Underdogs Quotes

“Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

“It doesn't matter if you're born in a duck yard, so long as you are hatched from a swan's egg!”
― Hans Christian Andersen, The Ugly Duckling

“I've wandered through the real world, and written myself through the darkness of the streets inside me. I see people walking through the city and wonder where they've been, and what the moments of their lives have done to them. If they're anything like me, their moments have held them up and shot them down.
Sometimes I just survive.
But sometimes I stand on the rooftop of my existence, arms stretched out, begging for more.
That's when the stories show up in me.
They find me all the time.
They're made of underdogs and fighters. They're made of hunger and desire and trying to live decent.
The only trouble is, I don't know which of those stories comes first.
Maybe they all just merge into one.
We'll see, I guess.
I'll let you know when I decide.”
― Markus Zusak, Getting the Girl

“I only seem negative to the fortunate. That's because I show the less fortunate that they aren't less fortunate after all.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“Much of what we consider valuable in our world arises out of (these) one-sided conflicts. Because the act of facing overwhelming odds, produces greatness and beauty.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

“Let no one ever intimidate you, you are standing on no one's ground. But again, some have claimed the earth as their own and usurped power from the rest of us. But they are usurpers; power belongs to every one of us. Seek it as much as possible. There is no shame in that. In fact it's a necessity. Either you have power or you are trampled to death in the stampede to get to the top”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“A high school student wrote to ask, "What was the greatest event in American history?" I can't say. However, I suspect that like so many "great" events, it was something very simple and very quiet with little or no fanfare (such as someone forgiving someone else for a deep hurt that eventually changed the course of history). The really important "great" things are never center stage of life's dramas; they're always "in the wings". That's why it's so essential for us to be mindful of the humble and the deep rather than the flashy and the superficial.”
― Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember

“It's the duty of every man to free himself. Never accept to live an underdog's life in god’s world.”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“God repeatedly uses the least-likely and least-prepared individuals (ourselves included) to make the deepest impact on our world.”
― Dillon Burroughs, Activist Faith: From Him and For Him

“Every revolution starts with the aim to help the poor, but when the poor get it they forget who they were and become the new oppressors. The cycle goes on forever”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“When the sharks the sharks devour
Little fishes have their hour.”
― Bertolt Brecht, The Caucasian Chalk Circle

“On athleticism, God knows no favor. It seems rather he is in the business of teaching winners how to lose and losers how to win.”
― Criss Jami, Healology

“Relish the opportunity to be an outsider. Embrace that label.”
― Donald Trump

“To win their battles, these kinds of underdogs rely on their own and one another's ability to absorb violence. They find their might in their nature. They believe victory is assured by their nature, and as long as they act in accordance with their nature, they will claim it. Because they are able to fight, they must fight.”
― Adam Levin, The Instructions

“For any artist, Dundee is just the perfect place to look at the rest of the world. Charles Mingus had a book called Beneath the Underdog. I always thought they should put that under Dundee on the sign outside the city.”
― Michael Marra

“People like you and I would have long been crushed by this world. We are saved because we believed in something.”
― Mukta Singh-Zocchi, The Thugs & a Courtesan

“In my stories you will meet with underdogs and fighters. You will experience hunger and desire.”
― Avijeet Das

“While we are all forced to participate in the games of office politics; it is very defeatist position for a Black woman. Many would argue that White men in America write the rules, mange the courses, and call all the plays. They are trusted to lead organizations and are in key positions to make positive change. I believe that at this moment in time, the onus shouldn't be places on the underdogs to pull themselves up. The onus is on White men in power to create work environments that are both inclusive and sustainable for marginalized people.”
― Talisa Lavarry, Confessions From Your Token Black Colleague: True Stories & Candid Conversations About Equity & Inclusion In The Workplace

“I want bad girls to win.”
― Mark Strand

“While most people will defend their families without a second thought, dying for any idea usually requires giving ordinary people an extraordinary sense of purpose, and both national suffering and God do that nicely. None of that will help, though, if leaders aren't prepared to make huge sacrifices as well. An insurgency or political movement with leaders who refuse to suffer the same consequences as everyone else is probably doomed. Unfair hierarchies destroy motivation, and motivation is the one thing that underdogs must have more of than everyone else.”
― Sebastian Junger, Freedom

“It's so much more satisfying to watch someone punch above their weight, because when they win, all of us slobs win.”
― Tom Scharpling, It Never Ends: A Memoir with Nice Memories!

“Jack the Giant Slayer needs to be cunning. He needs to be able to analyse giants and detect their weakness and vulnerabilities. He must work out his giant-killing tactics. The holy grail for the giant slayers is the mind. The giants can control the body. They can get the physically best players. What they can’t get is the mentally best players, i.e. the most resilient, robust, fastest-thinking, the best leaders, the most composed, and so on. That’s because they can see the body and not the mind. What they can’t see, they are much shakier on. That’s where small teams have so much scope. Their task is to find mentally better players, more consistent, more able to work in a team, more able to cope with changing circumstances. The sky’s the limit for mental footballers versus physical footballers. It’s time for mental Moneyball, for psychological football – for Sun Tzu and Clausewitz footballers. Jack can outsmart the giants. They’re very big and very rich, but not very smart. It’s time to bring them down and take control of the golden goose. Come on guys, let’s get this revolution started. Let’s beat the odds. It’s time for our day in the sun, lifting the big trophy!”
― Jim Leigh, Slaying the Football Giants: How Small Teams Can Succeed