Staring at my to-do list, wondering how to kick the day off, even the small stuff feels too big to start! One thing I know…I’m not alone. We all have days when we’re devoid of even an ounce of motivation.
That’s when the right words can make all the difference.
Why Motivation Matters
Motivation is more than giving yourself a jolt in the right direction. It runs much deeper. Indeed, there are motivation theories galore if you want something to read up on for the next few weeks!
To me, motivation is about reconnecting with why I’m doing what I’m doing. Remembering my why, in other words. That’s the fuel that drives me, even for the small stuff.
So, whether you’re working towards a goal or just trying to make it through the week, motivation helps you show up. It gets you moving, keeps you focused, and helps you see things through.
How Quotes Can Help
Think of the most successful people you know, personal friends, work colleagues. or even public figures. Guess what, they all struggle getting themselves into gear at times. They might rely on systems, habits, or tools to keep their momentum going. Could be anything.
But…one of the simplest ways? A quote that hits at the right moment.
That quote is more than words; it’s a device reset.
It can shift your perspective in an instant, calm your inner critic, or give you the push you need to try again.
When to Use These Quotes
A good quote does the business at any time. But, there are moments when they can be particularly useful. From experience…
- Starting something new, like a business or course
- Stuck in a rut of procrastination
- In need of a confidence boost
- In comparison mode
- Feeling like throwing in the towel, but know you can’t
- Desperately looking for some morning inspiration or route out of an afternoon lull.
Any time you need clarity, courage, mental reboot, or a little nudge, a quote can be just the ticket for a much-needed mini pep talk.
What to Expect From This List
There’s everybody from classic voices to modern thinkers. We’re talking authors, athletes, entrepreneurs, creatives, and leaders who’ve walked, talked, fought, triumphed, and lived to tell the tale.
From the short (word count-wise) and bold, to the thoughtful and deep. There’s anything and everything for all occasions.
Time to let the quotes do the talking…get stuck in!
Here are the categories…
Motivational Quotes for Success
- “Do whatever you’re doing the best you can, knowing there’s a bigger horizon.”
— Dean Graziosi - “There is a winner in you. You were created to be successful, to accomplish your goals, to leave your mark in this generation. You have greatness in you. The key is to get it out.”
— Joel Osteen - “Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph: a beginning, a struggle, and a victory.”
— Mahatma Gandhi - “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
— Helen Keller - “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
— Winston Churchill - “Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.”
— Arnold H. Glasgow - “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.”
— Bill Bradley - “Success comes from having dreams that are bigger than your fears.”
— Bobby Unser - “Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve done before.”
— Bonnie Blair - “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”
— Dale Carnegie - “Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.”
— Dr David M. Burns - “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”
— George Sheehan - “Once you win, you have no doubt that you can win. So you have gone through it once, and you can do it again.”
— Ivan Lendl - “You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins.”
— Jim Stovall - “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
— John Wooden - “There is no royal road to anything. One thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures.”
— Josiah Gilbert Holland - “Success is built one brick at a time. These bricks have many names. Some use the name attitude or mindset, others will say bearing, temperament or behaviour.”
— Kory Livingstone - “The road to success is always under construction.”
— Lily Tomlin - “You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.”
— Marian Wright Edelman - “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”
— Mark Twain - “Remind thyself, in the darkest moments, that every failure is only a step toward success, every detection of what is false directs you toward what is true, every trial exhausts some tempting form of error, and every adversity will only hide, for a time, your path to peace and fulfillment.”
— Og Mandino - “Have the confidence to reach for your dreams and believe that you can be successful.”
— Rex Maughan - “Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out.”
— Robert Collier - “The most successful people I know are primarily internally driven; they do what they do to impress themselves and because they feel compelled to make something happen in the world.”
— Sam Altman - “Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles..”
— Samuel Smiles - “Take up one idea, make that one idea your life. Think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”
— Swami Vivekananda - “Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.”
— T. Harv Eker - “Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember, that’s where you will find success.”
— Thomas J. Watson Jr. - “Most people never run far enough on the first wind to find out they’ve got a second. Give your dreams all you’ve got, and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.”
— William James - “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”
— Zig Ziglar - “If we doubted our fears instead of doubting our dreams, imagine how much in life we’d accomplish.”
— Joel Brown - “A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success.”
— Joyce Brothers - “Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.”
— Mia Hamm - “Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.”
— Denis Waitley - “Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.”
— Henry Van Dyke
Motivational Quotes for Work
- “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
— Steve Jobs - “Stay positive and happy. Work hard and don’t give up hope. Be open to criticism and keep learning. Surround yourself with happy, warm and genuine people.”
— Tena Desae - “With motivation you get willpower, and with willpower you get the strength to work hard for what you want.”
— Fred Juliusson - “If you really believe in what you’re doing, work hard, take nothing personally, and if something blocks your route, find another. Never give up.”
— Laurie Notaro - “Work hard for what you want because it won’t come to you without a fight. You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it into something positive.”
— Leah LaBelle - “I hate that word – ‘lucky’. It cheapens a lot of hard work.”
— Peter Dinklage - “You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”
— Richard Bach - “Hard work, consistently applied in the right direction, takes you further than you could imagine.”
— Shane Parrish - “Our business in life is not to get ahead of others but to get ahead of ourselves-to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterdays by our today, to do our work with more force than ever before.”
— Stewart B. Johnson - “The seeds of greatness are planted in the daily grind.”
— Adam Grant
Powerful Motivational Quotes
- “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.”
— Dale Carnegie - “Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.”
— Doug Larson - “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
— Harriet Tubman - “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt - “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
— Wayne Gretzky - “A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.”
— Brian Tracy - “Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.”
— Germany Kent - “Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. You may be surprised at how easily this happens. Your doubts are not as powerful as your desires, unless you make them so.”
— Marcia Wieder - “Deep within your mind lies a reservoir of untapped genius and power. Now is your time to release it.”
— John Assaraf - “I say ‘Out’ to every negative thought that comes to my mind. No person, place, or thing has any power over me, for I am the only thinker in my mind. I create my own reality and everyone in it.”
— Louise Hay - “Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things.”
— Stephen Chbosky - “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing..”
— Muhammad Ali - “Start thinking of yourself as an artist and your life as a work-in-progress. Works-in-progress are never perfect. But changes can be made… Art evolves. So does life. Art is never stagnant. Neither is life. The beautiful, authentic life you are creating for yourself and those you love is your art. It’s the highest art.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach - “The thing about pendulums we too easily forget in the darkest hours; they swing back. Right now, one is quietly supercharging its return.”
— Alain de Botton - “Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”
— Farrah Gray - “Never let hard lessons harden your heart. The hard lessons of life are meant to make you better, not bitter.”
— Roy T. Bennett - “The limit is not the sky. The limit is the mind.”
— Wim Hof - “All it takes is one new insight or idea – strongly acted on – to take you to a completely different place.”
— Robin Sharma - “Believe deep down in your heart that you’re destined to do great things.”
— Joe Paterno - “Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you. Most of all, other people can’t stop you. Only you can stop you.”
— Jeoffrey Gitomer - “What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.”
— Don Zimmer - “We all are born with unbelievable inner potential and creative abilities, which, if fully manifested, will reveal our true potential and define our true self.”
— Dr Prem Jagyasi - “Don’t wait for a time when you’re free of fear. Feel the fear and do it anyway.”
— Gabby Bernstein - “Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can be what you want to be.”
— W. Clement Stone - “You are you, no one else is you, you are the right you, and the right you, is the you that you love.”
— Ya’ira Somerville
Life Motivation: Vision, Passion & Purpose
- “Start realizing your true worth and know that you can evolve in the direction you choose.”
— Dean Graziosi - “Some people say that dreaming gets you nowhere in life. But I say you can’t get anywhere in life without dreaming.”
— Rose Zadra - “Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.”
— Albert Schweitzer - “The time is now, the place is here. Stay in the present. You can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come exactly as you plan or hope for.”
— Dan Millman - “Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.”
— Albert Einstein - “You are never given a dream from within your soul that you don’t also have the power to achieve.”
— Evelyn Roberts Brooks - “This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.”
— Susan Polis Schutz - “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”
— Wilma Rudolph - “Your life is the manifestation of your dream; it is an art. And you can change your life any time you aren’t enjoying the dream.”
— Don Miguel Ruiz - “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished. The person you are right now is as transient, as fleeting and as temporary as all the people you’ve ever been. The one constant in our life is change.”
— Daniel Gilbert - “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt - “You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.”
— Mark Victor Hansen - “Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us.”
— A.J. Cronin - “Your goal in life is to find out the people who need you the most, to find out the business that needs you the most, to find the project and the art that needs you the most. There is something out there just for you.”
— Naval Ravikant - “You already have within you everything you need to turn your dreams into reality.”
— Wallace D. Wattles - “This is a reminder to you to create your own rule book, and live your life the way you want it.”
— Reese Evans - “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
— Steve Jobs - “When you are truly clear about what you want, the whole universe stands on tiptoe waiting to assist you in miraculous and amazing ways to manifest your dream or intention.”
— Constance Arnold - “Never let life impede on your ability to manifest your dreams. Dig deeper into your dreams and deeper into yourself and believe that anything is possible, and make it happen.”
— Corin Nemec - “The minute you choose to do what you really want to do, it’s a different kind of life.”
— Buckminster Fuller - “Your hopes and dreams are like a giant helium balloon, tugging on your hand to take you above the clouds, to that quiet place of peace and contentment. All you have to do is stop resisting, to let go – and ALLOW your hopes and dreams to take you there.”
— Curtis Rivers - “Never settle for less than your dreams. Somewhere, sometime, someday, somehow, you’ll find them.”
— Danielle Steel - “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
— David Viscott, psychiatrist and author - “Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.”
— Debby Boone - “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”
— Diane Ackerman - “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt - “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
— George Bernard Shaw - “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.”
— Henry David Thoreau - “Envision the future you desire. Create the life of your dreams. See it, feel it, believe it.”
— Jack Canfield - “Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.”
— James Allen - “Your life is rich with possibility, and you are the only one who can discover the opportunities that will allow you to live your dreams. You must open your eyes to what can be, envision the life you want, and take the steps to get yourself to that place.”
— Jason Harvey - “Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.”
— John Updike - “Why should you continue going after your dreams? Because seeing the look on the faces of people who said you couldn’t… will be priceless.”
— Kevin Ngo - “Love life. Engage in it. Give it all you’ve got. Love it with a passion because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it.”
— Maya Angelou - “Choose to have an abundance mentality for any area in life. There are more than enough resources to go around. Choose to believe in yourself and your abilities to create the future that you want.”
— Michael Beckwith - “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.”
— Oprah Winfrey - “We lift ourselves by our thought. We climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere.”
— Orison Swett Marden - “Dare to visualize a world in which your most treasured dreams have become true.”
— Ralph Marston - “Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”
— Reinhold Niebuhr - “There is a truth deep down inside of you that has been waiting for you to discover it, and that truth is this: you deserve all good things life has to offer.”
— Rhonda Byrne - “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
— Steve Jobs - “Don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality. Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.”
— Stuart Scott - “Remember, it’s Ok to get what you want from life.”
— Stuart Wilde - “You belong in the life of your dreams. And you don’t belong anywhere else.”
— Tama J. Kieves - “Always follow your dreams, even if they lead you down a few dark alleys.”
— Teresa Mummert - “Think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life’s too short to think small.”
— Tim Ferriss - “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
— Walt Disney - “The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
— Walter Bagehot - “The more you see yourself as what you’d like to become, and act as if what you want is already there, the more you’ll activate those dormant forces that will collaborate to transform your dream into your reality.”
— Wayne Dyer - “Have faith in your journey. Everything had to happen exactly as it did to get you where you’re going next!.”
— Mandy Hale - “In every moment, the Universe is whispering to you. You’re constantly surrounded by signs, coincidences, and synchronicities, all aimed at propelling you in the direction of your destiny.”
— Denise Linn - “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
— Anais Nin - “There is a place that you are to fill, something you are to do, which no one else can do.”
— Florence Scovel Shinn - “It’s your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.”
— Rumi
Positive Motivational Quotes
- “Glorify who you are today, do not condemn who you were yesterday, and dream of who you can be tomorrow.”
— Neale Donald Walsch - “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right.”
— Tony Robbins - “If you want to change your life, begin by changing your words. Start speaking the words of your dreams, of who you want to become, not the words of fear or failure.”
— Robert Kiyosaki - “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”
— Thomas Merton - “Find magic in the little things, and the big things you always expected will start to show up.”
— Isa Zapata - “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”
— Bil Keane - “Forget yesterday–it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow–you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift–today.”
— Steve Maraboli - “You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.”
— Brian Tracy - “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - “Stop telling yourself you don’t know what to do. Yes, you do. Listen to your intuition and trust yourself.”
— Katherine Sullivan - “I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.”
— Ralph Abernathy - “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
— Theodore Roosevelt - “Live your life, sing your song. Not full of expectations. Not for the ovations. But for the joy of it.”
— Rasheed Ogunlaru - “I firmly believe that when I’m positive, it not only makes me better, but it also makes those around me better.”
— Harvey Mackay - “Focus on an ocean of positives, not a puddle of negatives.”
— Kevin Ansbro - “Whatever is worrying you right now, forget about it. Take a deep breath, stay positive and know that things will get better.”
— Unknown - “Optimism is the most important human trait, because it allows us to evolve our ideas, to improve our situation, and to hope for a better tomorrow.”
— Seth Godin - “My greatest life lessons have not come from any achievements I have attained but rather from the failures, heartaches, and setbacks that I have experienced.”
— Dr. Marshall Hennington - “It’s important that we celebrate our wins. We celebrate our lives because it causes us to want the next bite. It keeps us hungrier, not the reverse.”
— Ed Mylett - “Everything in the Universe is for us. Nothing is against us. Life is ever giving of Itself. We must receive, utilize and extend the gift. Success and prosperity are spiritual attributes belonging to all people, but not necessarily used by all people.”
— Ernest Holmes - “Flowers grow back even after the harshest winters. You will too.”
— Jennae Cecilia - “Dream without fear, love without limits, and let your life sing its song.”
— Dilip Bathija - “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving your whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
— Rainbow Rowell - “Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams..”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson - “When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter, say thank you and grow.”
— Shauna Niequist - “Hope is passion for what is possible.”
— Søren Kierkegaard - “However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. Where there’s life, there’s hope.”
— Stephen Hawking - “As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.”
— Steve Maraboli - “You can do anything you set your mind to.”
— Benjamin Franklin - “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
— Tom Fitzgerald, Disney Imagineer - “Practicing positivity is like brushing our teeth—it doesn’t last, so we have to repeat often. That’s where the effort and practice come in.”
— Tina Hallis - “You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you can’t have it..”
— Dr. Robert Anthony - “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
— George Eliot - “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
— Howard Thurman - “Anything is possible once you believe you are worthy of achieving it.”
— Jason Pockrandt - “The sun is a daily reminder that we too can rise again from the darkness, that we too can shine our own light.”
— S. Ajna - “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
— Theodore Roosevelt - “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.”
— Thomas Edison
Quotes About Starting and Taking Action
- “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
— Mark Twain - “Action is the foundational key to all success.”
— Pablo Picasso - “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
— William Butler Yeats - “Ten years from now, make sure you can say that you CHOSE your life, you didn’t SETTLE for it.”
— Mandy Hale - “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.”
— Alan Cohen - “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
— Arthur Ashe - “Anything is possible when you have a path, a plan and a desire to take action.”
— Dean Graziosi - “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”
— George Horace Lorimer - “The expert in anything was once a beginner.”
— Helen Hayes - “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
— Lao Tzu - “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
— Maria Robinson - “And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.”
— Meister Eckhart - “Now, having seen the differences between where you are and where you want to be, begin to change – consciously change – your thoughts, words, and actions to match your grandest vision.”
— Neale Donald Walsch - “Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.”
— Richard L. Evans - “Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”
— Shannon L. Alder - “No matter how small you start, always dream big.”
— Stephen Richards - “Imagine for a moment your own version of a perfect future. See yourself in that future with everything you could wish for at this very moment fulfilled. Now take the memory of that future and bring it here into the present. Let it influence how you will behave from this moment on.”
— Deepak Chopra - “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.”
— H. Jackson Brown, Jr. - “Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.”
— Ken Poirot - “Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.”
— Michael Landon - “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”
— Beverly Sills - “Everything you need to be great is already inside you. Stop waiting for someone or something to light your fire. You have the match.”
— Darren Hardy - “Give yourself credit. It takes courage to start over and reach for a better life. Many people never even try. Their fear, insecurity, and lack of belief in their personal power hold them hostage, sometimes forever. Acknowledge, thank and appreciate yourself for being brave enough to try. At every step along the way, give yourself love, support and recognition.”
— Cynthia Occelli - “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”
— George Herbert - “You will never win if you never begin.”
— Helen Rowland - “The only thing that stands between you and grand success in living are these two things: getting started and never quitting!.”
— Robert H. Schuller - “To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan… believe… act!.”
— Alfred A. Montapert - “If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved.”
— Maurice Chevalier - “The greatest lesson that I learned in all of this is that you have to start. Start now, start here, start small, and keep it simple.”
— Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square (Stanford talk, 2013) - “Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful.”
— Mark Victor Hansen
Quotes About Overcoming Challenges
- “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”
— Jack Ma - “The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”
— M. Scott Peck - “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
— Maya Angelou - “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
— Molière - “Your life can be amazing, if you only tough this period out.”
— Dan Savage - “We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”
— Barbara De Angelis - “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”
— Johnny Cash - “Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
— Joshua Marine - “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.”
— Julie Andrews - “I advise you to say your dream is possible and then overcome all inconveniences, ignore all the hassles and take a running leap through the hoop, even if it is in flames.”
— Les Brown - “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of a greater or equal benefit.”
— Napoleon Hill - “If you expect life to be easy, challenges will seem difficult. If you accept that challenges may occur, life will be easier.”
— Rob Liano - “The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.”
— Swami Sivananda - “We must overcome the notion that we must be regular… it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.”
— Uta Hagen - “Hold up your head! You were not made for failure, you were made for victory. Go forward with a joyful confidence.”
— George Eliot - “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
— Henry Ford - “When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.”
— Mary Kay Ash - “Life’s greatest difficulties always happen right before life’s greatest breakthroughs.”
— Billy Cox - “Sometimes what looks like an obstacle in your path is actually a gift meant to move you in a different direction.”
— Jane Lee Logan - “If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. It’s the hard that makes it great.”
— Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own (screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) - “What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.”
— Oscar Wilde
Motivational Quotes on Mindset and Attitude
- “There is no upper limit to what individuals are capable of doing with their minds. There is no age limit that bars them from beginning. There is no obstacle that cannot be overcome if they persist and believe.”
— H.G. Wells - “Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.”
— Tony Robbins - “Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.”
— Lou Holtz - “A positive attitude can destroy every negative obstacle.”
— Terry Mark - “A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.”
— Wade Boggs - “Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”
— Mahatma Gandhi - “You attract good things into your life by believing that you can achieve them. Never get into a mindset that makes you think that you are not worthy of a goal. Visualize the goal in your mind. And believe that you are capable of achieving it.”
— Avijeet Das - “When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
— Peter Marshall - “Dare to dream! If you did not have the capability to make your wildest wishes come true, your mind would not have the capacity to conjure such ideas in the first place. There is no limitation on what you can potentially achieve, except for the limitation you choose to impose on your own imagination. What you believe to be possible will always come to pass – to the extent that you deem it possible. It really is as simple as that.”
— Anthon St. Maarten - “The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.”
— Arnold Schwarzenegger, movie star, seven-time Mr. Olympia and former Governor of California - “The best things in life are often waiting for you at the exit ramp of your comfort zone.”
— Karen Salmansohn - “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
— Patañjali - “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”
— Ayn Rand - “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
— Alice Walker - “Never let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game.”
— Babe Ruth - “Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat is accepted as a reality.”
— Bruce Lee - “You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind.”
— Darwin P. Kingsley - “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche - “Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”
— Jamie Paolinetti - “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.”
— Mary Kay Ash - “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
— Rob Siltanen, creative director behind Apple’s legendary Think Different campaign in 1997 - “Never let anyone define you. You are the only person who defines you. No one can speak for you. Only you speak for you. You are your only voice.”
— Terry Crews, actor, former NFL player, and activist
Motivational Quotes on Taking Chances and Risks
- “Never regret taking a chance, even if you fall on your face; It’s better to know you tried and failed than to wonder the great ‘what if?’.”
— Devin Frye - “Even when you have doubts, take that step. Take chances. Mistakes are never a failure – they can be turned into wisdom.”
— Cat Cora - “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.”
— Mary Tyler Moore - “You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.”
— Nate Berkus - “Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.”
— Katherine Mansfield - “Take wrong turns. Talk to strangers. Open unmarked doors. And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing. Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out.”
— Randall Munroe - “Why settle for so little in life when you can have so much just by daring to be different in your thinking.”
— Catherine Ponder - “Risk it; go for it. Life always gives you another chance, another go at it. It’s very important to take enormous risks.”
— Mary Quant - “For what it’s worth: trust your feelings. I can’t promise that you’ll never get hurt again, but I can promise you the risk is worth it.”
— Rick Riordan - “Change. It has the power to uplift, to heal, to stimulate, surprise, open new doors, bring fresh experience and create excitement in life, Certainly it is worth the risk.”
— Leo Buscaglia - “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
— Robert Frost
Motivational Quotes on Strength
- “If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.”
— Masaru Emoto - “The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don´t give up.”
— Robert Tew - “Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”
— Rikki Rogers - “I am thankful for my struggle because without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon my strength.”
— Alexandra Elle - “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
— Marcus Aurelius - “Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.”
— Marilyn vos Savant - ““You’re going to be happy”, said life, “but first I’ll make you strong.”.”
— Paulo Coelho - “I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within It is there all the time.”
— Anne Freud - “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
— Christopher Robin, in the movie, Pooh’s Grand Adventure (inspired by A. A. Milne) - “It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.”
— Doe Zantamata
Quotes About Perseverance and Resilience
- “Remember why you started, remember where you’re headed, think of how great it will be to get there, and keep going.”
— Ralph Marston - “Your whole life can change in a second, and you never even know when it’s coming. When you are tired, exhausted and discouraged. ENDURE. Endurance is rewarded.”
— Ranatta Philip - “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”
— Japanese Proverb - “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
— Michael Jordan - “Learn to fail with pride – and do so fast and cleanly. Maximize trial and error – by mastering the error part.”
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb - “Never give up on something you really want. However impossible things seem, there’s always a way.”
— Sophie Kinsella - “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”
— Sam Levenson - “Success is not the absence of failure; it’s the persistence through failure.”
— Aisha Tyler - “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
— Mario Andretti - “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.”
— Marie Curie - “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
— Nelson Mandela - “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
— Confucius - “Every great story on the planet happened when someone decided not to give up, but kept going no matter what.”
— Spryte Loriano - “You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.”
— Richelle E. Goodrich - “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow’.”
— Mary Anne Radmacher - “Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be.”
— Rick Warren
Motivational Quotes on Happiness
- “Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”
— Groucho Marx - “In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy.”
— Albert Clarke - “Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”
— Guillaume Apollinaire - “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”
— Greg Anderson - “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.”
— Mary Lou Retton - “The only happy people I know are the ones who are working well at something they consider important.”
— Abraham Maslow - “Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”
— Golda Meir - “Training yourself to live in the present – without regretting the past or fearing the future – is a recipe for a happy life.”
— Jonathan Lockwood Huie - “The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.”
— Douglas Wood
Motivational Quotes About Goals and Ambition
- “When your clarity meets your conviction and you apply action to the equation, your world will begin to transform before your eyes.”
— Lisa Nichols - “To achieve goals you’ve never achieved before, you need to start doing things you’ve never done before.”
— Stephen R. Covey - “Don’t settle for less, know your value and always tell yourself you deserve better.”
— Pertrice St. Pierre - “Know who you are. Know what you want. Know what you deserve. And don’t settle for less.”
— Tony Gaskins - “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
— John D. Rockefeller - “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.”
— Andrew Carnegie - “Be passionate and move forward with gusto every single hour of every single day until you reach your goal.”
— Ava DuVernay - “Goals are like a magnet – they pull. And the stronger they are, the more purposeful they are, the bigger they are, the more unique they are, the stronger they pull.”
— Jim Rohn - “Write it down. Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants; cant’s into cans; dreams into plans; and plans into reality. Don’t just think it – ink it!.”
— Michael Korda - “Set a goal to achieve something that is so big, so exhilarating that it excites you and scares you at the same time.”
— Bob Proctor - “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going…think of a ship leaving a harbor and think of it with a complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain and crew know exactly where it’s going and how long it will take – it has a definite goal.”
— Earl Nightingale - “If you don’t take the time to get really clear about exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish, then you’re forever doomed to spend your life achieving the goals of those who do.”
— Steve Pavlina - “Set stretch goals. Don’t ever settle for mediocrity. The key to stretch is to reach for more than you think is possible. Don’t sell yourself short by thinking that you’ll fail.”
— Jack Welch - “Goals live on the other side of obstacles and challenges. Be relentless in pursuit of those goals, especially in the face of obstacles. Along the way, make no excuses and place no blame.”
— Ray Bourque - “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
— Nelson Mandela - “Have great hopes and dare to go all out for them. Have great dreams and dare to live them. Have tremendous expectations and believe in them.”
— Norman Vincent Peale - “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
— Jane Goodall, primatologist, anthropologist, and environmental activist - “If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.”
— Nora Roberts
Motivational Quote FAQs
What are the most powerful motivational quotes?
Some of the most powerful quotes are the simplest. For example: “Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out.”— Robert Collier. In this short sentence, a powerful case for consistent effort is made. It’s concise, relatable, and sounds good, which makes it memorable.
What is a short but powerful motivational quote?
“The limit is not the sky. The limit is the mind.” – Wim Hof. This one’s powerful because it takes a popular turn of phrase and reminds us that we set our own limits, and therefore have power over our destiny.
What’s the best quote to motivate yourself?
The best quote is the one that fits your situation right now. Personally, I love: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain. Listed above under Quotes About Starting and Taking Action. Whether it’s a small task, the start of any day, or a big project that I’m working on, it’s always a timely reminder that I need to get moving!
How can quotes help with motivation?
I think of motivational quotes as, at the very least, a mini mindset reset. They give me perspective, help to reframe doubts, and remind me that I’m not alone in my experiences. Comforting, in a way. They’re not magic, but they can provide some inspirational fuel when it’s needed most.
When should I read motivational quotes?
There’s no right or wrong time, but from experience, these are examples when they’ve helped the most: Traveling to work in the morning, when stuck on a project or task, before a big meeting, after a setback. It could even be when you feel a bit low or your energy’s dipping. Often, I’ve opened a book of quotes when I’m feeling relaxed and just read them for pleasure.
Who said the most motivational quote?
An extremely tough call, but a good shout would be Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” When you aim high, an outcome can seem out of reach, sometimes right up until the point, just before it’s achieved.
What’s the difference between inspirational and motivational quotes?
When I’m researching and categorizing quotes, I think about motivational quotes as those that push people to act. On the other hand, inspirational quotes lift your spirit. In other words, one gets you out of bed, the other reminds you why you got up in the first place. Both matter and many can fall into both camps.