--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Difficulty is the nurse of greatness." description: "\"Difficulty is the nurse of greatness.\" — William C. Bryant" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/william-c-bryant-3570_adversity_difficulty-is-the-nurse-of-greatness-150_1502912.png" --- # Difficulty is the nurse of greatness. ![“Difficulty is the nurse of greatness.” quote by William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/william-c-bryant-3570_adversity_difficulty-is-the-nurse-of-greatness-150_1502912.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/william-c-bryant-3570_adversity_difficulty-is-the-nurse-of-greatness-150_1502912.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/william-c-bryant-3570_adversity_difficulty-is-the-nurse-of-greatness-150_1502912.png) > “Difficulty is the nurse of greatness.” [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness emerges from confronting difficulty; challenges are essential for growth. **In simple terms:** Hardship breeds greatness. Key Takeaway Seek challenges to develop strength. Themes greatness challenge growth Mood inspired determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - sports training - academic pursuits - career advancement - personal development - entrepreneurship Key Concepts resilience self‑improvement adversity Questions to Reflect On - What difficulty have you turned into opportunity? - How can you sustain effort through hardship? A Different Perspective Too much difficulty can cause burnout if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Difficulty Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty-nurse-2983862/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) [Nurse Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse-greatness-1405821/) ## Related quotes > [Difficulty is a nurse of greatness-a harsh nurse, who rocks her foster children roughly, but rocks them in strength and athletic proportion. The mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobe-bryant/difficulty-is-a-nurse-of-greatness-a-harsh-nurse-who-rocks-her-foster/) [Kobe Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobe-bryant/) > [The people always have some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. ... This and no other is the root from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-people-always-have-some-champion-whom-they-set-over-them-and/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Difficulty, my brethren, is the nurse of greatness - a harsh nurse, who roughly rocks her foster children into strength and athletic proportion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/difficulty-my-brethren-is-the-nurse-of-greatness-a-harsh-nurse-who/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Adversity is the nurse of greatness which roughly rocks her patients back to health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/adversity-is-the-nurse-of-greatness-which-roughly-rocks-her-patients/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [We all have difficult times. We can view them as challenges, work through them and learn valuable lessons through our past mistake or allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/we-all-have-difficult-times-we-can-view-them-as-challenges-work/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [New things have to experience difficulties and setbacks as they grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/new-things-have-to-experience-difficulties-and-setbacks-as-they-grow/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [There is possibility in every difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/there-is-possibility-in-every-difficulty/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself it’s own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/every-great-and-deep-difficulty-bears-in-itself-it-s-own-solution-it/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [Have the courage to face a difficulty lest it kick you harder than you bargained for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/have-the-courage-to-face-a-difficulty-lest-it-kick-you-harder-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are few positions in life in which difficulties have not to be encountered. These difficulties are, however, our best instructors, as our mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-paxton-hood/there-are-few-positions-in-life-in-which-difficulties-have-not-to-be/) [Edwin Paxton Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-paxton-hood/) > [Do not be afraid of your difficulties.Do not wish you could be in other circumstances than you are. For when you have made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-afraid-of-your-difficulties-do-not-wish-you-could-be-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The difficulty comes from our lack of confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-difficulty-comes-from-our-lack-of-confidence/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [“A variety of difficulties will come your way. But at the time of difficulty, you will be able to find a ready made medicine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/a-variety-of-difficulties-will-come-your-way-but-at-the-time-of/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) ## More by William C. Bryant > [The gentle race of flowers Are lying in their lowly beds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-gentle-race-of-flowers-are-lying-in-their-lowly-beds/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [The victory of endurance born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-victory-of-endurance-born/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Features, the great soul's apparent seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/features-the-great-soul-s-apparent-seat/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [The February sunshine steeps your boughs and tints the buds and swells the leaves within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-february-sunshine-steeps-your-boughs-and-tints-the-buds-and/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Lo! while we are gazing, in swifter haste Stream down the snows, till the air is white, As, myriads by myriads madly chased, They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/lo-while-we-are-gazing-in-swifter-haste-stream-down-the-snows-till/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/sustained-and-soothed-by-an-unfaltering-trust-approach-thy-grave-like/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [But Winter has yet brighter scenes-he boasts Splendors beyond what gorgeous Summer knows; Or Autumn with his many fruits, and woods All flushed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/but-winter-has-yet-brighter-scenes-he-boasts-splendors-beyond-what/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/there-is-a-power-whose-care-teaches-thy-way/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Truth crushed to earth shall rise again,- The eternal years of God are hers; But Error, wounded, writhes with pain, And dies among his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/truth-crushed-to-earth-shall-rise-again-the-eternal-years-of-god-are/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [And the blue gentian-flower, that, in the breeze, Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/and-the-blue-gentian-flower-that-in-the-breeze-nods-lonely-of-her/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [A silence, the brief Sabbath of an hour, Reigns o'er the fields; the laborer sits within His dwelling; he has left his steers awhile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/a-silence-the-brief-sabbath-of-an-hour-reigns-o-er-the-fields-the/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [The rugged trees are mingling Their flowery sprays in love; The ivy climbs the laurel To clasp the boughs above.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-rugged-trees-are-mingling-their-flowery-sprays-in-love-the-ivy/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [There is a day of sunny rest For every dark and troubled night; And grief may hide an evening guest, But joy shall come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/there-is-a-day-of-sunny-rest-for-every-dark-and-troubled-night-and/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Poetry is that art which selects and arranges the symbols of thought in such a manner as to excite the imagination the most powerfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/poetry-is-that-art-which-selects-and-arranges-the-symbols-of-thought/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [God hath yoked to guilt her pale tormentor,--misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/god-hath-yoked-to-guilt-her-pale-tormentor-misery/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) [Explore all 127 William C. Bryant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) [S.E. SEVER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-sever/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Difficulty is the nurse of greatness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William C. 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