Inspirational Quotes

You only live one life. Don’t spend it in safe, shallow water. Launch out into the deep.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life. And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right". It made an impression on me. And since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has be no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment of failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.

My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.

Study to apply your labor to advantage, and you will accomplish much more, without wearing yourselves out so fast. If you have to roll a log, cut down a tree, etc., study how to take advantage of the work. Contrive to accomplish your work with the least expenditure of strength.

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.

Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.

The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators

Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees takes off his shoes;

I could either watch it happen, or be part of it.

They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.

My life is my message.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.

We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Consequences give us the pain that motivates us to change.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

Don't find fault, find a remedy.

The heights by great men reached and kept, Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night.

I've always felt that if you back down from your fear, the ghost of that fear never goes away. It diminishes people. So I've always said 'yes' to the thing I am most scared about.

Risk being seen in all of your glory.

You are ready and able to do beautiful things in this world.

I have no limits! I cannot be contained because I'm the container.

Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.

Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high.

It is better to wear out than to rust out.

Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

The most interesting things in life happen just on the other side of your comfort zone.

If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it.

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision.

If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.

When you are afraid, do the thing you are afraid of and soon you will lose your fear of it.

An evangelist must have a happy face...He can't look like he just came from a funeral.

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.

Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

Strong reasons make strong actions.

Far and away the best prize life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn't trying.

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.

It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It's what we do consistently.

Remember: Rewards come in action, not in discussion.

The only reason we really pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it's who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment.

Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.

Surround yourself with positive thinkers who are not always creating drama. Choose people who make your day brighter simply by being around them. Find those whom you admire; you are proud to know; and who support, motivate and encourage you to grow.

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.

You leave old habits behind by starting out with the thought, 'I release the need for this in my life'.

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.

You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.

Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.

You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great

Don't let someone who gave up on their dreams talk you out of going after yours.

What you do today can change all the tomorrow's of your life.

When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.

To know oneself, one should assert oneself.

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.

You just can't beat the person who never gives up.

The wise does at once what the fool does at last.

I've always tried to go a step past wherever people expected me to end up.

The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare.

I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.

When one must, one can.

Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.

You can't expect to hit the jackpot if you don't put a few nickels in the machine.

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.

Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.

Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.

Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.

You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

For true success ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now?

I would visualize things coming to me. It would just make me feel better. Visualization works if you work hard. That's the thing. You can't just visualize and go eat a sandwich.

If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.

Do what you love, and you will find the way to get it out to the world.

Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.

If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.

I am not a has-been. I am a will be.

The more things you do, the more you can do.

The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist but you have ceased to live.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Success isn't something you chase. It's something you have to put forth the effort for constantly. Then maybe it'll come when you least expect it. Most people don't understand that.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

It always seems impossible until it's done.

There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.

Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds.

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.

Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open.

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.

The hardships that I encountered in the past will help me succeed in the future.

Either I will find a way, or I will make one.

What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.

We aim above the mark to hit the mark.

There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.

I'd rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.

Do whatever you do intensely.

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

Every exit is an entry somewhere else.

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

Failure is not fatal. Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. It should challenge us to new heights of accomplishments, not pull us to new depths of despair. From honest failure can come valuable experience.

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.

If you are going through hell, keep going.