Are you feeling just as burned out as I am right now? It seems like my mojo went on vacation and decided not to return.

When this happens (not the first time, ya know?), I look for inspiration in the words of others. I search online for the pep talk – the “go get ’em!” words – that I need to restore my focus and energy level.

Here are 10 powerful quotes that are helping me get my balance back. If you need a little help right now, too, they might inspire you in the same way.

10 powerful quotes

These motivational, just-do-it messages are from sources as diverse as Confucius and Thomas Edison.

Want to save and share any of them? Right click on the image, then select “save image as” in the dropdown menu.

Create your own quote graphics

Want to create similar images with your favorite quotes?

To create these 10 images, I used the premium version of the WordSwag smartphone app ($3.99). It’s available in both iOS and Android versions.

I used the app exclusively for these, searching WordSwag’s extensive database of images to find one with just the right mood or setting for each quote. It’s a versatile, easy-to-use tool for creating image quotes to share on social media or elsewhere.

What’s your favorite motivational or inspirational quote? Please drop it in a comment so we can all appreciate it. 

But I needed it to work, so I didn’t give up.

I did some Googling and found another (more complicated and annoying) option to try. Following those instructions while throwing in my own little curve ball did the trick and it’s now up and running again.

I persisted until I got it right because getting it right was important to me.

27 quotes about persistence

I want you to persist as an author, too. Let these quotes about persistence from notables inspire and motivate you to stay with it.

1. “Persistence, persistence, and persistence. The power can be created and maintained through daily practice – continuous effort.” ~ Bruce Lee
2. “Paralyze resistance with persistence.” ~ Woody Hayes
3. “I would say that more people fail than succeed because few are able to show persistence in the long run.” ~ G. S Clason
4. “He conquers who endures.” ~ Persius
5. “Perseverance – that was the key word then, and it still remains the basic principle for anyone who wants success. You cannot creatively get anywhere in this life without sturdy application of the persistence principle.” ~ Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
6. “Patience is the productivity factor which keeps you persistent in working on your task.” ~ Abder-Rahman Ali
7. “There is no magic to achievement. It’s really about hard work, choices and persistence.” ~ Michelle Obama
8. “Money grows on the tree of persistence.” ~ Japanese proverb
9. “Continuous effort–not strength or intelligence–is the key to unlocking our potential.” ~ Winston Churchill
10. “Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence.” ~ Denis Waitley
11. “Permanence, perseverance, and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” ~ Thomas Carlyle
12. “A river cuts through rock not because of its power but because of its persistence.” ~ James Watkins
13. “Whatever you want you can have, if you want it badly enough, and if you are willing to persist long enough and hard enough in doing what others have done to accomplish similar things before you.” ~ Brian Tracy
14. “Remain persistent and don’t stray from your path. The power to change your opinion about yourself and your outlook on life is in your hands.” ~ Gavin Bird
15. “Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time.” ~ Marabel Morgan
16. “Talent is nothing without persistence.” ~ Dean Crawford
17. “If you have mastered your profession but lack the ability to be persistent, you will not succeed. You are a failure when you stop trying again and again.” ~ Dozie Uzochukwu
18. “Whoever knocks persistently, ends by entering.” ~ Muhammad Ali
19. “Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” ~ Napoleon Hill
20. “Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.” ~ Ray Kroc
21. “When life knocks you down you have two choices – stay down or get up.” ~ Tom Krause
22. “If you do not have persistence then no amount of education, talent, or genius can make up for it.” ~ Stephen Richards
23. “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” ~ Newt Gingrich
24. “Persistence prevails when all else fails.” ~ Author Unknown
25. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
26. “The key of persistence opens all doors closed by resistance.” ~ John Di Lemme
27. “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.” ~ Calvin Coolidge

Which of these “spoke” to you? Which ones made you think, “I need to keep doing this?” Please tell us in a comment.

Tip of the Month

I like to share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

This month’s free download is for those of you with audiobooks.

BookBub, the daily deal newsletter that also offers marketing information and resources for authors, is offering the “Ultimate Collection of Audiobook Marketing Examples.” Download your copy here.

Be sure to subscribe to BookBub’s Partners Blog, too. You’ll get solid advice in your inbox every week. I highly recommend it.

That means they’re a good tool for generating engagement on your page or profile.

They’ll do the same for you on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, too. I like to use them as jumping off points for short blog posts (see this example, “What is an author platform?“). They let me make my point quickly, but effectively, on the blog.

You can even quote snippets from your book and use your book title for attribution.

There are a number of tools you can use to create these fun and attention-getting images. I’ve got four of them here along with what I like and don’t like about each of them. The first one is my favorite; the last is my least favorite.

Let my feedback on the pros and cons help you decide which option to try first.

Instaquote, free plus $2.99 Pro upgrade

This is a smartphone app for iPhones and Androids, so if you have no interest in using your phone to create an image with a quotation, move along, move along. There’s nothing for you here.

There is a free version; it leaves an InstaQuote logo watermark in the lower right corner. I tested the free version, loved it, and quickly upgraded to the $2.99 pro version because, well, as the L’Oreal commercials used to say, I’m worth it.

Pros:

• You can create a graphic in minutes using the app’s backgrounds or a photo from your smartphone album. It’s definitely the fastest of all of the tools described here, and that’s one reason I’m such a fan.
• It’s super easy to use.
• There’s room to customize — fonts, type placement, text color, etc.

Cons:

• While there’s a nice selection of backgrounds for your words, there are no stock photo options for the background.
• Quotation marks look odd in some of the fonts. That might sound petty or picky, but when you’re using this to create quote images, you want the quotation marks to face the right direction.

PicMonkey.com, $5.99-$8.99/month (no longer free)

Editor’s note 2-2-18: When this post was first written, many of this resource’s elements could be used for free. You can still use them without paying, but you can’t save and download your images. BUT . . . here’s a workaround: Create your beautiful image, then use Microsoft’s “Snipping Tool,” Jing, or any other program that lets you capture and save an image on a screen in .PNG format.

This website is incredibly fun to use. There are so many options — but because of that, it takes longer to create an image. If tapping into your inner creative genius is important, make this your first stop. If you’re more interested in speed, download the Instaquote Pro app.

Pros:

• The options for fonts, colors, frames, themes, and special effects make this an amazing resource for all of your image needs — even Facebook  headers/cover images.
• It’s easy to use. You might make a few mistakes at first, but none will be fatal. Jump in and start playing around.

Cons:

• There are almost no pre-set backgrounds or stock photo options for the background. I found six photos under the “collage” option. So plan on uploading your own.

Befunky.com, free plus $4.95/month Premium upgrade

This site is very similar to Picmonkey, but a little harder to use. It’s less intuitive for me and therefore more frustrating than fun. In addition, the text box is hard to manipulate and adjust. That alone turned me off. And yet, some people really like this site, so form your own opinion.

Pros:

•  It offers the fun editing and special effects tools that you’ll find in Picmonkey plus a nice clip art selection in the “goodies” section.
• Some of the font options are unusual — in a good way.

Cons:

• There are no pre-set backgrounds or stock photo options for the background. You have to upload your own. (See tip above.)
• The text box is unyielding.

Shareasimage.com, free plus $8/month Pro upgrade

This one is different from the others — it’s a Chrome extension that works with your Chrome browser to let you highlight text you find online and turn it into a graphic. It’s very easy to use — create something attractive quickly and easily. I used the “try it” option on the site rather than downloading and installing the extension.

Pros:

• There are a handful of scenic background images to chose from — a nice plus. (Upgrade to get more.)
• You can create something attractive very quickly, in part because there are fewer design options to distract you and take time.

Cons:

• There are fewer design options than the other tools offer.
• The free version leaves a shareasimage.com watermark in the lower left.

These are all good options, and I’m sure there’s more. Find the one that works for you and start inspiring others!

What’s your favorite tool for creating image quotes? Please tell us in a comment!