There are plenty of tough moments when you strive to be your best and achieve your goals. As Darren Hardy says, it is a roller coaster ride.
Inspirational and motivational quotes can help uplift your spirits when you feel low or spur you to achieve more.
Great minds have deeply understood that it is not just the logically part of your brain that needs nourishment. Your soul and heart need to be energized and quotes can be the fuel.
Inevitably, it is how you think and feel that determines your success.
Our thoughts impact our behaviour. What we say, how we perceive situations and then react to them are governed by how we think and what we believe.
You can control your thoughts and in so doing chart a course for your success. Changing how you think, changes how you feel which in turn is how the world will react back to you.
In other words, your thoughts determine how you interact with this world.
Your thoughts and feelings determine your actions and determine the results you get. It all starts with your thoughts.
Inspirational words have often helped me step back from a situation, reflect and see things with a fresh pair of eyes. They have also provided me with the energy and drive to continue and face challenges.
I use a journal and in the back, I have some of my favourite quotes to hand. Choose the ones that resonate with you and keep them to hand so you can draw upon from time to time when you need some inspiration or motivation.
Thoughts can also shape our reality. Marcus Aurelius put it best in Meditations:
You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
My goal is that this list of the best inspirational quotes will help you to continually be a person of action and reflection. Balancing these two parts is critical for success.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1. Inspirational Quotes for When Your Mood Could Use a Boost.
- 2. Motivational Quotes To Energize Your Day.
- 3. Best Business Quotes To Boost Your Success.
- 4. Leadership Quotes To Take Help Motivate You.
- 5. Startup Quotes To Help You Stay On Track.
- 6. Creativity Quotes To Help You Unleash Your Passion.
- 7. Productivity Quotes To Get Better At What You Do Each Day.
- 8. Positivity Quotes To Get You Through Anything.
- 9. Change Quotes To Help You Conquer Any Challenge.
- 10. Uplifting Quotes To Elevate Your Day.
- 11. Short Snappy Inspirational Quotes.
1. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
I scoured the Internet and added only the best inspirational quotes to live by. These I hope will inspire and move you towards your own success, peace and happiness.
1. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was the author of The Little Prince, a story that follows a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss.
2. “You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.” – Zig Zagler
3. “Success Doesn’t Come To You, You Go To It!” – Marva Collins
4. “Life shrinks and expands on the proportion of your willingness to take risks and try new things.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
5. “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” — George Bernhard Shaw
6. “Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stressed; working hard for something we love is called passion.” –Simon Sinek
7. “To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” – Mahatma Gandhi
8. “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
9. “A great attitude becomes a great day which becomes a great year.” – Mandy Hale
10. “The sooner you step away from your comfort zone, the sooner you’ll realize that it wasn’t really all that comfortable.” – Eddie Harris
2. MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES
1. “You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream” – C.S. Lewis
2. “How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” –Seth Godin
4. “Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” – John Wooden
5. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot
6. “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” – Jim Rohn
7. “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.” – Earl Nightingale
8. “Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein
9. “For every reason it’s not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and succeeded.” – Jack Canfield
10. “Suffer the pain of discipline, or suffer the pain of regret.” – Jim Rohn
3. BUSINESS QUOTES
1. “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”
2. “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to” – Richard Branson
A valuable quote from the UK’s most successful serial entrepreneur.
3. “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything.”
4. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Steve Jobs
5. “Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” -Dale Carnegie
6. “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs
7. “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie
8. “Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions.” – Tony Robbins
9. “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally. It comes from what you do consistently.” Marie Forleo
10. “With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice.” Oprah Winfrey
4. LEADERSHIP QUOTES
1. “The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are to where they have not been” – Henry Kissenger
2. “Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers.” – Simon Sinek
3. “One of the greatest skills of leadership is being unflappable. Anytime you do anything in the world; there’s going to be criticism.” -Arianna Huffington
3. “The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are to where they have not been.” – Henry Kissenger
4. “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” – Ralph Nader
5. “A great leader’s courage to fulfil his vision comes from passion, not position.” – John Maxwell.
6. “Before you lead, success is growing yourself. When you lead, success is about growing others.” – Jack Welch
7. “Leadership is not about you; it’s about investing in the growth of others.” – Ken Blanchard
8. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – Quincy Adams
9. “Leadership is no longer about your position. It’s now about your passion for excellence and making a difference. You can lead without a title.” – Robin Sharma
10. “Leadership is practised not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” – Harold S. Geneen
5. STARTUP QUOTES
1. “The Way Get Started Is To Quit Talking And Begin Doing.” – Walt Disney
This quote came from Walt Disney, a man who created the happiest place on earth – and a multibillion-dollar empire.
2. “The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
3. “The most successful entrepreneurs I know are optimistic. It’s part of the job description.” ― Caterina Fake
4. “If You Are Working On Something That You Really Care About, You Don’t Have To Be Pushed. The Vision Pulls You.” – Steve Jobs
5. “You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end.” -Jessica Herrin, founder and CEO of Stella & Dot
6. “People are the most important thing. Business model and product will follow if you have the right people.” -Adam Neumann
7. “Stick to your true north― build greatness for the long term.”―Ruth Porat
8. “Building a brand means knowing your story and building and sharing that story”—Tamara McCleary
9. “At the end of the day, you are the only one that is limiting your ability to dream, or to actually execute on your dreams. Don’t let yourself get in the way of that.”― Falon Fatemi
10. “When in doubt, bootstrap. Using your own personal resources is the easiest way to start a business. You don’t have to convince investors about the merits of your idea. You just have to convince yourself.” -Ryan Holmes, Co-founder of Hootsuite
Back To Top ↑6. CREATIVITY QUOTES
Below is a collection of some of my favourites. Let me know which ones resonate with you the most, and feel free to counter any you disagree with.
There are infinite views on creativity, here are some famous ones for inspiration on your next endeavour 🙂
1. “You can’t use up creativity the more you use the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
2. “Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” – Charles Mingus
3. “There is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.” – Martha Graham
4. “There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope.” – Mark Twain
5. “Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
6. “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
7. “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” – Pablo Picasso
8. “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones” – John Maynard Keynes
9. “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
10. “One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.” – Paulo Coelho
11. “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it” – Salvador Dali
12. “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people” – Leo Burnett
13. “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club” – Jack London
14. “Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things” – Ray Bradbury
15. “Creativity is contagious, pass it on” – Albert Einstein
16. “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not’?” – George Bernard Shaw
Back To Top ↑7. PRODUCTIVITY QUOTES
1. “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
2. “Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.” – William James
3. ‘There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.’ – John F. Kennedy
4. “Restore your attention or bring it to a new level by dramatically slowing down whatever you’re doing.” – Sharon Salzberg
5. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
Aside from developing the foundation for modern physics, Einstein understood that in order to make the biggest breakthroughs, you have to make mistakes.
6. “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress” – Barack Obama
7. “Don’t count the days. Make the days count” – Muhammad Ali
8. “If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first” – Brain Tracy
This came from Brain Tracy’s, Eat That Frog, prioritization method, the point with this quote is to focus on dealing with your biggest or ugliest task first.
9. “Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now!” – Tim Ferriss
From the author of The 4-Hour Workweek, here’s another great reminder that getting started is the most important step.
10. “In life, people tend to wait for good things to come to them. And by waiting, they miss out.” – Neil Strauss
If you wait for opportunities to come to you, or for things to sort themselves out, you’ll only be wasting time before you need to take action.
Back To Top ↑8. POSITIVITY QUOTES
Positive thinking is when we consciously cultivate positivity in our minds so that we think we can get through anything. And it’s been scientifically proven to improve your work life, physical and mental health, and relationships.
It is linked to the idea and concept of resilience.
A famous University of Michigan study, led by psychology professor Barbara Fredrickson, examined the importance of positive thinking and emotions on our experience of:
- joy,
- interest,
- contentment, and
- love.
These four positive emotions have a number of cascade into our behaviour.
One of the many quotes from Barabara Fredrickson herself:
“Joy sparks the urge to play, interest sparks the urge to explore, contentment sparks the urge to savour and integrate, and love sparks a recurring cycle of each of these urges within safe, close relationships.”
By adopting a positive mindset, our resilience increases and with it our capacity to explore the world, while feeling confident and secure. Negative thoughts and emotions, on the other hand, can skew our perspective and in the long-term, damage our self-esteem.
One way to get into the habit of thinking positively is to peak into the minds of other positive people’s quotes by reading what they’ve said or written.
1. “What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficult, and every difficulty has an opportunity.” – J. Sidlow Baxter
2. “In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama
3. “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
4. “Cultivate an optimistic mind, use your imagination, always consider alternatives, and dare to believe that you can make possible what others think is impossible.” – Rodolfo Costa
5. “When you are joyful, when you say yes to life and have fun and project positivity all around you, you become a sun in the center of every constellation, and people want to be near you.” – Shannon L. Alder
6. “Impossible is just an opinion, don’t buy it.” – Robin Sharma
7. “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
8. “Surround yourself with those who only lift you higher.” – Oprah Winfrey
9. “A powerful attitude awakens inner strength, energy, motivation, and initiative.” – Remez Sasson
10. “People inspire you or they drain you – pick them wisely.” – Hans Hasen
Back To Top ↑9. CHANGE QUOTES
You can, and you will, get through your tough times.
Change can be scary. It doesn’t matter if you are going through a small change or a big one, doing something totally different than you are used to can be terrifying.
Reading quotes about strength and famous sayings can give you the inspiration you need to get over even your hardest obstacles.
While others look on, they might know how difficult the struggles are. Furthermore, you often don’t get the recognition you deserve when you successfully make a change in our lives — but you should.
Embracing change might be exactly what you NEED, but taking those first few steps can seem almost impossible.
Many people think that change is necessary simply because someone told them it was. In fact, change should always start from within; if you can’t make yourself accept change and be willing to move forward, you will end up feeling like you have made a big mistake.
Instead of listening to others, you must learn to make your own decisions in life.
There is ALWAYS time to change your life for the better. I hope that these quotes about change will help you find your inner strength, realize that life WILL happen, but you can learn to embrace it, even welcome it.
In fact, with the right attitude and beliefs, change can inspire you and motivate you to be more successful in all aspects of your life.
1. “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man without trials.” – Seneca
2. “Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
3. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
4. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
5. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama
6. “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” – Andy Warhol
7. “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi
8. “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw
9. “Change is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” – Mandy Hale
10. “Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.” – Hermann Hesse
Back To Top ↑10. UPLIFTING QUOTES
These are just a few uplifting quotes that can help inspire you as well as bring you back up if you happen to be down at the moment.
We all need some words of encouragement every now and then just to remind us that the path we’re on is one that we chose.
Life isn’t always easy. You will some bad luck and get curve balls thrown at you. However, it’s important to remember that ups and downs are all part of life.
It’s what makes achieving a goal that much more exciting.
Now if you’re feeling lost or down about life in general, realize that it’s all mental.
Whether you feel excited about life or bored with life, it’s all in your mind. Ultimately, you decide how you’re going to react to those circumstances.
Hopefully, some of these quotes will help you through whatever it is you’re going through. Enjoy!
1. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
2. “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 the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
3. “In order to get something you never had, you have to do something you never have done” – Thomas Jefferson
4. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” – Gandalf, from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
5. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J.K.Rowling
6. “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” – Roy T. Bennett
7. “If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.” – Roy T. Bennett
8. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
9. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” – Oprah Winfrey
Back To Top ↑11. SHORT INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
These short inspirational quotes are the ones that you can easily remember. Being able to remember them in tough moments can make a huge difference to your emotions.
Psychology has recognized that low moments are an important part of everyone’s life. They become moments of reflection, assessment and help us to navigate new paths.
However, it is when we get stuck in a low moment that can be tough to change our thinking. Use these short quotes to instil new emotions and link them to habits and behaviours that move you forward. Each time you use them they will then help you to change and be more uplifted.
