Here are 39 short, but very powerful, inspiring quotes about life… Pearls of wisdom from some of the smartest, most successful people, past and present.
“First thing every morning before you arise say out loud, I believe.”
Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993). American minister and author who popularized the concept of positive thinking.
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
Maya Angelou (1928-2014). American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist.
“Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919). Scottish-born American entrepreneur, business leader, industrialist, and philanthropist.
“Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.”
Helen Keller (1880 – 1968). Deaf-blind American author, lecturer, and political activist.
“In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.”
Jimi Hendrix (1963–1970). American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). American poet, essayist, philosopher, and lecturer. Led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century centered in New England.
“If we are not a little bit uncomfortable every day, we’re not growing. All the good stuff is outside our comfort zone.”
Jack Canfield (born 1944). American author, motivational speaker, success coach, corporate trainer, and entrepreneur.
“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.”
Wallace Stevens (1879-1955). American modernist poet.
“Never walk away from failure. On the contrary, study it carefully and imaginatively for its hidden assets.”
Michael Korda (born 19330). English-born writer and novelist.
“Inspiration and genius are one and the same.”
Victor Hugo (1802-1885). French poet, novelist, and dramatist.
“Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.”
Francis Bacon (1561-1626 ). English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and author.
“The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?”
Pablo Casals (1876-1973). Spanish cellist, composer, and conductor.
“I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.”
Lou Holtz (born 1937). Former American football player, coach, and analyst.
“Either you run the day or the day runs you.”
Jim Rohn (1930-2009). American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). Indian activist and leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule in India.
“What the caterpiller calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
Richard Bach (born 1936). Best-selling American writer. Author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and many other best-sellers.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Peter Drucker (1909-2005). Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author.
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910). Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens; American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer.
“Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools speak because they have to say something.”
Plato (c.428-347 BC). Ancient Greek philosopher. Founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.
“Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly.”
Plutarch (45-127 AD). Greek biographer and essayist who later become a Roman citizen, renamed Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus.
“The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.”
Ralph H. Blum (born 1932). American w
“Success doesn’t come to you, you go to it.”
Marva Delores Collins (1936-2015). American civil rights activist, education activist, and educator.
“Know that you are always safe. And also know that it’s possible to move from the old to the new, easily and peacefully.”
Louise L. Hay (1926-2017). American motivational author. Founder of Hay House.
“You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.”
Diane von Furstenberg (born 1946). Belgian-born American fashion designer.
“To repeat what others have said, requires education; to challenge it, requires brains.”
Mary Pettibone Poole. Author of A Glass Eye at a Keyhole, a book of epigrams, published in 1938.
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
Winston Churchill (1874-1965). Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. As Prime Minister, Churchill led Britain to victory in the Second World War.
“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 (born 1954). American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist.
“To fly, we have to have resistance.”
Maya Lin (born 1959). American designer, architect, and artist.
“Confidence comes not from always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong.”
Peter T. McIntyre(1910-1995). New Zealand painter and author. Official New Zealand war artist during the Second World War.
“Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.”
Richard L. Evans (1906-1971). American writer, producer, and announcer of Music and the Spoken Word (1929–71). President of Rotary International (1966–67).
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Victor Emil Frankl (1905-1997). Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. Best-selling author of Man’s Search for Meaning.
“Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use.”
Ruth Gordon (1896-1985). American stage, film, and television actress, screenwriter, and playwright.
“My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened.”
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). French Renaissance philosopher.
“The secret of happiness is to make others believe they are the cause of it.”
Al Batt. American columnist, writer, speaker, storyteller and humorist. Author of A Life Gone to the Birds.
“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.”
Michelangelo (1475-1564). Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance.
“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”
Jack Dempsey (1895-1983). American professional boxer. World heavyweight champion (1919 to 1926).
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
Milton Berle (1908-2002). American comedian and actor.
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
Napoleon Hill (1883-1970). American self-help author, best known for his book Think and Grow Rich which is in the 10 best selling self-help books of all time.
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
Henry Ford (1863-1947). American captain of industry, business magnate, and founder of the Ford Motor Company.
There you have it… 39 short, but powerful, inspirational quotes about life. Use them to help you “gain altitude.”