← Your daily dose of motivation
210 quotes, page 2 of 7Starting again
After redundancy, a move to a new country, an illness, a mistake or a long gap. A second start is still a start.
We say who really said each one, and where the credit is uncertain we tell you. Every card is ours to share.
“I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.”
The Bible, Joel 2:25 (King James Version)
Lost years can be made up. A steady job and a good reference rebuild a record faster than you think.
“He who is afraid of asking is ashamed of learning.”
Danish proverb
New to English or new to the job? Ask again when you do not understand. Good supervisors prefer it.
“Even on a rock, three years.”
Japanese proverb (Ishi no ue ni mo sannen). Sit on a cold stone for three years and even it gets warm.
A new country or a new trade takes time to feel like yours. Give it longer than a few weeks.
“After rain, the ground hardens.”
Japanese proverb (Ame futte ji katamaru)
A team that has come through a bad week together often works better for it.
“When the winds of change blow, some build walls and others build windmills.”
Chinese proverb
When the warehouse brings in new scanners, be the one who learns them first.
“Put a good face on bad weather.”
Spanish proverb (Al mal tiempo, buena cara)
A cheerful hello on a cold morning shift lifts the whole loading bay.
“Step back to jump better.”
French proverb (Reculer pour mieux sauter)
A step down in pay to learn a new trade can be the run up to a bigger leap.
“Krakow was not built in a day.”
Polish proverb (Nie od razu Krakow zbudowano). The Polish form of 'Rome was not built in a day'.
A new life in a new country takes years, not weeks. Be patient with yourself.
“Live a century, learn a century.”
Russian proverb (Vek zhivi, vek uchis)
Starting an English course at forty is perfectly normal. So is starting a forklift course.
“No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back.”
Turkish proverb
If the job you took is clearly wrong, leaving well and finding the right one is no shame.
“Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you.”
Ovid, Amores 3.11
Learning a new trade after redundancy hurts for a while. Later you will be glad of both skills.
“Perhaps one day it will be pleasing to remember even these things.”
Virgil, Aeneid 1.203
One day the hard first winter in a new job will be a story you tell new starters.
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”
Epictetus, Enchiridion 13
Speaking a new language at work means making mistakes in public. Everyone learning does.
“Be not ashamed to be helped; for it is thy business to do thy duty like a soldier in the assault on a town.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.7 (Long translation)
Asking a job centre adviser, a union rep or a friend for help is part of the work, not a failure.
“Be not disgusted, nor discouraged, nor dissatisfied, if thou dost not succeed in doing everything according to right principles; but when thou hast failed, return back again.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.9 (Long translation)
Slipped back into a bad habit? Start again tomorrow. No need to wait for Monday.
“Remember that to change thy opinion and to follow him who corrects thy error is as consistent with freedom as it is to persist in thy error.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.16 (Long translation)
When a supervisor shows you a better way, taking it on is a strength.
“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”
Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies (1928)
Prepare for the interview as if the job is coming. That confidence shows.
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (1923)
A hard ending often shows you what you really want from work.
“Traveling: it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
Attributed to Ibn Battuta. Not found in his Rihla; a modern saying.
Moved here from abroad? Your story is part of what you bring to the team.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
Martin Luther King Jr., as widely quoted
One rejection is finite. Your chances over the next year are not.
“The triumph can't be had without the struggle.”
Attributed to Wilma Rudolph. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
She walked with a brace as a child and won Olympic gold. Your recovery can be slow and still win.
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
J. K. Rowling, Harvard commencement address (2008)
Starting from nothing has one advantage: everything you add is yours.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all.”
J. K. Rowling, Harvard commencement address (2008)
Applying for a job you might not get is still better than never applying.
“The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again.”
Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement address (2005). On being fired from Apple in 1985.
Losing a senior role and starting lower down can feel freeing. Fewer meetings, more learning.
“I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement address (2005)
Many people look back on a redundancy as the push they needed. Give it time.
“Renewed shall be blade that was broken.”
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
Confidence knocked by a bad job can be rebuilt in a good one.
“I have been bent and broken, but, I hope, into a better shape.”
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1861)
People coming back from a hard time are often the kindest colleagues on the shift.
“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843). Scrooge, on Christmas morning, given a second chance.
Learn from the past, work well today, and plan the next step. All three matter.
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre (1847)
After a divorce or a move, choosing your own job is a big part of choosing your own life.
“I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship.”
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868)
Running your own household for the first time? Budgeting a pay packet is a skill you can learn.
Other sections
- Work and keeping going (559)
- Stoic calm (316)
- An open mind (366)
- Starting a business (299)
- For leaders (218)
- Working with people (214)
- Mindset and habits (339)
- Safety and health (219)
- Starting again (210)
- Pride in the job (185)
- True stories of people who started small