17 Motivating Book Quotes For Recent Grads

First comes college, then comes graduation, then comes a job in a very long job hunt. As someone who graduated a year ago, balances four jobs on the regular, and is still applying for new jobs as a freelancer, I can tell you one thing: applying for jobs is exhausting. You'll enhance your resume as much as possible, write personalized cover letters, answer odd interview questions, and play the waiting game for weeks. Whether you got your degree in medical sciences, photography, language arts, or something else entirely, there's going to be a lot of exciting and nervous moments headed your way.

While I watched some of my best friends land their dream job straight out the gate, others drifted in completely different directions and focused on something besides a career. Making the transition and finding what works best for you is the important thing to focus on after graduation, and if you are just getting started sifting through potential jobs, consider surrounding yourself with some extra motivation to keep you going.

While searching for jobs can feel a bit overwhelming, it can also be fun! Stay positive, even if it takes a few weeks or months or even a full year to land a job you adore. You worked hard for your degree, so now it's time to go out into the world and show them what you're made of. Take along these 17 motivational quotes from some of your favorite books and authors of all time as you take your first few steps into the career search of a lifetime:

1. "Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day."

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

2. "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

3. "The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people."

― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

4. "If you start by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work towards getting it."

― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

5. "Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

6. "Maybe who we are isn’t so much about what we do, but rather what we’re capable of when we least expect it."

—Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper

7. "There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself."

― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

8. "The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience."

― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

9. "You could rattle the stars. You could do anything, if you only dared. And deep down, you know it too, and that’s what scares you the most."

—Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass

10. "And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!"

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

11. "If you try anything, if you try to lose weight, or to improve yourself, or to love, or to make the world a better place, you have already achieved something wonderful, before you even begin. Forget failure. If things don't work out the way you want, hold your head up high and be proud. And try again. And again. And again!"

― Sarah Dessen, Keeping the Moon

12.. "Keep trying until you have no more chances left."

― Aimee Carter, The Goddess Test

13. "Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing."

—Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

14. "Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does."

― Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad

15. "There’s no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it."

—George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

16. "It makes a big difference in your life when you stay positive."

― Ellen DeGeneres, Seriously... I'm Kidding

17. Talent is a wonderful thing, but it won't carry a quitter."

― Stephen King, Duma Key

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