61 Incredibly Motivational and Inspirational Quotes for Life You May Not Know

 

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Life is full of uncertainty and unpredictable change no matter what we plan nor our considerable efforts to bring it under our willful control. There are times in life when you feel tired, confused, defeated, fearful, unmotivated or simply stuck.

At these times, motivational and inspirational quotes can help to provide encouragement, inspiration, a feeling of understanding, enlightenment, change our perspectives, or provide much needed wisdom to remind us that we can and will make it through whatever difficulties or challenges we face.

Just for that reason, I’ve compiled these quotes to help you along your journey. I hope that among them, you find the encouragement you need to keep it movin’.

 

61 Motivational and Inspirational Quotes You Need To Know

 

1. Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained. Madame Marie Curie

2. When will you understand that being normal isn’t necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage. Alice Hoffman

3. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. Bruce Lee

4. Indecision with the passing of time becomes decision. Bill Wilson

5. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose. Dr. Wayne W Dyer

6. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

7. From the very beginning you are being told to compare yourself with others. This is the greatest disease; it is like a cancer that goes on destroying your very soul because each individual is unique, and comparison is not possible. I am just myself and you are just yourself. There is nobody else in the world you can be compared with. Osho

8. The secret to your purpose is to find what you feel is important, and not pursue what others would think is important. When you think highly of yourself, me thinking highly of you will never be enough! Shannon L. Alder

9. The right thing and the easy thing are never the same. Kami Garcia

10. Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep. Clive Barker

11. 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

12. We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don’t have something better. C. JoyBell C.

13. The road of life is strewn with the bodies of promising people. People who show promise, yet lack the confidence to act. People who make promises they are unable to keep. People who promise to do tomorrow what they could do today. Promising young stars, athletes, entrepreneurs who wait for promises to come true. Promise without a goal and a plan is like a barren cow. You know what she could do if she could do it, but she can’t. Turn your promise into a plan. Make no promise for tomorrow if you are able to keep it today… Iyanla Vanzant

14. Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. Carl Bard

15. You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. Maya Angelou

16. Determine that the thing can and shall be done and then… find the way. Abraham Lincoln

17. Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to. Mitch Albom

18. Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. Niccolo Machiavelli

19. …But at the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about what you’ve done with those accomplishments. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back…. Denzel Washington

20. Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to lose, in the other, everything to gain. Diane de Pointiers

21. …Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed. Booker T. Washington

22. If you don’t take the time to get really clear about exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish, then you’re forever doomed to spend your life achieving the goals of those who do. Steve Pavlina

23. A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life. Charles Darwin

24. As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others. Bill Gates

 

 

25. I’m going to enjoy every second, and I’m going to know I’m enjoying it while I’m enjoying it. Most people don’t live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn’t make any difference whether they’ve reached the goal or not. Jean Webster

26. The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage. Thucydides

27. Opportunities multiply as they are seized. Sun Tzu

28. You are totally sole. There has never been anyone like you, ever before – and there will never be anyone like you ever again. So do it your way – because no-one else can. Craig Townsend

29. A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. George Patton

30. Your life is your sacred path It’s what’s right in front of you. You can’t live anyone else’s life. The task is to live yours and stop trying to copy one you think looks better. Sandy Nathan

31. A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what ships are for. William GT Shedd

32. If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Bruce Lee

33. How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I’m committed to? Anthony Robbins

34. Once you make a decision, the Universe conspires to make it happen. Ralph Waldo Emerson

35. Never confuse the size of your paycheck with the size of your talent. Marlon Brando

36. Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. Winston Churchill

37. So many people will tell you ”no”, so find something you believe in so hard that you just smile and tell them ”watch me”. Learn to take rejection as motivation to prove people wrong. Be unstoppable. Refuse to give up, no matter what. It’s the best skill you can ever learn. Charlotte Eriksson

38. Essential lives are about action. You can’t feel affection unless you create it, can’t feel pleasure until you play, can’t know fortune unless you risk. Joan Erickson

39. You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain. Tom Hiddleston

40. Vision without execution is just hallucination. Henry Ford

41. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. Steve Jobs

42. When someone tells me no, it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them. Karen E. Quinones Miller

43. The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. Michelangelo

44. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly. Albert Einstein

45. Every hit brings me closer to the next home run. Babe Ruth

46. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Henry David Thoreau

47. You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. Henry Ford

48. If they hadn’t told me I was ugly, I never would have searched for my beauty. And if they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable. Gabourey Sidibe

49. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the misery of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you. Neil deGrasse Tyson

50. People who lack the clarity, courage, or determination to follow their own dreams will often find ways to discourage yours. When you change for the better, the people around you will be inspired to change also….but only after doing their best to make you stop. Live your truth and don’t EVER stop. Steve Maraboli

51. We tend to get what we suppose. Norman Vincent Peale

52. There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction. Franz Kafka

53. If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters – 204 if you’re in Japan. Claire Cook

54. And all may do what has by man been done. Edward Young

55. Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Bruce Lee

56. When Defeat Comes. “When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal. Napoleon Hill

57. 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

58. Dare to dream! If you did not have the capability to make your wildest wishes come true, your mind would not have the capacity to conjure such ideas in the first place. There is no limitation on what you can potentially achieve, except for the limitation you choose to impose on your own imagination. What you believe to be possible will always come to pass – to the extent that you deem it possible. It really is as simple as that. Anthon Maarten

59. Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. Napoleon Hill

60. The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. Mark Twain

61. It’s humbling to start fresh. It takes a lot of courage. But it can be reinvigorating. You just have to put your ego on a shelf & tell it to be quiet. Jennifer Ritchie Payette

Did you enjoy these quotes? Do you have a motivational or inspirational quote you think should be added to this list? If so, let me know in the comments. And if you know of anyone who would enjoy this post, please share! Thanks!