Have you ever noticed how some phrases just stick with you — like they hit a nerve in the best way? The “strong men make good times quotes” is one of those. You’ll hear it tossed around in gym locker rooms, shared in deep late-night talks, or popping up on social media. It’s the kind of wisdom that doesn’t need a lot of words to say something big.
The cycle usually goes like this: “Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times. Hard times create strong men.” Simple, but it hits hard. Somehow, it wraps up the rise and fall of strength, struggle, and growth in just a few lines.
Why does it feel so powerful? Maybe because it’s a mix of truth and warning. It reminds us that too much comfort can make us lose our edge — but hard times? They shape us, challenge us, and make us tougher. Most of us have lived through some version of that cycle, haven’t we? Easy seasons can feel good, but they don’t always grow us. It’s the hard moments that really leave a mark.
Whether you’re using it to push through a tough workout, find strength during a low point, or just reflect on life’s ups and downs, this quote keeps showing up for a reason. It speaks to the rhythm of life we all feel — “one where struggle leads to strength, and strength, when not watched, can fade.”
So let’s start!
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Read these Bold and Strong Men Make Good Times Quotes
1. “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” — Ernest Hemingway
2. “Get ready, be prepared. So when opportunities finally show themselves, you’ll be able to own them.” — Hannah Gabriels
3. “Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.” — Robert F. Kennedy
4. “Strength doesn’t come from what you can do, it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” — Rikki Rogers
5. “You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits.” — Michael Phelps
6. “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” — Robert H. Schuller
7. “The hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made, so if you push through, you can push through anything.” — Dana Vollmer
8. “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” — Robert H. Schuller
9. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” — Michael Jordan
10. “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” — Robert Jordan
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11. “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” — G. Michael Hopf
12. “A goal is just an awesome way to force growth on yourself.” — Deena Kastor
13. “It’s not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin
14. “Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.” — Samuel Johnson
15. “Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times. Hard times create strong men.” — Unknown
16. “Time, Effort, Sacrifice, and Sweat. How will you pay for your goals?” — Usain Bolt
17. “If you get up one more time than you fall, you will make it through.” — Chinese Proverb
18. “And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.” — Paulo Coelho
19. “The prosperity of a nation is built on the shoulders of those who endured its hardships.” — Unknown
20. “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” — Tom Hanks
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21. “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” — Robert Jordan
22. “Enduring means accepting. Accepting things as they are and not as you would wish them to be, and then looking ahead, not behind.” — Rafael Nadal
23. “The cycle continues: strength builds prosperity, prosperity breeds complacency, complacency leads to decline, decline demands strength.” — Unknown
24. “Put all excuses aside and remember this: You are capable.” — Zig Ziglar
25. “Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.” — Muhammad Ali
26. “The seeds of decline are sown in the soil of comfort; the seeds of revival in the soil of hardship.” — Unknown
27. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
28. “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” — Thomas Jefferson
29. “Resilient leaders create resilient societies; comfortable leaders create vulnerable ones.” — Unknown
30. “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” — Bruce Lee
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31. “On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it. Raise your sail and begin.” — Gregory S. Williams
32. “The wealth of nations depends not on resources but on the character of those who manage them.” — Unknown
33. “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” — Tony Robbins
34. “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” — Christopher Reeve
35. “Societies flourish under the guidance of those who have known hunger.” — Unknown
36. The only thing standing between you and outrageous success is continuous progress.” — Dan Waldschmidt
37. “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” — Mahatma Gandhi
38. “Your life’s potential is revealed not by how much comfort you can obtain, but by how much adversity you can overcome.” — Unknown
39. If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” — Michelangelo
40. Successful people demonstrate their resilience through their dedication to making progress every day, even if that progress is marginal.” — Jonathan Mills
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41. “Strong people alone know how to organize their suffering so as to bear only the most necessary pain.” — Emil Dorian
42. “Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.” — George S. Patton
43. “The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.” — Swami Vivekananda
44. “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don’t quit.” — Conrad Hilton
45. “Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that has struggled through the tears.” — Demi Lovato
46. “The cycle of history turns on the axis of human character.” — Unknown
47. “Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember—the only taste of success some people get is to take a bite out of you.” — Zig Ziglar
48. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” — Tommy Lasorda
49. “The pinnacle of achievement is reached by scaling the mountain of difficulty.” — Unknown
50. “Transformation is not a future event. It is a present activity.” — Jillian Michaels
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51. “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.” — Randy Pausch
52. “Hard times produce hard men who create soft times; soft times produce soft men who face hard times.” — Unknown
53. “The most resilient person isn’t one who avoids storms, but one who has learned to dance in the rain.” — Unknown
54. “Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It’s a journey of discovery.” — Rick Warren
55. “He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.” — Lao Tzu
56. “Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger.” — Dalai Lama
57. “The person who has weathered storms builds a life that can withstand hurricanes.” — Unknown
58. “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” — Alan Watts
59. “True strength is keeping everything together when everyone expects you to fall apart.” — Unknown
60. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” — Dale Carnegie
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61. “It may sound strange, but many champions are made champions by setbacks.” — Bob Richards
62. “Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.” — Shannon L. Alder
63. “There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.” — Charles Dickens
64. “Your greatest achievements will be born from your greatest struggles.” — Unknown
65. “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
66. “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
67. “Through fire, the iron of your spirit is tempered; through challenges, your character is refined.” — Unknown
68. “Comfort builds contentment but challenge builds capability.” — Unknown
69. “When you have a clear vision of your goal, it’s easier to take the first step toward it.” — LL Cool J
70. “Personal prosperity is earned through personal perseverance.” — Unknown
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71. “Make up your mind that no matter what comes your way, no matter how difficult, no matter how unfair, you will do more than simply survive. You will thrive in spite of it.” — Joel Osteen
72. “Courage isn’t having the strength to go on—it’s going on when you don’t have strength.” — Napoleon Bonaparte
73. “The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.” — Epicurus
74. “And hard times are good in their own way, too. Because the only way you can achieve true happiness is if you experience true sadness as well. It’s all about light and shade. Balance.” — Gabrielle Williams
75. “The eternal truth of history: strength creates prosperity, prosperity without vigilance creates weakness, weakness creates hardship, hardship creates strength.” — Unknown
76. “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” — C.S. Lewis
77. “Storms make trees take deeper roots.” — Dolly Parton
78. “Those who build during calm times must remember the storms that came before.” — Unknown
79. “In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” — Lee Iacocca
80. “Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.” — Kobe Bryant
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81. “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” — Seneca
82. “We are stronger, gentler, more resilient, and more beautiful than any of us imagine.” — Mark Nepo
83. “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” — Joshua J. Marine
84. “Bear in mind that the most important quality a soldier can possess is patience and endurance.” — Takeda Shingen
85. “The path to prosperity is paved with the stones of struggle.” — Unknown
86. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow.'” — Mary Anne Radmacher
87. “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” — Mandy Hale
88. “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.” — Buddha
89. “Someone I once loved gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” — Mary Oliver
90. “You have to push past your perceived limits, push past that point you thought was as far as you can go.” — Drew Brees
91. “The greatest achievements are born from the greatest challenges.” — Unknown
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92. “I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.” — Rita Mero
93. “Set your goals high, and don’t stop until you get there.” — Bo Jackson
94. “When comfort becomes the primary goal, decline becomes the inevitable result.” — Unknown
95. “We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.” — Isabel Allende
96. “Adversity separates those who will lead from those who will follow.” — Unknown
97. “Your mind will quit a thousand times before your body will.” — Reginald Red
98. “Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.” — Arnold Palmer
99. “Golden ages are built by iron wills.” — Unknown
100. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” — Muhammad Ali
101. “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” — Ernest Hemingway
102. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” —Winston Churchill
103. “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” — Molière
Final Thoughts
I hope you liked these 100+ strong men make good times quotes and found something meaningful in them. Sometimes life is easy and fun, and sometimes it’s a little harder, but that’s okay! These quotes can help us stay grounded and strong.
Now it’s your turn, tell me in the comment section below which one is your favorite, and if you have a favorite quote, please let me know; I’d love to include it in the list above.
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