Finish Line Quotes

Marathon Runner
Chopstick legged you sprint
a marathon journey of 1000 steps
to tick off this and that
before the click of now and then
and though you've wandered far
there's curious comfort in return
to that double helix of heritage and home
calligraphied in your ancestral compass.

Listen closely, Lil.
There is no finish line,
no time to beat,
no mileage goals to set.
You are a lone competitor
in a race against yourself.
Breathe Lil, breathe,
and smell the wildflowers
at the wayside. ~ Beryl Dov

...maybe one day, one thought will lead us to the finish line. ~ Peanut

You know what's fun about basketball? It keeps evolving, and it keeps changing a little bit. And the older guys want to try to hold it back to how they grew up, and it's not the same. You've got to change with the times, and some of the guys you've got to drag across the finish line. ~ Mike D'Antoni

History, the way the teachers liked it, was a racetrack, a straight shot from start to finish line; life itself was more of a maze. ~ Cassandra Clare

To be successful one must make change an ongoing process. Quality is a race with no finish line. ~ David T. Kearns

Once you've committed yourself to something, pace yourself to the finish line. ~ Meb Keflezighi

There are times when you run a marathon and you wonder, Why am I doing this? But you take a drink of water, and around the next bend, you get your wind back, remember the finish line, and keep going. ~ Steve Jobs

But for each of us, isn't life about determining your own finish line? ~ Diana Nyad

When that day comes, I want to remember that the questions, frustrations, and believe that I am lost are all signs that I chose an authentic path, not a stagnant finish line. ~ Jackie Viramontez

The label of 'marathoner' has, from the beginning, been awarded to those who went the distance under their own power, whether they ran, walked, crawled or tiptoed. When you cross that finish line, you've entered an elite group. About one-tenth of one percent of the population has done it. Don't let anyone take that great achievement away from you. ~ Jeff Galloway

Imagine yourself winning?.. Wouldn't that make you overconfident?'
'Not at all... It's called "positive visualisation", like being a runner: see yourself making it across the finish line, you pace yourself better, run a better race too. See yourself winning at poker, you make the winning calls. See yourself as a loser, you've not got the self-belief or determination to play well, no matter how much money you gamble.'
Chester - to Jennifer
I was shocked to hear the words of the Love Professor echoed by Chester: like yourself and you'll win; think you're a loser, and sure enough you'll end up losing. ~ Jennifer Cox

Nice guys finish first. If you don't know that, then you don't know where the finish line is. ~ Garry Shandling

So what have I learned that is helpful? Well, if you are white, like I am, you can't get rid of the privilege you have, but you can use it for good. Don't say I don't even notice race! like it's a positive thing. Instead, recognize that differences between people make it harder for some to cross a finish line, and create fair paths to success for everyone that accommodate those differences. Educate yourself. If you think someone's voice is being ignored, tell others to listen. If your friend makes a racist joke, call him out on it, instead of just going along with it. If the two former skinheads I met can have such a complete change of heart, I feel confident that ordinary people can, too. ~ Jodi Picoult

The writer, his eye on the finish line, never gave enough thought to how to run the race. ~ William Zinsser

You wouldn't train for a marathon & then give up a mile before the finish line. Same goes with your life & dreams. ~ Dawn Gluskin

Lord Jesus, brokenness surrounds me. My body, mind, and soul are weary. I am weak, but You are strong. I desire the endurance to persevere and complete the tasks You have set before me. But right now I can barely get out of bed. The pain is crippling me. Please help me push through to the finish line for You, Lord. ~ D. Duane Engler

I knew not everyone would be intact at the finish line. ~ J.J. McAvoy

As long as I can compete, I won't quit. Reaching three-thousand is not the finish line as long as I can contribute. ~ Cal Ripken, Jr.

We all see very clearly in others tendencies which we, ourselves, have overcome. The older and wiser we grow, the more we can see the arrogance of youth. The more authentic we become, the more we can see the lies of insecurity. The more vulnerable we allow ourselves to be, the more we see the dangerous symptoms of unexpressed emotions.

There is no finish line to learning.

There is no point where we're done growing, and all we will ever do is look down upon others who are behind us. No one is ever at the top. We are all growing at our own rates, and no matter how terrible or how enlightened we fancy ourselves to be today, the future will be sure to give us a different perspective.

There is really no use in comparing yourself to others. There will always be someone ahead and someone behind, and there will be dozens (if not hundreds) of different scales and gradients to be behind and ahead on.

To be number one is never final. It is and always will be a momentary, fleeting instant. But to be a growing version of yourself? That, you can be. You can be that every single day. ~ Vironika Tugaleva

Chasing your dreams is like running a race in the dark, you may quit disheartened, not knowing you were one step away from the finish line. ~ Prerna Kumar

is time that we started reclaiming the idea of retirement. Retirement is not the finish line; it is the new beginning. Retirement is not your last paragraph; it is the long, rich, rewarding final chapters of your own book - as many pages as you can dream up. Retirement is not the end of your life; it is the beginning of the best years of your life! But ~ Chris Hogan

Drama, can never outrun, outweigh, or outlast Dreams.
Dreams, always has hope cheering it on.
And Victory, is always waiting at the finish line. ~ Keith Hammond

At 10 minutes to seven on a dark, cool evening in Mexico City in 1968, John Stephen Akwari of Tanzania painfully hobbled into the Olympic Stadium-the last man to finish the marathon. The winner had already been crowned, and the victory ceremony was long finished. So the stadium was almost empty and Akwari - alone, his leg bloody and bandaged - struggled to circle the track to the finish line. When asked why he had continued the grueling struggle, the young man from Tanzania answered softly: My country did not send me 9,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 9,000 miles to finish the race. ~ Walter Inglis Anderson

Understand the nuances of rivalry can help extend your career. It doesn't mean you'll be holding hands across the finish line. It means their presence makes you better, faster, stronger. Because of them, you'll find out exactly what you are made of. ~ Leena Patel

What motivates people to be late? ... Some people are drawn to the adrenaline rush of that last-minute sprint to the finish line. Others receive an ego boost from over-scheduling and filling each moment with an activity. ~ Harvey MacKay

No one else. It was me who had to carry myself over the finish line, and all I needed to remember when I felt like not trying was that that feeling wouldn't last forever.
Forever.
I used to believe it didn't exist. One word has terrified me as a child and it haunted me. But now I knew, and many small ways, but it was real, But it didn't scare me anymore. Forever wasn't a little girl cowering in the closet. Forever wasn't the shadows sitting in the back of the class. Forever wasn't doing what I thought Carl and Rose wanted instead of what I needed to do with my life. Forever wasn't believing I was some kind of replacement daughter and that I was letting them down. Forever wasn't being the one who needed protection. Forever wasn't pain and grief forever wasn't a problem. Forever was my heartbeat and it was the hope tomorrow held. Forever was the glistening silver lining of the dark cloud, no matter how heavy and thick it was. Forever was knowing it moments of weakness didn't equate to an eternity of them. Forever was knowing that I was strong. Forever was Carl and Rosa, Ainsley and Kira, Hector and Rider. Jaden would always be a part of my forever. Forever was in the fire-breathing dragon inside me that had shed the fear like a snake shedding skin. Forever was simply a promise of more. Forever was a work in progress. And I couldn't wait for forever. ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout

During a race where everyone holds their own truth, the finish line is a surprise. ~ Akiane Kramarik

Making out with Marcus had always felt like a race to the finish line, but with Diego I felt like I'd already won. ~ Shaun David Hutchinson

Happiness can't be bottled. It can't be smoked, swallowed, shot or ejaculated. And there is no end game: you never cross the finish line and are suddenly happy. Even when all your wildest dreams come true, you still pursue happiness. ~ Kevin Smith

If there's one lesson I can pass along to people in situations like mine, it's that the best way to see a program through -- and it took me a long time to learn this -- is simply to accept the help, cooperate, and let others do what they think is worthwhile. In the meantime, continue racing to the finish line. ~ Joe Sutter

Go for broke, my friends. Straighten your spine when you step to the podium. Trust your own tongue. Believe that your weary legs will hold you until you reach the finish line. And reach it you will if you give it your all. Fall if you must, crawl if you must, but don't you dare give up or give in until you've made it to the end. For at the end is where your great reward will be to begin anew. A new chance. A new life. A new you. ~ Toni Sorenson

I don't mind a chase, baby. Whether it's a sprint or a marathon makes no difference to me. I'll reach the finish line eventually. I don't know what you're running from, but I don't give up easy. I'll be seeing you soon. ~ Aidan Willows

There is no finish-line on the path to soul growth- there is no race, no perfect place to get to where life is easy. We can release judgement and fear-based thinking when we entertain that life is a journey with many pit-stops along the way and we are responsible for finding the beauty at every twist and turn. ~ Christine Evangelou

There is no end in creativity. Hence, to strive towards an end result is a fool's errand. Set goals, make music and paint pictures, but know that the crux of your happiness balances delicately on the wings of the act of creativity itself. Not at the finish line. ~ Brandon Boyd

I would've blown away every last runner that time. Because at the end of this finish line wasn't a trophy - it was Macallan. ~ Elizabeth Eulberg

Races are won and lost long before the finish line. ~ Marty Rubin

Winners see the victory before the contest begins and before they cross the finish line. Get yourself ready. SEE THE VICTORY. ~ Bobby F. Kimbrough Jr.

The race for excellence has no finish line. ~ Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Donna VanLiere's "A Christmas Blessing"
"Don't ever take your EYES off the FINISH line. If you take your eyes off the GOAL, you'll never make it to the END. ~ Donna VanLiere

You just don't have the time to worry about what others are doing. You just want to take care of your own business. You are focused on that tee shot on the 10th tee and making it to the finish line. It's one of the most stressful moments in professional golf, but you have worked so hard to get to that point, that it really is fun. ~ Mike Weir

Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. ~ Howard Schultz

While a number of people have pointed out the various costs and drawbacks of sentience, few if any have taken the next step and wondered out loud if the whole damn thing isn't more trouble than it's worth. Of course it is, people assume; otherwise natural selection would have weeded it out long ago. And they're probably right. I hope they are. "Blindsight" is a thought experiment, a game of "Just suppose" and "What if". Nothing more.
On the other hand, the dodos and the Steller sea cows could have used exactly the same argument to prove their own superioirity, a thousand years ago: "if we're so unfit, why haven't we gone extinct?" Why? Because natural selection takes time, and luck plays a role. The biggest boys on the block at any given time aren't necessarily the fittest, or the most efficient, and the game isn't over. The game is never over; there's no finish line this side of heat death. And so, neither can there be any winners. There are only those who haven't yet lost. ~ Peter Watts

No jockey ever won a race by carrying the horse across the finish line; no coach ever won a volleyball match by touching the ball during play. ~ John Kessel

So perhaps we need to consider how to turn the idea of the pursuit of happiness into the happiness of the pursuit. People on a quest for something they find meaningful - whether that is building a boat or growing the perfect tomato - tend to be happier; they know that happiness is the by-product of the process and not a pot of gold at the finish line. ~ Meik Wiking

I'm different than most people ... when I cross the finish line of a big race, I see that people are ecstatic, but I'm thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow. It's as If my Journey is everlasting and there is no finish line ~ David Goggins

In the race for quality, there is no finish line ~ David T. Kearns

Plane Ride -
In our sport it is natural and necessary to set up goals to inspire us. We all want to achieve the next level, the break-thru performance. What we (all of us) must not forget is that the journey to these goals is the best part. The daily process of obtaining success takes up the majority of our time and effort throughout our lives. Remember to appreciate what you've done in the past and what you are doing in the present on your way to higher goals. This will allow you to always strive for something more without missing out on the fact that your path to success is as much a starting point as it is a finish line. ~ Matthew Alan

We didn't crumble after 9/11. We didn't falter after the Boston Marathon. But we're America. Americans will never, ever stand down. We endure. We overcome. We own the finish line. ~ Joe Biden

The ideal racecar will expire 100 yards past the finish line. ~ Stirling Moss

The best part (or maybe the worst) of loving you is... that I never have any plan to stop.
Because I don't want to reach the end. Too afraid to catch the finish line.
Let me do it slowly, wobbly, as if I'm decrepit.
Because, by doing that, I have many years to go, never ending days to come... enough time... to stuck... with you.
Helplessly addicted, stupidly enraptured... by you.

I love you this way, and will keep loving you this way.
So come... wear your white gown... because there is a ring, waiting for your finger.
A vow, waiting for your mouth to say it out.
A man... waiting for you... to make a commitment to spend every tomorrow... together. Go hand in hand, to any kind of future we maybe have.

Let's be happy. Let me... to make you happy.
Come, marry me, and I will show you what kind of life you will get by laying down your happiness on my hand.
I will be thankful for every second, and I will make you feel the same.
Come, marry me. Because I want to make you my wife, and me, your husband.
Come, start it, and then end it. With me.... ~ Yuli Pritania

When the finish line seems too far away, remember how you felt when you were back at the starting line. Regain that motivation to recharge your momentum. ~ Toni Sorenson

i woke up thinking the work was done
i would not have to practise today
how naive to think healing was that easy
when there is no end point
no finish line to cross
healing is everyday work ~ Rupi Kaur

In choosing joy, the finish line dissolves into a different matter altogether. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

I run. I am made for running. Because when you run, you could be anyone. You hone yourself into a body, nothing more or less than a body. You respond as a body, to the body. If you are racing to win, you have no thoughts but the body's thoughts, no goals but the body's goals. You obliterate yourself in the name of speed. You negate yourself in order to make it past the finish line. ~ David Levithan

I am not the kind of designer who is racing to the finish line, so while collaborations are important for our growth, each and every one has to be strategic and well-timed with what we have going on internally. ~ Prabal Gurung

I think all of us who kind of live within the sport recognize that Davis Cup certainly could be a little more visible if perhaps there were some adjustments made to it, and it was made a little bit more easy to understand for the fans, if there's a little bit more of a start and finish line. ~ Jim Courier

Life is a race, and what matters most isn't when a person crosses the finish line, but how strong they've grown along the way. ~ Jen Stephens

It's incredible how many emotions you feel when crossing the finish line and seeing that you are No. 1. ~ Marcel Hirscher

The first time you hold your baby and see she's all right, you breathe a sigh of relief. You think you've crossed the finish line. You don't realize that the race had just begun. ~ Carla Buckley

Time is a racehorse, eating up the furlongs as it gallops towards the finish line. Look away for a moment, be preoccupied for a moment, and then imagine what has passed you by. ~ William Boyd

In that he didn't die at the finish line, he could have run faster ~ Tim Noakes

The finish line at the end of a career is no different from the finish line at the end of a
match. The objective is to get within reach of that finish line, because then it gives off a magnetic force. When you're close, you can feel that force pulling you, and you can use that force to get across. But just before you come within range, or just after, you feel another force, equally strong, pushing you away. It's inexplicable, mystical, these twin forces, these contradictory energies, but they both exist. I know, because I've spent much of my life seeking the one, fighting the other, and sometimes I've been stuck, suspended, bounced like a tennis ball between the two. ~ Andre Agassi

The closer I got to my finish line, that rubbley (ph) rocky coast of Ross Island, the more I started to realize that the biggest lesson that this very long, very-hard walk might be teaching me is that happiness is not a finish line and that if we can't feel content on our journeys amidst the mess and the striving that we all inhabit - the open loops, the half-finished to-do lists, the could-do-better-next-times - then we might never feel it. ~ Ben Saunders

Sooner or later you go through the process because when the gun goes off when a race starts not everybody goes across the finish line. Not everybody has the same motivations. It's not even about stamina. It's about relentless, dog-headed, stubborn determination to cross that finish line. ~ Dean Goodman

I have great empathy for all the contestants that come on 'Top Chef,' whether they go home right away or they make it to the finish line. It's a very vulnerable position they put themselves in and I feel for them. ~ Padma Lakshmi

Reaching the finish line, never walking, and enjoying the race. These three, in this order, are my goals. ~ Haruki Murakami

The Christian race lasts a lifetime, with Christ Jesus as our goal, the prize that awaits us at the finish line in heaven. It can't be run all-out as a sprint or no one would last the course. Though there was one race in the ancient games where the runners wore full armor, most of the time the ancient runners ran naked, stripping away anything that would slow them down. Obviously the writer of Hebrews was familiar with the ancient sport of running when he advised believers to run with endurance the race God set before them. ~ Various

So no, excuse me, we will not play likability anymore. It's an endless runner - a game with no progress and no finish line - that women are expected to chase, that keeps us from doing the real work, accruing the real power. Chasing likability has been one of women's biggest setbacks, by design. I don't know that rejecting likability will get us anywhere, but I know that embracing it has gotten us nowhere. ~ Lindy West

Mountaineers are one of the few groups to celebrate before the finish line. More mountaineers die on the descent than on the ascent. ~ Susan Oakey-Baker

Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities. Know that there is no finish line; fortune favors action. Race balls-out toward the extraordinary life that you've always dreamed of, or still haven't had time to dream up. And prepare to have a hell of a lot of fun along the way. ~ Sophia Amoruso

A little recognition of the escapes we made, of the finish line we crossed, only to find so many other finish lines waiting after it. ~ David Levithan

They jogged along for another half mile, their increasingly laboured breaths punctuated by Bernie's gasps of "great" and "fantastic" whenever Davey showed his style.

"Good workout," Bernie said when they reached the finish line and began to walk. "You should run during the year too, Beckwith. I mean, how the hell do you stay so thin? You don't even play squash."

"I worry a lot," said Bob and kept walking. ~ Erich Segal

We were stereotyped the way many athletes with disabilities or illnesses are, particularly in participatory sports such as biking, running, and triathlon. After a while I could pretty much fill in the thought balloons over these people's heads. "Oh, look at these heroic young people, courageously struggling to get themselves across the finish line, in order to raise money for thier cause. How inspiring!" Don't get me wrong; while we appreciate the good wishes and realized that they were usually genuine, something in that attitude rankled me, and still does. We're athletes, dammit, and we want to be accorded the same respect as other competitors. That's how you treat somebody with illness or disability, in my opinion. Not as a special-needs person, but as a person. ~ Phil Southerland

Don't worry about the finish line. Don't question what you're doing. Just quiet your mind and keep up the pace. ~ Dana Reinhardt

You know what's kind of funny? Well, not funny, but ironic, maybe? She's been here nine months now, and it takes nine months to create life. It's like she's been reborn. And the fact that tomorrow you turn eighteen is just another piece of it. It feels like right now is the start of something, like we're at the beginning and not the finish line."
Dominic started to walk away but paused after a few steps, his brow furrowed. "Actually, I don't think that's what irony is. Haven would probably correct me again and say I was being symbolic. ~ J.M. Darhower

They are the fuga bidone, Christopher. They broke away. They're too far
ahead to reel in," Luca whispered, his voice breaking into the wind that licked
the mountain top. "We are the peloton."

"We'll see them again at the finish line. ~ P.D. Singer

For every finish-line tape a runner breaks
complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras
there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about. ~ Grete Waitz

She waved, laughing, waiting for him to go zooming past her. Instead he slowed, then came to a stop right in front of her.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, as he put his foot on the asphalt. She pointed to the finish line, a scant hundred yards away. "Go."
People around them started screaming. Josh ignored them all.
He pulled off his glasses. "How you doing?"
"Josh! This isn't funny. Move." She glanced over his shoulder, knowing the other racers would appear at any second. "Just finish. You can win. Then we'll talk."
"We can talk now."
She shrieked. "No! I said I was wrong. I said I loved you. What more do you want?"
"You," he said. "For always."
"Yes, yes. You can have that. Now go. Cross the finish line. It's right there. Can't see it? Hurry."
"You'll marry me?"
The man next to her turned. "For God's sake, lady. Marry him already. ~ Susan Mallery

Writing isn't about racing to the finish line; it's about finding joy in each step of the process. If a writer focuses on the journey, the destination will take care of itself. ~ Christopher Meyerhoeffer

I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that's gotten me. I'm at the finish line but I never ran the race. ~ Adam Silvera

Sometimes we become so focused on the finish line, that we fail to find joy in the journey. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

No one has a problem with the first mile of a journey. Even an infant could do fine for a while. But it isn't the start that matters. It's the finish line. ~ Julien Smith

As soon as we fall in love and we realise we've met the one the rest of our lives can't come soon enough. It's not like you're in a rush to get to the finish line, you're in a rush to feel and experience everything and then do it all again. ~ Johnny Depp

God is not waiting for you to get physically healthy or spiritually mature before he starts loving you or enjoying you. He loves you right now, and he will be cheering you on at every stage of your growth and development. He is not waiting for you to cross the finish line first. He is smiling at you as you run the race. ~ Rick Warren

My own movement of thought is not meant to be a straight point-to-point, linear line of march, but horizontal exploration from one area of interest to another. There is no ultimate destination - no finish line to cross, no final conclusion to be reached. It's the way I feel about dancing - you move around a lot, not to get somewhere, but to be somewhere in time. ~ Robert Fulghum

Happiness is not about the trophy, or the finish line. It's the journey. If you enjoy your journey, you can enjoy your life ~ Pharrell Williams

The only thing I ask, the only thing you need to promise me, is that we don't grow apart. I don't want to have to learn how to live without you. I understand that there might be times when you need to stand on my shoulders, or I need to stand on yours. You don't seem to realize, I want to carry you. I look forward to making your burdens mine. And when we cross the finish line we might not both be walking, but we'll still be side-by-side. ~ Penny Reid

Here is the start, there is the finish line. Between that, you have to run. ~ Jeff Galloway

As your training integrates Mind, Body and Spirit, enjoy the process. Your journey to the marathon finish will last a few hours. Your journey to the start will influence a lifetime. ~ Gina Greenlee

What's-his-name had started out with all the promise of a wild stallion gallop, but he'd ended up more of a gentle trot. I didn't know if the fault lay with the jockey or the ride, but it had been a long time since I'd seen a finish line. ~ Deborah Wilde

Stress is something that is sort of out of your control. You get stressed out over looking at the finish line. Stress is something that is an outside thing. Stress is an anxiety. ~ Joe Torre

If I had some idea of a finish line, don't you think I would have crossed it years ago? ~ Richard M. DeVos

Keep your eyes on the finish line and not on the turmoil around you. ~ Rihanna

Your past is your past. Why the fuck are you trying to drag it across the finish line with you? Cut that shit off. You'll be a hell of a lot lighter. Freer too. ~ S.E. Jakes

View a Copycat as a Stray Cat.. They stray through the day hunting down prey. They pick up a scent through steel or cement. They act shy yet their sly. They get around traps, they escape with the bait. When you realize your loss and feel the hard cost without a peep nor a sign, they stand smiling across the finish line. ~ Victoria Addino

If you pass out, I'll put you in my lap and wheel you across the finish line ~ Carrie Jones

I want you for eternity, not for a brief finish line.
There's no one after you. ~ Krista Ritchie

If you don't discover God's dreams, you'll either waste your life running in wrong races and crossing wrong finish lines or, like many people, have no finish line at all. ~ Dutch Sheets

The window of X Factor opportunity opens up in the closing seconds of a race-you might be sprinting at the time or just hanging one, trying to get across the finish line. With a supreme act of will, you can prolong your effort, essentially fighting off the inevitable lactic acid shutdown. You'll have little time for contemplating the options: either wholeheartedly go for it, or back off. You must train your X Factor to unequivocally respond the way you want-go for it. Once the window is closed, it's closed forever. ~ Brad Alan Lewis

God is on your side. We already at the finish line. Anything you put your mind to, anything you want to accomplish ,you put your faith in God's hands you can do it. ~ Puff Daddy