Sometimes, life feels like a marathon. We face challenges every day that test our will and strength. During these times, a few words of encouragement can make all the difference.
Motivational quotes serve as gentle nudges that inspire us to keep going. They remind us of our inner strength and encourage us to push forward. Here is a collection of some of the best quotes to lift your spirits and keep you motivated.
Motivational Quotes for Self-Improvement
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.”
“He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.”
“Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.”
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
“What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.”
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
“If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down.”
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.”
“We become what we think about.”
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”
“Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.”
Motivational Quotes About Resilience
“The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.”
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.”
“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.”
“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.”
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”
“Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up.”
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before.”
“No matter how much it hurts now, someday you will look back and realize your struggles changed your life for the better.”
“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
“On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it.”
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”
“If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.”
“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.”
“Keep going…everything you need will come to you at the perfect time.”
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
Motivational Quotes for Athletes
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.”
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”
“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”
“Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is.”
“Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.”
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”
“If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.”
“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”
“What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.”
“Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”
“You’re never a loser until you quit trying.”
“The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.”
“Make each day your masterpiece.”
“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”
“Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.”
“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.”
“You learn more from losing than winning. You learn how to keep going.”
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”
“If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.”
Motivational Quotes for Entrepreneurs
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
“Success is not in what you have, but who you are.”
“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.”
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.”
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
“Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it.”
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”
“Forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion.”
“If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.”
“Chase the vision, not the money.”
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.”
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.”
“It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
Motivational Quotes for Leaders
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
“Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”
“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”
“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
“Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.”
“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.”
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
“A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.”
“The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.”
“The strength of the group is the strength of the leaders.”
“Leadership is an action, not a position.”
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”
“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
“Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.”
Motivational Quotes About Perseverance
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.”
“The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.”
“Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.”
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
“If you are going through hell, keep going.”
“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.”
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.”
“Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.”
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.”
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”
“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.”
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”
“Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.”
“Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.”
“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”
Motivational Quotes for Hard Times
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
“Hard times may have held you down, but they will not last forever. When all is said and done, you will be increased.”
“Tough times never last, but tough people do.”
“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”
“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.”
“This too shall pass.”
“The darkest hour has only sixty minutes.”
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.”
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
“The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.”
“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”
“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.”
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.”
“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
“Out of every crisis comes the chance to be reborn.”
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Motivational Quotes for Creativity
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
“Every artist was first an amateur.”
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.”
“Creativity takes courage.”
“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.”
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”
“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”
“The creative adult is the child who survived.”
“Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.”
“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
“Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.”
“The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.”
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
“Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits.”
“The objects of art are not the things themselves but the response.”
“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”
“Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics.”
Motivational Quotes From Famous People
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
“Don’t count the days, make the days count.”
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.”
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.”
“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
“You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.”
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.”
“The best revenge is massive success.”
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.”
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”
“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.”
Motivational Quotes for Teachers
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.”
“Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges.”
“The influence of a good teacher can never be erased.”
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
“A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.”
“The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.”
“Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers.”
“In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.”
“Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops.”
“To teach is to touch a life forever.”
“Great teachers empathize with kids, respect them, and believe that each one has something special that can be built upon.”
“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth.”
“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”
“Your heart is slightly bigger than the average human heart, but that’s because you’re a teacher.”
“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.”
“A great teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart.”
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
“Teachers are the one and only people who save nations.”
“The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.”
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
Motivational Quotes for Graduates
“Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.”
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
“Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.”
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.”
“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.”
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.”
“The future starts today, not tomorrow.”
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
“Go forth and set the world on fire.”
“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
“We do not remember days, we remember moments.”
“Class is over but life is an education that only ends with death.”
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
“Dream big and dare to fail.”
“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”
Motivational Quotes for Daily Life
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
“What we think, we become.”
“An unexamined life is not worth living.”
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”
“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.”
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”
“You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.”
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.”
“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”
Motivational Quotes for Health and Wellness
“To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
“The greatest wealth is health.”
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind.”
“He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.”
“A healthy outside starts from the inside.”
“Good health and good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings.”
“Health is not valued till sickness comes.”
“Happiness is the highest form of health.”
“Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.”
“Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.”
“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”
“To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.”
“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind, and spirit.”
“Our bodies are our gardens – our wills are our gardeners.”
“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”
“Your body hears everything your mind says.”
“Health is the crown on the well person’s head that only the ill person can see.”
“It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor.”
“True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united.”
“The preservation of health should be the first study of one who is of any worth to oneself.”
“Happiness lies, first of all, in health.”
“Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it.”
“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
“Health requires healthy food.”
Motivational Quotes for Overcoming Fear
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
“Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.”
“Don’t let the fear of striking out hold you back.”
“Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is small.”
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.”
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.”
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
“Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”
“Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.”
“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.”
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.”
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
“Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.”
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
“Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.”
Motivational Quotes for Positive Thinking
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.”
“The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.”
“Positivity always wins…Always.”
“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.”
“The sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.”
“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.”
“Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.”
“The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.”
“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
“To succeed, we must first believe that we can.”
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”
“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.”
“Positive anything is better than negative nothing.”
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.”
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.”
“Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.”
“Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.”
Summing Up
Motivational quotes have a unique way of lifting our spirits and pushing us to new heights. They remind us of our potential, our strength, and the endless opportunities that lie ahead. Each quote serves as a small but powerful beacon, encouraging us to keep moving forward even when times are tough.
When you feel stuck or need a boost, these quotes can be your guiding light. They carry wisdom from those who have faced challenges and emerged stronger. Let these words inspire you daily, helping you to stay focused, positive, and driven. After all, sometimes a few words are all it takes to spark a big change.
