Inspirational Quotes: Some of the greatest inspirational quotes have helped people get through some of the toughest times in their life. You probably feel and live in a world where things seem to be out of control. You may have lost your job or your house or someone close to you has passed away.
It’s difficult to find meaning in everything, so sometimes it can help to use quotes to help inspire you to keep going. Here are a few of the best ones I can think of right now.
One quote that I would definitely say is one of the most inspiring quotes I ever heard was by John Wooden “If you don’t love doing something, then you probably don’t have the courage to do it.”
Great wisdom, especially for those who find themselves in extremely tough situations. If you don’t have the courage to go after what you want in life, then you won’t get it no matter how much effort you put into it.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the big purchase that you’ve been wanting or if it’s a small problem, just knowing that you have the courage to pursue your dreams is an important part of making things happen in your life.
Another great quote by Zig Ziglar is “You either believe that you will or you won’t. You either believe that you CAN do it, or you don’t. Either way, you will spend eternity trying to convince yourself that you CAN do it, when the only thing that matters is that you DO IT!”
Great advice, this may seem like simple common sense to most people but for those of us that have been working hard to build up our confidence level only to find that we still had more goals to reach than what we knew were possible, this quote really inspired us. We finally realized that with the right attitude, we could do just about anything.
Find more collection of Inspirational Quotes that will keep you strong when down.
Famous Inspirational Quotes
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. –Robert Frost
I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. –Florence Nightingale
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. –Wayne Gretzky
I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. –Michael Jordan
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. –Amelia Earhart
Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. –Babe Ruth
Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. –W. Clement Stone
Life isn’t about getting and having, it’s about giving and being. –Kevin Kruse
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. –John Lennon
We become what we think about. –Earl Nightingale
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
Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. –Charles Swindoll
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. –Alice Walker
The mind is everything. What you think you become. –Buddha
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. –Chinese Proverb
An unexamined life is not worth living. –Socrates
Eighty percent of success is showing up. –Woody Allen
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. –Steve Jobs
Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. –Vince Lombardi
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. –Stephen Covey
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. –Pablo Picasso
You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. –Christopher Columbus
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou
Either you run the day, or the day runs you. –Jim Rohn
Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. –Henry Ford
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. –Mark Twain
Inspirational Quotes about life and Struggles
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The best revenge is massive success. –Frank Sinatra
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily. –Zig Ziglar
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. –Anais Nin
If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. –Vincent Van Gogh
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. –Jesus
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. –Henry David Thoreau
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me. –Erma Bombeck
Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him. –Booker T. Washington
Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart. – Ancient Indian Proverb
Believe you can and you’re halfway there. –Theodore Roosevelt
Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. –George Addair
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. –Plato
Teach thy tongue to say, “I do not know,” and thous shalt progress. –Maimonides
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. –Arthur Ashe
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. –John Lennon
Fall seven times and stand up eight. –Japanese Proverb
When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. –Helen Keller
Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see. –Confucius
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. –Anne Frank
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. –Lao Tzu
Short Inspirational Quotes
Let me share with you some of my favorite short inspirational quotes when feeling down:
Determine your priorities and focus on them. – Eileen McDargh
Be so good they can’t ignore you. – Steve Martin
Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today. – James Dean
Yesterday you said tomorrow. Just do it. – Nike
I don’t need it to be easy, I need it to be worth it. – Lil Wayne
All limitations are self-imposed. – Oliver Wendell Holmes
Tough times never last but tough people do. – Robert H. Schiuller
Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines. – Robert H. Schiuller
One day the people that don’t even believe in you will tell everyone how they met you. – Johnny Depp
If I’m gonna tell a real story, I’m gonna start with my name. – Kendrick Lamar
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything. – Mark Twain
Have enough courage to start and enough heart to finish. – Jessica N. S. Yourko
Hate comes from intimidation, love comes from appreciation. – Tyga
A happy soul is the best shield for a cruel world. – Atticus
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. – Nelson Henderson
When words fail, music speaks. – Shakespeare
Embrace the glorious mess that you are. – Elizabeth Gilbert
Normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk but no flowers grow. – Vincent van Gogh
I have nothing to lose but something to gain. – Eminem
White is not always light and black is not always dark. – Habeeb Akande
Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got. – R. Brault
Happiness depends upon ourselves. – Aristotle
Turn your wounds into wisdom. – Oprah Winfrey
Change the game, don’t let the game change you. – Macklemore
It hurt because it mattered. – John Green
If the world was blind how many people would you impress? – Boonaa Mohammed
I will remember and recover, not forgive and forget. – Unknown
The meaning of life is to give life meaning. – Ken Hudgins
I could agree with you but then we’d both be wrong. – Harvey Specter
Oh, the things you can find, if you don’t stay behind. – Dr. Seuss
Love For All, Hatred For None. – Khalifatul Masih III
Change the world by being yourself. – Amy Poehler
Every moment is a fresh beginning. – T.S Eliot
Never regret anything that made you smile. – Mark Twain
Die with memories, not dreams. – Unknown
Aspire to inspire before we expire. – Unknown
Everything you can imagine is real. – Pablo Picasso
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. – Leonardo da Vinci
Whatever you do, do it well. – Walt Disney
What we think, we become. – Buddha
To live will be an awfully big adventure. – Peter Pan
Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. – Maya Angelou
There is no substitute for hard work. – Thomas Edison
What consumes your mind controls your life- Unknown
Strive for greatness. – Lebron James
Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are. – Kurt Cobain
And still, I rise. – Maya Angelou
The time is always right to do what is right. – Martin Luther King Jr.
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. – Rumi
May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. – Nelson Mandela
Inspirational Quotes For Women
“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.” – Audrey Hepburn
“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” ― Brigham Young
“Whenever you see a successful woman, look out for three men who are going out of their way to try to block her.” – Yulia Tymoshenko
“Some women choose to follow men, and some choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.” – Lady Gaga
“It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” – J. K. Rowling
“I am a woman with thoughts and questions and sh*t to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story – I will.” – Amy Schumer
“It’s possible to climb to the top without stomping on other people.” – Taylor Swift
“Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.” – Jennifer Lopez (see more quotes from Jennifer Lopez)
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin
“She was powerful not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear.” – Atticus
“And one day she discovered that she was fierce and strong, and full of fire and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears.” – Mark Anthony
“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a b*tch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”— Maya Angelou
“Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.” — Hillary Clinton
“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” — Malala Yousafzai
“If you don’t like being a doormat then get off the floor.”– Al Anon
“The best protection any woman can have … is courage.”– Elizabeth Cady Stanton
“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got. There is no yesterday, no tomorrow, it’s all the same day.” –Janis Joplin
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”– Alice Walker
“One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in and where you want to go.”– Sheila Murray
“Everyone has inside of her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is.” — Anne Frank
“Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.” – Jennifer Lopez
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
“You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are.” ~ Melissa Etheridge
“Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the mirror.” ~ Byron Katie
“The way in which we think of ourselves has everything to do with how our world sees us and how we see ourselves successfully acknowledged by the world.”– Arlene Rankin
“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.”– Oprah Winfrey
“You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.”– Rosalynn Carter
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions.” — Catherine Cook
“If it’s a good idea, go ahead and do it. It’s much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.”— Grace Hopper
“It’s not your job to like me, it’s mine.” — Byron Katie
“Buckle up, and know that it’s going to be a tremendous amount of work, but embrace it.” –Tory Burch
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.”— Florence Nightingale
“What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength.”— Meryl Streep
“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” – Anne Sweeney
“We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Arianna Huffington
“If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.” – Melinda Gates
“Successful women are not liked. I think the biggest danger for women in science is colleagues who are not as good as you are.” – Christiane Nusslein-Volhard
“Whenever you see a successful woman, look out for three men who are going out of their way to try to block her.” – Yulia Tymoshenko
“Success as a woman has changed me. That’s what I feel is the first thing. When I feel like a successful woman as a rounded human being, then it feeds my work in a broader way so it becomes more interesting.”- Jacqueline Bisset
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” — Estée Lauder
“Once you figure out what respect tastes like, it tastes better than attention.” – Pink
“Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.”– Margaret Thatcher
“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A woman must do what he can’t.”– Rhonda Hansome
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“I do not wish [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.”— Mary Wollstonecraft
“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.”— Melinda Gates
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.”— Louisa May Alcott
“Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life.”— Dr. Mae Jemison
“Words have power. TV has power. My pen has power.”— Shonda Rhimes
“Power is not given to you. You have to take it.”—Beyoncé Knowles
“A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” ― Jane Austen (Read more Jane Austen quotes.)
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” ― Charlotte Brontë
“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” ― Brigham Young
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” ― Nora Ephron
“What would men be without women? Scarce, sir…mighty scarce.” ― Mark Twain
“As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.” ― Virginia Woolf
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of Virginia Woolf quotes that will help you understand life itself.
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it. ” ― Roseanne Barr
“No woman wants to be in submission to a man who isn’t in submission to God!” ― T D Jakes
Inspirational Quotes for Work
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. “
Alexander Graham Bell
“Either you run the day or the day runs you.”
Jim Rohn
“I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
Thomas Jefferson
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
Paulo Coelho
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Thomas Edison
“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”
George Lorimer
Work Quote by Robert Louis Stevenson
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
“Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”
Dalai Lama
“One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.”
Viggo Mortensen
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”
Henry Ford
“Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.”
Denis Waitley
“Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.”
Jim Rohn
“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.”
Dale Carnegie
“Developing a good work ethic is key. Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you’re a janitor or taking your first summer job because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life.”
Tyler Perry
Inspirational Quotes For Work By Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”
Zig Ziglar
“The future depends on what you do today.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile.”
Gary Ryan Blair
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
Confucius
Work Quote by Abraham Lincoln
“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”
Abraham Lincoln
“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
Saint Francis
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
Dale Carnegie
“To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.”
Eva Young
“Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.”
William Patten
“Talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.”
Patrick Suskind
“You will never plough a field if you only turn it over in your mind.”
Irish Proverb
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
Napoleon Hill
“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
Conrad Hilton
Inspirational Quotes For Work By Martin Luther King, Jr.
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Dreams can come true, but there is a secret. They’re realized through the magic of persistence, determination, commitment, passion, practice, focus and hard work. They happen a step at a time, manifested over years, not weeks.”
Elbert Hubbard
”This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
Alan Wilson Watts
“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.”
Stephen R. Covey
“Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost legendary. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Perseverance and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Calvin Coolidge
“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.”
Albert Einstein
Ang pag-abot sa iyong mga pangarap ang pinakamalaking abentura ng buhay.
– Oprah Winfrey
“Ako lang ang makakapagpabago sa buhay ko. Walang ibang makakagawa nito sa akin.”
– Carol Burnett
Ang buhay ay parang pagbibisikleta. Kailangang sumulong upang mapanatili ang balanse.
– Albert Einstein
Walang gaanong kailangan para magkaroon ng masayang buhay; nasa loob mo ang lahat ng ito, sa iyong paraan ng pag-iisip.
– Marcus Aurelius
Pinagpala akong magkaroon ng napakaraming magandang bagay sa aking buhay – pamilya, mga kaibigan, at ang Diyos. Lahat sila ay nasa isip ko araw-araw.
– Lil’ Kim
Kagustuhan ang pagiging masaya. Maaari mong piliing maging masaya. May mga magpapalungkot sa iyo sa buhay, pero nasa iyo kung magpapaapekto ka o hindi.
– Valerie Bertinelli
Ang layunin ng buhay ng tao ay ang magsilbi, at ang magmalasakit at tumulong sa kapwa.
– Albert Schweitzer
English Translation: The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.
Ngumiti sa harap ng salamin. Gawin mo ito tuwing umaga at mapapansin mo ang malaking pagbabago sa iyong buhay.
– Yoko Ono
Dahil sa ngiti mo, ginagawa mong mas maganda ang buhay.
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Tayo ang pinipili nating maging tayo.
-Green Goblin
Sa tingin ko, ang pagmamahal sa buhay ang susi sa habambuhay na pagkabata.
-Doug Hutchison
Funny Inspirational Quotes
Change is not a four letter word… but often your reaction to it is!
– Jeffrey Gitomer
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
-Thomas Eddison
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
– Steve Martin
If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
– George Carlin
You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
-Jack London
If you’re going to be thinking, you may as well think big.
-Donald Trump
Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.
-Kyle Chandler
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
-Albert Einstein
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.
-A.A. Milne
A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure.
-Unknown
Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
-Will Rogers
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
-Mark Twain
Try to be like the turtle – at ease in your own shell.
-Bill Copeland
Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path then by all means you should follow that.
– Ellen Degeneres