Why do we love quotes? Jonathan Fader, PhD, founder of Union Square Practice, says, “There’s a little bit of implicit coaching that’s happening when you’re reading them. They’re building that self-efficacy in that kind of dialogue that you’re having with yourself.”
He explains we’re more likely to do something when a sales leader, coach, or mentor believes we can achieve it. Quotes act as that invisible teacher, encouraging us to be better.
I’ve put together a list of 43 awesome quotes that will inspire and motivate you to change, no matter the situation or circumstances.
43 Awesome Quotes
1. “Greatness is more than potential. It is the execution of that potential. Beyond the raw talent. You need the appropriate training. You need the discipline. You need the inspiration. You need the drive.” -Eric A. Burns
2. "Never admire quietly." -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3. "Sometimes we convince ourselves to hang onto the illusions and not to the truths." -Mo Gawdat
4. "You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.” -Leymah Gbowee
5. “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” -Diane von Furstenberg
6. “We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.” -Frank Tibolt
7. "There’s a thing that great people have in common ... a level of obsession, a level of drive ... but I don’t think it’s always about talent. To me, the person who wants it more will get it before the person it’s better-suited for." -Lena Waithe
8. “Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.” -Harper Lee
9. “Always keep your smile. That’s how I explain my long life.” -Jeanne Calment
10. “The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves.” -Barbara Corcoran
11. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” -Anaïs Nin
12. "What I’ve learned is that, particularly in today’s world, effective marketing requires equal right brain and left brain thinking. It requires empathy, it requires you to move people." -Anjali Sud
13. “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” -Albert Schweitzer
14. "It is the quality of our relationships that determines the quality of our lives." -Esther Perel
15. “I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said.” -Thuli Madonsela
16. “Success is following the pattern of life one enjoys most.” -Al Capp
17. "Everything I’ve ever done that is truly worth it or brought me any manner of success is hard work." -Shonda Rhimes
18. “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” -J.K. Rowling
19. “Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
20. “If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.” -Margaret Thatcher
21. “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 yesterday by our today.” -Stewart B. Johnson
22. “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” -Tina Fey
23. “Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used.” -Richard Byrd
24. “A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.” -Sonia Sotomayor
25. “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” -Bill Gates
26. “If you’re not making some notable mistakes along the way, you’re certainly not taking enough business and career chances.” -Sallie Krawcheck
27. “The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.” -Mia Hamm
28. “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
29. “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.” -Ambrose Redmoon
30. "We all have a gift. It’s your choice to suppress it or lock into it." -Lena Waithe
31. “When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.” -Audre Lorde
32. "Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. -Lao-Tze
33. “I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” -Louise Hay
34. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill
35. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” -Jane Goodall
36. "Own your screw ups. We all make mistakes. Just say sorry, be sorry, and make it better." -Dharmesh Shah
37. “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” -Dale Carnegie
38. “You can’t give up! If you give up, you’re like everybody else.” -Chris Evert
39. “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” -Denis Waitley
40. "The act of doing something un-does the fear." -Shonda Rhimes
41. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” -Dolly Parton
42. "Difference leads to adaptation and makes you thrive." -Beth Comstock
43. “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.” -Brené Brown
Looking for more quote roundups? Here are 40 Jim Rohn quotes you’ll never forget, 24 quotes about hard work that will help you reach your goals, and 25 Steve Jobs Quotes that will dramatically shift your mindset.
