Short quotes can pack a punch. They capture deep feelings or big ideas in mere words. This makes them easy to remember and share.
In this article, we’ve picked some of the best short quotes. They’ll inspire, comfort, and maybe even make you smile. Dive in and find your new favorite quote!
Short Quotes About Life
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
“Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.”
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
“Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet.”
“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.”
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”
“Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.”
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
“Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter.”
“Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.”
Positive Short Quotes
“Positive anything is better than negative nothing.”
“The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down.”
“Every day brings new choices.”
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”
“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.”
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
“The best is yet to be.”
“Don’t count the days, make the days count.”
“When you think positive, good things happen.”
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.”
“Stay positive. Better days are on their way.”
“You do not find the happy life. You make it.”
“Positive thoughts lead to positive results.”
Short Love Quotes
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”
“Love recognizes no barriers.”
“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.”
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”
“Love is the whole thing. We are only pieces.”
“You call it madness, but I call it love.”
“Love is a friendship set to music.”
“True love stories never have endings.”
“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.”
“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.”
“Where there is love there is life.”
“We loved with a love that was more than love.”
“Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.”
“To love is to burn, to be on fire.”
“Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.”
Short Friendship Quotes
“A friend is what the heart needs all the time.”
“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”
“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.”
“Friends are the siblings God never gave us.”
“Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world.”
“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.”
“A single rose can be my garden… a single friend, my world.”
“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.”
“A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.”
“Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.”
“A friend to all is a friend to none.”
“Friendship is a sheltering tree.”
“Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.”
“The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it.”
Motivational Short Quotes
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.”
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.”
“The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”
“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.”
“Well done is better than well said.”
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
“Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Short Family Quotes
“Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.”
“Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”
“The most important thing in the world is family and love.”
“Family is the heart of a home.”
“To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.”
“Family is where life begins and love never ends.”
“The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.”
“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”
“The family is a haven in a heartless world.”
“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”
“Family is the most important thing in the world.”
“In time of test, family is best.”
“The love of family is life’s greatest blessing.”
“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”
Short Quotes on Happiness
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
“Happiness is a direction, not a place.”
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”
“Happiness can exist only in acceptance.”
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
“Happiness is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty without happiness.”
“Happiness is a warm puppy.”
“The most simple things can bring the most happiness.”
“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.”
“If you want to be happy, be.”
“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.”
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
“Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.”
“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
“Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.”
Famous Short Quotes
“I think, therefore I am.”
“To be, or not to be, that is the question.”
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
“I came, I saw, I conquered.”
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
“Et tu, Brute?”
“All men are created equal.”
“I have a dream.”
“Give me liberty, or give me death!”
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
“There is no place like home.”
“To infinity and beyond!”
“Houston, we have a problem.”
Funny Short Quotes
“I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right.”
“Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff?”
“The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets.”
“Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.”
“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”
“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don’t know the answer.”
“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.”
“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”
“My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.”
“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”
“I can resist everything except temptation.”
“I’m not crazy – I’ve just been in a very bad mood for 40 years.”
“Age is something that doesn’t matter unless you are a cheese.”
“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.”
Short Quotes on Strength
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
“The more you care, the stronger you can be.”
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.”
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls.”
“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”
“What does not kill us makes us stronger.”
“There is a strength in the union of very sorry but uninspired line into strength.”
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”
“In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity.”
“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”
“He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak.”
Short Quotes for Success
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.”
“Success is not in what you have, but who you are.”
“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.”
“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.”
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.”
“The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.”
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day.”
Short Quotes on Leadership
“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”
“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.”
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
“The best leaders have a high consideration factor. They really care about their people.”
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision.”
“The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.”
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.”
“Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”
Short Quotes on Kindness
“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
“Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.”
“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”
“Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.”
“Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.”
“Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.”
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
“On matters of style, swim with the current; on matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
“Kindness is always fashionable, and always welcome.”
“A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.”
Short Quotes on Change
“Change is the only constant in life.”
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.”
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
“Change is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.”
“Things do not change; we change.”
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
Short Quotes for Work-Life
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
“Work to become, not to acquire.”
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
“Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.”
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.”
“To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.”
“Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.”
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
“If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission.”
“Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.”
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
“Don’t count the hours you work, make the hours you work count.”
To Conclude
Short quotes pack a lot of wisdom into just a few words. They can inspire, motivate, or simply make you smile. These quotes are perfect for quick boosts of positivity or a bit of guidance in tough times. Whether they come from famous leaders, authors, or philosophers, each quote has the power to touch your heart and mind.
On days when life feels overwhelming, a short quote can offer a moment of clarity. Use these gems to encourage yourself and others. Keep them handy for when you need a reminder that sometimes, less truly is more.