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Progress Quotes

Words on moving forward, one step at a time.

This page gathers quotes on progress in its widest sense - from the slow, hard-won steps of social reform to the ambitions of politicians who say they champion it. Some voices here are hopeful; others question whether it is happening at all. Readers who like this theme often check out Change as well.

I think you would have to be a nihilist to say that we are not making progress on cancer, just like you'd have to be hubristically optimistic to say that we have conquered cancer.

Quotes by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Japan will help vulnerable developing nations make progress on emissions. In fact, we pledged assistance of about $16 billion over three years from 2013 and met this goal in about a year and a half.

Quotes by Shinzo Abe

You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.

Quotes by Shirley Chisholm

We pray that henceforth not only Japan but all mankind may know the blessings of harmony and progress.

Quotes by Shigeru Yoshida

The administration needs to speak honestly with the American people. Exaggerating our progress in defeating the insurgency or in creating an Iraqi army paints a dangerous picture.

Quotes by Sherrod Brown

I think that we scientists are seeking an understanding of the natural world. We come in various types - chemists and physicists and biologists and such - and we all have the same goal. We are making progress.

Quotes by Sheldon Lee Glashow

The destination of progress and development will be achieved by imparting latest education to the youth.

Quotes by Shehbaz Sharif

Punjab believes that every province has equal rights, and when all provinces will make progress, Pakistan will make progress.

Quotes by Shehbaz Sharif

If you take an hour out of your day to meditate, you will progress ten-fold. By staying mentally focused, you can let your worries go.

Quotes by Shannon Elizabeth

In the spirit of commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, we will strive to achieve real progress in disarmament and arms control.

Quotes by Sergei Lavrov

Well, the important message that we've always carried to China is that we look forward to your progress and prosperity, we look forward to you playing a role in the progress and prosperity of this region and we look forward...

Quotes by Sellapan Ramanathan

You are slowly developing some multinationals of your own. We certainly hope that some of them will look in this direction when they look for opportunities because the progress of Southeast Asia is important to China, just as China's progress...

Quotes by Sellapan Ramanathan

Supporting the entrepreneurial spirit is our best chance for economic progress.

Quotes by Scott Peters

If we're gonna progress as a people we are going to realise that, as one of my favourite poets says, the other is a lie. There are no other people. Race is a social construct.

Quotes by Saul Williams

Who I am, what I am, is the culmination of a lifetime of reading, a lifetime of stories. And there are still so many more books to read. I'm a work in progress.

Quotes by Sarah Addison Allen

All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.

Quotes by Samuel Butler

When you're in prison, the progress of the outside world doesn't necessarily translate inside prison walls. You don't have any rights; it just doesn't progress along the same timeline.

Quotes by Samira Wiley

You shouldn't try to manufacture progress.

Quotes by Sam Altman

As we consider the fast pace of scientific and technological progress in our modern world, we must not lose our moral compass and give way to 'free market eugenics'.

Quotes by Sam Brownback

The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas - uncertainty, progress, change - into crimes.

Quotes by Salman Rushdie

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the "progress" quotes on this page focus on?
These quotes look at progress from several different angles - from a historical, high-cost view ("Every step of progress the world has made has been from scaffold to scaffold, and from stake to stake") to political ambition and personal belief. It's not one narrow theme; it spans history, national politics, and personal conviction.
Does the page include quotes about political progress?
Yes. One quote is a politician's personal reflection on their father, "one of the leaders of the Iraqi Democratic Party, who believed in progress." Another sample post shares a speaker's own critical assessment of how much progress was being made in Iraq at the time - that assessment is presented in the quote as the speaker's opinion, not as an established fact.
Is there a quote about bringing "progressive" issues to a national stage?
Yes, one sample quote comes from a speaker discussing progress and progressive issues they were tackling locally, in Miramar, with the stated ambition of taking those issues nationally - presented as that speaker's own political goal, not a neutral fact.
What's a well-known standalone line about progress from this collection?
One of the most quotable lines here is "Every step of progress the world has made has been from scaffold to scaffold, and from stake to stake" - a stark way of framing how much progress has often cost throughout history.
Where can I find more quotes related to progress and change?
If you enjoyed these, you may also like our Change and New quotes pages, which explore related ideas about moving forward and starting fresh.

Because progress means something different depending on who is speaking - a reformer, a candidate, or a skeptic watching a distant conflict unfold - this set stays broad rather than picking one definition. For related reading, browse Good or More.