--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The road to freedom is a difficult, hard…" description: "\"The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.\" — Martin Luther King, Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/martin-luther-king-jr-127_difficult_the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard_1126327.png" --- # The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always… ![“The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.” quote by Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/martin-luther-king-jr-127_difficult_the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard_1126327.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/martin-luther-king-jr-127_difficult_the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard_1126327.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/martin-luther-king-jr-127_difficult_the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard_1126327.png) > “The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.” [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom requires perseverance; setbacks are temporary obstacles on the path to liberty. **In simple terms:** Freedom is hard but worth it. Key Takeaway Persist despite setbacks. Themes freedom perseverance justice Mood determined hopeful Type motivational historical When to use this quote - activism - personal growth - community organizing Key Concepts civil rights social change resilience Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to keep fighting for justice? - How do you turn setbacks into learning? A Different Perspective Setbacks can erode morale if not addressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Setback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setback/) [Setbacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setbacks/) [Temporary setbacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temporary-setbacks/) ## Related quotes > [Temporary setbacks are overshadowed by persistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-l-cook/temporary-setbacks-are-overshadowed-by-persistence/) [Quentin L. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-l-cook/) > [“Failure? I never encountered it. All I ever met were temporary setbacks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dottie-walters/failure-i-never-encountered-it-all-i-ever-met-were-temporary-setbacks/) [Dottie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dottie-walters/) > [One of the secrets of success is to refuse to let temporary setbacks defeat us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/one-of-the-secrets-of-success-is-to-refuse-to-let-temporary-setbacks/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [“Do not let temporary setbacks become permanent excuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/do-not-let-temporary-setbacks-become-permanent-excuses/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“My friend, temporary setbacks and failures are prerequisites to success. They aren't signs that, "maybe it's just not supposed to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-clark/my-friend-temporary-setbacks-and-failures-are-prerequisites-to/) [Clay Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-clark/) > [Never give up. Keep your thoughts and your mind always on the goal. One of the secrets of successs is to refuse to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-give-up-keep-your-thoughts-and-your-mind-always-on-the-goal-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“True heroes don't fall. They only encounter temporary setbacks as they forge ahead towards progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/true-heroes-don-t-fall-they-only-encounter-temporary-setbacks-as-they/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [If we get setbacks and if something happens where the Civil Rights Bill is watered down, for instance, if the Negro feels that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/if-we-get-setbacks-and-if-something-happens-where-the-civil-rights/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Those who approach their jobs and careers with enthusiasm always find plenty of opportunities, while those who complain about no one ever giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/those-who-approach-their-jobs-and-careers-with-enthusiasm-always-find/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Only a loser finds it impossible to accept a temporary setback. A winner asks why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ita-buttrose/only-a-loser-finds-it-impossible-to-accept-a-temporary-setback-a/) [Ita Buttrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ita-buttrose/) > [The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe that bad events will last a long time, will undermine everything they do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/the-defining-characteristic-of-pessimists-is-that-they-tend-to/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [The battle for self-discipline may leave you a bit bruised and battered but always a better person. Self-discipline is a rigorous process at best;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/the-battle-for-self-discipline-may-leave-you-a-bit-bruised-and/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [It's been said of me that I must get out of bed every morning and go cartwheeling down the road. Of course it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-langford/it-s-been-said-of-me-that-i-must-get-out-of-bed-every-morning-and-go/) [Bonnie Langford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-langford/) > [“What is most important is the deeply felt conviction that freedom is like oxygen, and I hope The Long Walk is a reminder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavomir-rawicz/what-is-most-important-is-the-deeply-felt-conviction-that-freedom-is/) Slavomir Rawicz > [How to strike the right balance between our privacy and our expectation that the state will protect us and facilitate our freedom is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/how-to-strike-the-right-balance-between-our-privacy-and-our/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) ## More by Martin Luther King, Jr > [The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-strong-man-holds-in-a-living-blend-strongly-marked-opposites/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I’ve been to the Mountaintop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-ve-been-to-the-mountaintop/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The supreme task is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-supreme-task-is-to-organize-and-unite-people-so-that-their-anger/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The great issue of life is to harness the drum major instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-great-issue-of-life-is-to-harness-the-drum-major-instinct/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somebody-must-have-sense-enough-and-morality-enough-to-cut-off-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/darkness-is-only-driven-out-with-light-not-more-darkness/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-seems-so-necessary-today-may-not-even-be-desirable-tomorrow/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The Negro cannot win the respect of his oppressor by acquiescing; he merely increases the oppressor's arrogance and contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negro-cannot-win-the-respect-of-his-oppressor-by-acquiescing-he/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/whenever-you-are-engaged-in-work-that-serves-humanity-and-is-for-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-a-dream-that-one-day-even-the-state-of-mississippi-a-desert/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) [Explore all 1,210 Martin Luther King, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [Consumers can choose organic cotton grown without pesticides, but it uses more water and requires more land than conventional crops. Organic cotton can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/consumers-can-choose-organic-cotton-grown-without-pesticides-but-it/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) Browse all 13,132 Difficult quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard-road-it-always-makes-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficult" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard-road-it-always-makes-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/martin-luther-king-jr-127_difficult_the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard_1126327.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/martin-luther-king-jr-127_difficult_the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard_1126327.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/martin-luther-king-jr-127_difficult_the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard_1126327.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.” — Martin Luther King, Jr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The road to freedom is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard-road-it-always-makes-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-road-to-freedom-is-a-difficult-hard-road-it-always-makes-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```