Pivotal coaching moments in sports are great metaphors for business and life, because we’re all trying to win, make progress, or get to the next level. The best coaches—and the most inspirational speeches—strip away all the distractions and remind us that accomplishing goals is completely possible if we own our greatness.

1. We Are Marshall (2006)

In this small-town sports film, Matthew McConaughey plays Marshall University’s new football coach, Jack Lengyel, who arrives in the aftermath of a 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall team members and boosters. Lengyel encourages his team, telling them that even though they are vastly outmatched, if they play with all their heart, they can never lose, regardless what the scoreboard says. Marshall goes on to win on the final play of the game. The message is clear: accomplishing goals—even difficult ones—is possible when you believe in yourself and your team.

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2. Miracle (2004)

One of the most memorable underdog stories to play out on the international stage, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s improbable victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet team, was made for Hollywood. Kurt Russell is Coach Herb Brooks, who delivers the stirring “This is your time” pregame inspirational speech that sparked the team’s gutsy gold medal run. This is movie offers plenty of inspiration for anyone facing impossible odds.

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3. Coach Carter (2005)

High school basketball coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) benched his entire undefeated team in 1999 due to their collective poor academic performance. His role as a tough, principled mentor has its shining moment when, after a defeat, he tells his team in an inspirational speech that he’s watched them mature into men who have achieved victory within themselves by excelling as students. Coach Carter is a great reminder that success is a journey, not just an end goal.

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4. Friday Night Lights (2004)

The pressure is on Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) and the Permian High School football team to make the playoffs in light of the local community’s high expectations. In his halftime inspirational speech during the final game of what would be an undefeated season, Coach Gaines sheds new light on the true meaning of perfection: being a person of integrity in your relationships.

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5. Hoosiers (1986)

This Oscar-nominated movie about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that ends up winning the state championship excels, offering on-the-court lessons about dedication, determination, and redemption. Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gives an intense pregame speech, imploring his players to forget about winning or losing and instead, play to their potential. If they do that, the results will come. This movie is sure to inspire anyone who believes that hard work, passion, and grit can take you anywhere you want to go.

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6. Remember the Titans (2000)

Newly appointed African-American high school football coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) must lead his team’s first racially integrated season in 1971. Battling lingering racial prejudice from the community while breaking down barriers between his own players, Boone takes his team out to the site of the Battle of Gettysburg to deliver an inspirational speech about unity. This movie sends a powerful message about the importance of supporting each other in accomplishing goals.

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These coaches emphasize the value of having heart, sound principles, integrity, unity, and seizing the moment when it’s go time. In sports, and in life, coaching can make all the difference. The next time you find yourself facing adversity, seek inspiration from these examples of great coaching to up your game when it comes to accomplishing goals.

By Vera Quinn, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Cydcor

When you’re ten years old, your mom is just about the last person in the world you want to hang out with. So, when my then ten-year-old son asked me if I wanted to join him for a day hike, I knew I couldn’t refuse, even though it would mean sweating profusely as I drag myself, panting and terrified, uphill for two hours, getting whacked in the face by branches, tripping over rocks, and the risk of falling over the edge of a steep cliff. Refusing to let him down, I took one agonizing step at a time, knowing eventually, if I just kept moving forward, I would climb my way to the top.

That day on the mountain left me with some valuable lessons about what is possible when you take risks, face your fears, and dig in to overcome the things that you believe are holding you back.

Here are 7 ways taking risks can change your life for the better:

1. Do Things You’re Not Good At – Nobody likes to look stupid or fail, but only by risking embarrassment, disappointment, and failure do we create room for real change, growth, and astounding personal achievement. Put yourself out there, get uncomfortable, and create your own opportunity.
2. Exceed Expectations ­­- Other’s and Your Own – My son never thought I’d accept his invitation to go for a long hard hike, and I never thought I’d be able to finish it. But by pushing to exceed both my son’s expectations and my own, I opened the door to an entirely new experience and a new accomplishment I once believed was impossible.
3. Face Obstacles Head On – As I stumbled over rocks, vines, and narrow, slippery pathways, I realized obstacles are unavoidable and the ONLY way to continue forward is to face them as they come and conquer them one by one.
4. Stand up to Your Fears – Change is scary and so is growth. For me, climbing my personal mountain meant dealing with my intense fear of heights. But I refused to fail, not this time, and I refused to let my son down. Deciding that failure was no longer an option became my secret weapon to overcome my greatest fear.
5. Fake it Till You Make it – Find your motivation as you go. Sometimes, you just don’t feel strong enough to take risks and face the challenges ahead. But what if you trust that your motivation will grow along the way? Sometimes just getting started is enough to unlock the motivation you needed to keep going.
6. Take it one step at a time – Don’t focus on the mountain top you’ve got to conquer. Instead, focus on just getting through that next step, and before you know it, the mountaintop will come to you.
7. Trust in the payoff – Even if you can’t see the benefits of risk taking, trust that eventually the payoff will reveal itself. While I struggled up that steep mountain path, I wondered what magical fairies might greet me at the peak to make it all worth it. I decided to believe there would be a payoff, even if I couldn’t imagine what it would be. When I saw the look on my sons face as I finally reached the top, I knew what all the hard work had been for.

On the mountain and in life, you can only discover what you can do when you say yes to challenges, as daunting as they may seem. No matter what obstacles have presented themselves over the years, I’ve learned that if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I can accomplish almost anything.

These words of wisdom will inspire you to overcome any obstacle in your path.

An inspiring quote is the perfect tool to use when you find that an obstacle is blocking your way forward. We’ve collected 20 inspirational quotes for you to read when you need encouragement. At Cydcor, we teach our employees and sales representatives to embrace optimism. You will find an optimistic, positive perspective within the quotes we’ve selected.

1. “Life is not lived with intentions, but action.” – Shannon L. Alder

2. “Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” - Lucille Ball

3. “Success is a choice, a promise that you make to yourself to keep moving forward.” - Elizabeth Bourgeret

4. “Sing so loud that the music drowns out the sounds of the naysayers. One day they’ll be singing your song." - JaTawny Muckelvene Chatmon

5. “The greater the destiny, the greater obstacles you’ll have to overcome. No great destiny comes without great challenges and sacrifices.” - Jeanette Coron

6. “When you see an obstacle approaching, grab your courage and speed up." - Angela Lynne Craig

7. “Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” - William Faulkner

8. Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it.” - Robert A. Heinlein

9. “The annoyance you ignore today only gets worse tomorrow. Solve it now.”- Auliq Ice

10. “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.” - Michael Jordan

11. “Many times we are our worst enemy. If we could learn to conquer ourselves, then we will have a much easier time overcoming the obstacles that are in front of us.” - Stephan Labossiere

12. “The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how high you raise your foot.” - Benny Lewis

13. “Yesterday's mistakes cannot affect today's possibilities unless you dwell on them.” - Benjamin Lotter

14. “We were born to continuously strive and thrive.” - Edmond Mbiaka

15. “If there are no barriers to cross or demons to slay in the journey to reach your desired destination, how can you call it a success?” - Debasish Mridha

16. “You become limitless when you overcome what holds you back.” - Lorii Myers

17. “If we didn't have nightmares, we wouldn't wake up every morning chasing our dreams.” - Joyce Rachelle

18. “If you want to catch your dreams, you have to drop your fears.” - Anton Rubaclini

19. “No more crying. Tears only cause destructive When you are sad, you build a boat.” - Katherine Russell

20. “Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.” - Booker T. Washington

Find a quote that is meaningful to you, then take a few moments to reflect on how it applies to the obstacles you face. Write it down on a piece of paper to become more familiar with the words and wisdom it contains. Display it in a place where you’ll see it regularly. Read the quote out loud whenever you need inspiration. Reminding yourself every day of what inspires you, of what pushes you to achieve greater things, is a powerful tool for maintaining your professional progress.

Is there a special quote you turn to when you’re facing an obstacle? Post it on Twitter, follow us @Cydcor, and share it on your social media platforms. We want to know what motivates you when need it the most.

We are Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales services. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company based in Canada to garnering a reputation as the global leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor has come a long way. We’ve done this by having exceptional sales professionals and providing our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.