In America, the stories we tell ourselves and we tell each other in fiction have to do with individualism. Every person here is the center of his or her own story. And our job as people and as characters is to find our own motivations and desires, to overcome conflicts and obstacles toward defining ourselves so that we grow and change.

- Adam Johnson

Imaginary obstacles are insurmountable. Real ones aren't.

- Barbara Sher

When I came out, when I was 17 years old, it was one of those things where I realized that there was going to be so many obstacles, but being gay doesn't mean being weak.

- Bob Harper

History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

- B. C. Forbes

Raising a family is difficult enough. But it's even more difficult for single parents struggling to make ends meet. They don't need more obstacles. They need more opportunities.

- Bill Richardson

One way or the other, if you want to find reasons why you shouldn't keep on, you'll find 'em. The obstacles are all there; there are a million of 'em.

- Benny Goodman

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

- Booker T. Washington

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.

- Booker T. Washington

Freedom in general may be defined as the absence of obstacles to the realization of desires.

- Bertrand Russell

There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worthwhile, especially when it is new and different.

- Alfred P. Sloan

The majority see the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of the latter, while oblivion is the reward of the former.

- Alfred A. Montapert

Being idealistic really helps you overcome some of the many obstacles put in your path.

- Andy Hertzfeld

At the point when I wanted to become a designer, I didn't think about, 'Oh, but I'm a woman,' just like didn't think about like, well, 'I'm Chinese' or that 'I'm in Michigan.' You know, none of those things were obstacles to me. I just had this idea that this is what I had to do.

- Anna Sui

For me, the greatest obstacles are never on the ice itself. That's the area I excel in. That's where my passion is. I think we all strive to push ourselves, to overcome our struggles. And when we do, we get to know ourselves better.

- Ann Bancroft

I think great romance needs great obstacles and textures.

- Ang Lee

The day of the daredevil reporter who refuses to see obstacles to getting the truth, and seeing it with his or her own eyes, seems to have died.

- Alastair Campbell

It is true that Egypt's attempt at democracy after the 2011 revolution encountered many obstacles in governance and infrastructure.

- Ahmed Zewail

If there is one thing that all players have in common it is that winning, competitive gene; the ability to overcome obstacles and fight for what you want from your career.

- Andres Iniesta

I've been motivated by overcoming challenge and overcoming the hurdles and obstacles that face me. There still is plenty out there to get motivated by.

- Andre Agassi

I just wanted to be who I was, which was like so many other girls I knew. We grew up in the city, had a hard edge and obstacles to overcome, but we were still young and beautiful. I didn't want to be all dressed up, all made up - I wanted to be myself, which hadn't been done before.

- Alicia Keys