echoes the Bhagavad Gita (2.40), where Krishna comforts Arjuna on the battlefield by affirming that small practice still has protective power.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Source: no specific work is documented · Check the source
Disputed attribution What we know
- What is documented
- Widely attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, but quote researchers have not found this exact wording in her authenticated writings; earliest strong matches appear decades after her death.
- What remains uncertain
- The attribution is disputed: evidence ties the line to later printing and proverb-like circulation rather than a specific Roosevelt source.
The line explains why a vivid vision matters: seeing your dreams as beautiful gives purpose and drive to effort. It matches Eleanor Roosevelt’s public themes—hope, duty, human dignity—and today serves as a compact call to turn ideals into action.
“Hope is not a resting place but a starting point — a cactus, not a cushion.”
Source: no specific work is documented · Check the source
Disputed attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The wording is widely attributed online to H. Jackson Brown, Jr., but the cited evidence consists mainly of quotation aggregators; no primary publication or speech was found.
- What remains uncertain
- Attribution is disputed and weakly supported: available sources are secondary repeats rather than an identified original text.
The line reframes hope as a tough beginning rather than a soft refuge: an image meant to jolt you into doing, not settling. It fits modern American inspirational style and is commonly credited to H. Jackson Brown, Jr., but no primary source is documented.
“When times get tough, we don't give up. We get up.”
Source: Remarks by the President on the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, January 15, 2014 · Check the source
Verified attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The sentence appears in President Obama’s remarks at NC State on January 15, 2014, and was posted the same day on his official social-media account.
A compact call to collective resilience: Obama used this line to argue that economic setbacks demand organized response, not surrender. He spoke it while unveiling a plan to link universities, industry and government to revive manufacturing and jobs.
“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
Source: Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, film, 1997 · Check the source
Disputed attribution What we know
- What is documented
- Widely attributed online to A. A. Milne, but the best evidence points to the 1997 film adaptation rather than Milne’s original writings.
- What remains uncertain
- The exact wording is likely apocryphal: no clear match appears in Milne’s books and the line seems to originate in a posthumous adaptation.
The line comforts by naming three underestimated strengths—bravery, strength, intelligence—and nudges you to remember them. Its warm, modern self-help tone comes not from Milne’s original books but from later adaptations and internet sharing. The clearest source ties it to the 1997 Pooh film, not Milne himself.
“For what it’s worth, it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over again.”
Source: no specific work is documented · Check the source
Misattributed What we know
- What is documented
- Available evidence points to Eric Roth’s 2008 screenplay for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as the origin of this wording, not to Fitzgerald’s published texts.
- What remains uncertain
- Widely circulated under Fitzgerald’s name, the quote appears to be a condensed or paraphrased version of a longer film monologue rather than a line from Fitzgerald himself.
This line celebrates intentional reinvention: the idea that you can choose who you become and begin again. Its popular wording, however, traces to the 2008 film screenplay for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button rather than Fitzgerald’s published works.
“I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”
Source: Benjamin Button, written by Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) · Check the source
Misattributed What we know
- What is documented
- The passage is verified as dialogue written by Eric Roth for the film and delivered by the fictional Benjamin Button as a voice‑over.
- What remains uncertain
- Although widely credited to F. Scott Fitzgerald online, the wording is not in his 1922 short story and originates in the 2008 screenplay.
The passage champions reinvention: embrace startling experiences, new feelings, and the courage to begin again. It did not come from Fitzgerald’s 1922 story but from the 2008 film, voiced by the character Benjamin Button and written for the screenplay.
“Keep looking up! I learn from the past, dream about the future and look up. There's nothing like a beautiful sunset to end a healthy day.”
Source: no specific work is documented · Check the source
Disputed attribution What we know
- What is documented
- Online quotation sites consistently credit Rachel Boston, but searches did not reveal an original book, interview, or dated primary source.
- What remains uncertain
- Attribution is disputed: the phrase is widely recopied on compilation sites without a verifiable primary source.
The line bundles a practical optimism: learn from yesterday, dream about tomorrow, and keep your gaze upward as a habit of hope. Ending the day by noticing a beautiful sunset becomes a small ritual of gratitude that restores perspective.
“When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”
Source: Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, 1886 · Check the source
Verified attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The wording is recorded in Sarah H. Bradford's 1886 biography as Tubman's own recollection of her escape.
- What remains uncertain
- The quotation is transmitted via Bradford's book rather than a contemporaneous autograph by Tubman; minor wording variants appear in later retellings.
The line captures the shocking moment freedom becomes real: Tubman checks her own hands to confirm she is the same person, then sees the landscape transfigured. Sarah H. Bradford published this recollection in 1886, giving a vivid account of escape, identity, and awe.
“Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously.”
Source: no specific work is documented · Check the source
Disputed attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The prayer is attested in numerous modern devotional compilations and church materials, but no primary Franciscan manuscript or early witness is cited.
- What remains uncertain
- Though fitting Franciscan themes, the precise wording is disputed: variants and lack of early documentation prevent firm authentication.
This gentle prayer echoes Franciscan spirit: steady trust in God, simple living, and calm courage about the future. It reads like a practical plea to be carried through one day by a larger strength and peaceful attention to others. The wording appears widely in modern devotional material but lacks a secure medieval source.
“You see things, and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were, and I say, ‘Why not?’”
Source: Back to Methuselah, Part I, Act I (1921) · Check the source
Verified attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The wording appears in Shaw’s Back to Methuselah (1921), spoken by the Serpent in Part I, Act I.
- What remains uncertain
- The widely quoted Kennedy wording is a later paraphrase; many popular versions alter Shaw’s original dramatic phrasing.
Shaw sets ordinary doubt against bold imagination: instead of accepting things as they are, the line urges inventing what doesn't yet exist. It appears in Back to Methuselah (1921) as a dramatic command to embrace possibility and action.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”
Source: no specific work is documented · Check the source
Disputed attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The saying is commonly credited to Martin Luther King Jr., but scholars have not found the exact wording in his known speeches, broadcasts, or letters.
- What remains uncertain
- The attribution is disputed: the sentence appears to be a popular paraphrase of King’s thought and is often cited via later secondary sources rather than a verified primary King text.
The line captures the moral bravery King urged: start despite uncertainty, because waiting for full clarity stalls justice. It aligns with his Christian view of ‘walking by faith,’ yet the exact wording lacks primary‑source confirmation and should be cited cautiously.
“Beauty will save the world.”
Source: The Idiot, salon conversation (1867–1869) · Check the source
Verified attribution What we know
- What is documented
- The sentence is spoken by Prince Myshkin in The Idiot and appears in Dostoevsky’s text.
- What remains uncertain
- The wording is verified but the novel’s context makes its meaning contested: it’s a dramatic, qualified utterance rather than a simple authorial dictum.
Spoken by Prince Myshkin in The Idiot, the line proposes that a certain kind of beauty can jolt conscience and redirect human life toward goodness. It’s not a cheerleader slogan for pretty things: Dostoevsky embeds it in an ambiguous dialogue that presses what kind of beauty—moral, spiritual, or merely aesthetic—could "save" the world.