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100 Quotes to Kickstart Your Personal Statement (with examples)

best quotes for personal statement

by Talha Omer, MBA, M.Eng., Harvard & Cornell Grad

In personal statement tips & advice.

Starting your personal statement for university admissions can be a daunting task. It’s the first thing the admissions committee will read about you, and it needs to capture your unique voice, experiences, and aspirations in just a few words. So, where do you begin?

One effective way to start is with a powerful quote that reflects your values, interests, or goals.  

A great quote can set the tone for your essay, grab the reader’s attention, and showcase your personality and potential. In this blog post, I’ll explore quotes that you can draw from. I’ll also provide a couple of examples where successful candidates used quotes to begin their personal statements.

To make the process of selecting the perfect quote for your personal statement even easier, I’ve organized the list into categories that are common themes in personal statements. Whether you’re seeking to showcase your resilience, or creativity, I’ve got you covered with a range of quotes that can help you stand out from the crowd.  

In this Article

  • Inspirational Quotes for personal statement 

Leadership Quotes for personal statement

Personal growth quotes for personal statement, academic quotes for personal statement, professional quotes for personal statement, cultural quotes for personal statement, creative quotes for personal statement, perseverance quotes for personal statement, inspirational quotes for personal statement  .

Inspirational quotes can be a great way to show your motivation, resilience, and determination. They can also help you communicate your values and beliefs and demonstrate your commitment to achieving your goals.

  • “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
  • “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
  • “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
  • “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
  • “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
  • “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
  • “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” – Malcolm X
  • “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
  • “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis 

Here is an example opening paragraph of a personal statement where the candidate used an inspirational quote to begin:

As a lifelong learner and problem-solver, I’ve always been drawn to the field of artificial intelligence. But it wasn’t until I read a quote by Alan Turing that I truly appreciated the transformative potential of this field: ‘We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.’ These words resonated with me deeply, and I realized that the possibilities of artificial intelligence are limited only by our imaginations and our willingness to take risks. Throughout my academic and professional journey, I’ve sought out opportunities to push the boundaries of what’s possible, from pursuing advanced degrees in computer science to working on cutting-edge research projects. Through these experiences, I’ve learned the importance of collaboration, innovation, and perseverance in tackling the toughest challenges facing our world today. And as I look forward to contributing to the field of artificial intelligence, I’m inspired by the limitless potential of this technology and committed to using it to make a positive impact on society.

Leadership quotes can help you showcase your ability to lead and inspire others, and your commitment to making a positive impact in your community. They can also demonstrate your understanding of the importance of teamwork, communication, and collaboration, which are essential skills in many fields of study and careers.

  • “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell
  • “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy
  • “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
  • “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan
  • “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
  • “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis
  • “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker
  • “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn
  • “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” – Tony Blair
  • “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” – Ralph Nader

Here is an example opening paragraph of a personal statement where the candidate used a leadership quote to begin:

As an aspiring business leader, I am always striving to develop the qualities and characteristics that will enable me to make a positive impact in my chosen field. To me, leadership is not just about achieving success, but also about helping others to reach their full potential. That’s why I find inspiration in the words of former U.S. President John Quincy Adams, who once said, ‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.’ This quote captures the essence of what I believe it means to be a leader – to inspire, to guide, and to empower others to achieve their goals. I am committed to embodying these qualities as I pursue my education and career in business, with the goal of making a meaningful difference in the lives of those around me.

Personal growth is a lifelong process of learning, self-discovery, and personal development, and it’s an important aspect of personal and academic success. Using a personal growth quote in your personal statement can demonstrate your commitment to self-improvement, your willingness to learn and grow, and your ability to overcome challenges and setbacks.

  • “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
  • “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” – W. Clement Stone
  • “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison
  • “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
  • “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
  • “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison
  • “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
  • “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus

These quotes can be particularly relevant for students who have excelled academically, or who are interested in pursuing a career in academia or research. Academic quotes can be used to demonstrate your knowledge, and intellectual curiosity, as well as your ability to think critically and engage with complex ideas. They can also show your dedication to your field of study and your commitment to academic excellence.

  • “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
  • “The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.” – William S. Burroughs
  • “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – W.B. Yeats
  • “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
  • “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates
  • “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
  • “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
  • “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey
  • “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
  • “Education is the movement from darkness to light.” – Allan Bloom 

These quotes can be used to demonstrate your understanding and passion for your chosen field, as well as your commitment to excellence and professionalism. They can also be used to highlight specific skills or achievements that you have acquired in your professional pursuits, such as teamwork, problem-solving, or leadership.

  • “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius
  • “Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.” – David Rockefeller
  • “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” – Colin Powell
  • “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” – Chris Grosser
  • “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
  • “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

These quotes can help you showcase your appreciation and understanding of cultural diversity, your willingness to learn from different perspectives, and your interest in contributing to the global community. They can also be used to highlight any experiences or achievements that you have had in cultural immersion, cross-cultural communication, or intercultural exchange.  

  • “No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  • “Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.” – Jawaharlal Nehru
  • “Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers.” – Paulo Coelho
  • “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” – Rita Mae Brown
  • “Culture is not a luxury, but a necessity for every society.” – Pearl S. Buck
  • “Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs.” – Thomas Wolfe
  • “Culture is the sum total of all the things that make a society distinctive.” – Clifford Geertz
  • “The beauty of culture is that it evolves through time and generations, shaping our values and beliefs.” – Chinua Achebe
  • “The richness of our culture reflects the diversity of our people.” – Unknown
  • “Culture is the window reflecting the soul of a nation.” – Wang Meng

They can also be used if you want to showcase your ability to think outside the box or to approach problems in a creative and innovative way, regardless of your field of study.

  • “Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.” – Albert Einstein
  • “The creative adult is the child who survived.” – Ursula K. Le Guin
  • “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
  • “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
  • “Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
  • “To be creative means to be in love with life.” – Osho
  • “The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” – Julia Cameron
  • “The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.” – Pablo Picasso
  • “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” – Dorothy Parker
  • “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” – Albert Einstein

Perseverance is a universal quality that is admired by all, and demonstrating a strong work ethic and determination to overcome challenges can be valuable in any academic or professional setting. Whether you have overcome personal obstacles or worked hard to achieve academic or professional success, using a perseverance quote can be a powerful way to convey your resilience and determination to admissions committees.  

  • “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
  • “I have failed again and again throughout my life. That’s why I am a success.” – Michael Jordan
  • “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
  • “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
  • “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
  • “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
  • “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
  • “The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the story you keep telling yourself that you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
  • “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” – Newt Gingrich
  • I hope these quotes provide some inspiration and ideas for your personal statement! Remember, choose quotes that speak to you personally and help showcase your unique strengths and qualities to the admissions committee.

Selecting the right quote to begin your personal statement can be a powerful tool to help you stand out in the admissions process. By choosing a quote that resonates with you and reflects your unique qualities and aspirations, you can set the tone for your personal statement and make a memorable first impression on the admissions team.

Whether you choose a quote about perseverance, leadership, or anything else, make sure it authentically represents who you are and what you hope to achieve. With these inspiring quotes as your guide, you’ll be one step closer to crafting a personal statement that showcases your strengths, character, and potential.

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101 Inspirational Quotes for Personal Statements: Crafting Your Personal Story

Inspirational Quotes for Personal Statements_ Crafting Your Personal Story

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of inspirational quotes to help you write a compelling and inspiring personal statement that showcases your unique qualities, experiences, and aspirations. From words of wisdom to motivational reminders, these quotes are perfect for inspiring you to stay authentic, embrace self-care, and tell your story with confidence. So, if you’re looking to create a personal statement that stands out and gets noticed or know someone who is, keep reading for 101 uplifting quotes that will inspire and empower you to craft a statement that reflects the best of who you are.

101 Inspirational Quotes for Personal Statements

1. “Your dreams are the blueprints of your destiny; dare to build them with courage and perseverance.”

2. “The greatest adventure you can embark on is the journey to discover your true self.”

3. “In the face of adversity, remember that your strength lies within your ability to rise again.”

4. “Life’s challenges are not stumbling blocks but stepping stones towards greatness.”

5. “Be the master of your fate, the captain of your soul, and the architect of your dreams.”

6. “Embrace uncertainty, for within it lies the potential for extraordinary growth.”

7. “Your past does not define you; it prepares you for the brilliance of your future.”

8. “Success is not measured by your accomplishments but by the positive impact you leave on others.”

9. “The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong endeavor that fuels the fire of wisdom within.”

10. “Believe in the power of your unique voice, for it has the potential to change the world.”

11. “Cherish the present, for it is the canvas upon which you paint your future.”

12. “When you embrace authenticity, you radiate a light that inspires others to do the same.”

13. “It’s in the darkest of nights that the stars within you shine the brightest.”

14. “Kindness is a ripple that can turn into a wave of transformation and love.”

15. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

16. “Every step forward, no matter how small, propels you closer to your aspirations.”

17. “Be the conductor of your life’s symphony, guiding it with passion and purpose.”

18. “The more you love yourself, the more you have to give to others.”

19. “Dare to see the world as a canvas of possibilities and let your imagination paint the future.”

20. “Your journey may be unique, but your destination is always within reach.”

21. “Embrace failure as a stepping stone, and you’ll pave a path to success.”

22. “The greatest joy is not in receiving but in giving with a compassionate heart.”

23. “Your mind is a garden; cultivate thoughts that bloom into greatness.”

24. “The seeds of success are sown with patience, nurtured by determination, and harvested with gratitude.”

25. “Choose courage over comfort, and you’ll unlock the door to transformation.”

26. “In the tapestry of life, your individuality weaves a thread of brilliance.”

27. “Adopt a mindset of abundance, and you’ll attract boundless opportunities.”

28. “Rise above the noise of doubt, and let your faith guide you to victory.”

29. “Every sunrise brings a new chance to embrace the extraordinary in the ordinary.”

30. “The key to unlocking your potential is within your willingness to take risks.”

31. “Success is not a destination but a continuous journey of self-improvement.”

32. “You are the author of your story; wield the pen with purpose and passion.”

33. “The world needs your unique gifts; don’t hide them, but let them shine.”

34. “A single act of kindness can ignite a spark that brightens the lives of many.”

35. “Look beyond the horizon of doubt, and you’ll discover a realm of endless possibilities.”

36. “Your thoughts shape your reality; choose them wisely to create a masterpiece.”

37. “Life’s challenges are opportunities in disguise, leading you towards growth and resilience.”

38. “The pursuit of knowledge is not a race but a beautiful journey of self-discovery.”

39. “Embrace your imperfections, for they are the brushstrokes that make you a masterpiece.”

40. “Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it; be brave and stand tall.”

41. “The secret to success lies in finding joy in the process of becoming.”

42. “Celebrate the small victories, for they fuel the motivation to achieve greater triumphs.”

43. “Live with intention, and you’ll find purpose in every step of your journey.”

44. “Your potential knows no bounds; unlock it with unwavering self-belief.”

45. “The power of a positive mindset can turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.”

46. “Seize the present moment, for it is the gift that shapes your future.”

47. “In the depths of struggle, you’ll discover the strength that resides within you.”

48. “Kindness is the language that transcends barriers and unites hearts.”

49. “Cherish the lessons of the past, but let the present define your future.”

50. “The road to success is often winding, but every turn brings valuable lessons.”

51. “Believe in your dreams, for they hold the seeds of a future yet to bloom.”

52. “Success is not an accident but the result of purposeful dedication and hard work.”

53. “Life is a canvas; paint it with the vibrant colors of love and compassion.”

54. “Let your actions be the song of inspiration that resonates with the world.”

55. “In the dance of life, let passion be your guide, and purpose your partner.”

56. “The power of resilience lies in bouncing back stronger after every setback.”

57. “Your potential is limitless; it is the courage to pursue it that sets you free.”

58. “The greatest gift you can give to the world is the true expression of yourself.”

59. “Embrace the journey of self-discovery, for it leads to profound transformation.”

60. “Success is not found in perfection but in the beauty of imperfection.”

61. “Your story is a tapestry woven with threads of perseverance and triumph.”

62. “Rise above the noise of doubt, and your wings will carry you to great heights.”

63. “The ripple effect of kindness can change the world one heart at a time.”

64. “In the pursuit of knowledge, you’ll find the treasures that enrich your soul.”

65. “Celebrate the uniqueness that sets you apart, and let it be your guiding star.”

66. “The path to success is carved with purpose, passion, and an unyielding spirit.”

67. “Your dreams are the seeds of possibility; water them with action and dedication.”

68. “The key to happiness lies in embracing the journey rather than the destination.”

69. “Be the architect of your dreams, and your vision will become a reality.”

70. “Life’s challenges are stepping stones leading you to the strength within.”

71. “Kindness is a beacon of light that illuminates even the darkest paths.”

72. “Your potential knows no limits; it is bound only by the depths of your belief.”

73. “In the symphony of life, play the melody of your heart with purpose and passion.”

74. “The pursuit of knowledge enriches the soul and opens doors to endless possibilities.”

75. “Success is not defined by accolades but by the impact you leave on others.”

76. “Life’s journey is a canvas; let your actions paint a masterpiece of love and compassion.”

77. “The path to success may be challenging, but your determination will lead you to triumph.”

78. “Embrace the lessons of the past, the opportunities of the present, and the promise of the future.”

79. “Your uniqueness is your superpower; embrace it and let it shine brightly.”

80. “The road to success is paved with resilience, determination, and unwavering faith.”

81. “In the garden of life, cultivate seeds of positivity to bloom into greatness.”

82. “Success is not a destination but a continuous journey of growth and improvement.”

83. “Your story is a masterpiece in the making; create it with purpose and passion.”

84. “The power of kindness can heal wounds and bridge divides.”

85. “Life’s challenges are opportunities to discover the strength within you.”

86. “Your dreams are the compass guiding you to the life you’re destined to lead.”

87. “Embrace the uncertainties of life, for they lead to remarkable discoveries.”

88. “Success is the art of turning setbacks into stepping stones for progress.”

89. “In the grand tapestry of life, your uniqueness weaves a thread of brilliance.”

90. “Cherish the moments of struggle, for they shape the person you become.”

91. “Let your light shine brightly, inspiring others to ignite their own flames.”

92. “The pursuit of knowledge is a journey that fuels the fire of wisdom within.”

93. “Your potential is a vast ocean of possibilities; dive into it with courage.”

94. “In the orchestra of life, let your passion play the sweetest melody.”

95. “The power of resilience lies in rising stronger after every fall.”

96. “Kindness is a language that transcends barriers and brings hearts together.”

97. “Your dreams are the stars guiding you towards your true purpose.”

98. “Life’s challenges are opportunities for growth and self-discovery.”

99. “Believe in yourself, for your potential knows no bounds.”

100. “Success is not found in the destination but in the journey itself.”

101. “Embrace your uniqueness, for it holds the key to your greatness.”

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50 Best Personal Growth Quotes for Everyday Evolution

A bunch of multi-colored speech bubbles representing personal growth quotes

Looking for some inspiration to kick off a new chapter of growth or jumpstart your next evolution? Regardless of your goals, these words — from some of the most notable authors, scientists, artists, philosophers, politicians, activists, business professionals and athletes — are sure to resonate.

Bookmark these 50 best personal growth  quotes to draw upon in the months ahead.

Quotes for a Growth Mindset

A white outline of a small tree growing out of the ground on a blue background

  • “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou
  • “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” - Ernest Hemingway
  • “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” - Carrie Fisher
  • “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” - Abraham Maslow
  • “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” - Oprah Winfrey
  • “When we’re growing up there are all sorts of people telling us what to do when really what we need is space to work out who to be.” - Elliot Page
  • “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” - Frederick Douglass
  • “Permit yourself to change your mind when something is no longer working for you.” - Nedra Glover Tawwab
  • “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” - Chinese Proverb
  • “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” - Carl Bard

Quotes About Change

Two arrows creating a shuffle icon on a blue background

  • “Change brings opportunity.” - Nido Qubein
  • “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.” - Marilyn Monroe
  • “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” - Steve Maraboli
  • “Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is a starting point to begin changing your life.” - Deborah Day
  • “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” - Rob Siltanen
  • “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” - Angela Davis
  • “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall
  • “Change is made of choices, and choices are made of character.” - Amanda Gorman
  • “Tradition is nothing but ancestral peer pressure.” - Indya Moore
  • “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” - John F. Kennedy

Quotes About Education

An icon of a graduation cap.

  • “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X
  • “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.” - Helen Keller
  • “Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” - Walt Disney
  • “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” - John Dewey
  • “You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read.” - Cesar Chavez
  • “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” - Bill Nye
  • “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” - Benjamin Franklin
  • “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
  • “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” - Sydney J. Harris
  • “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” - Malala Yousafzai

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Quotes about success.

People often think of achievement as an end goal, but if you're wondering how to be successful , you should prepare for an ongoing process of growth and self-discovery. Look to these quotes remind you of what's really important on your personal quest for success.

  • “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” - Albert Einstein
  • “The swiftest way to triple your success is to double your investment in personal development.” - Robin Sharma
  • “I would like to think that all of my successes in life are really just the fruit of my failures.” - Yvie Oddly
  • “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” - Warren Buffett
  • “Always work hard and have fun in what you do because I think that's when you're more successful. You have to choose to do it.” - Simone Biles
  • “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” - Thomas Jefferson
  • “Failure is not the opposite of success; it is a stepping stone towards it.” - Sundar Pichai
  • “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
  • “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” - Babe Ruth
  • “Success isn't about the end result, it's about what you learn along the way.” - Vera Wang

Quotes About Life

Because personal growth is a long-term effort, you're bound to encounter obstacles along the way. These quotes might help you find your life direction  or guide you toward growth when you're facing hardship or feeling discouraged.

  • “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 the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
  • “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” - Rick Warren
  • “You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” - Shonda Rhimes
  • “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” - Diane von Furstenberg
  • “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you… never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” - Les Brown
  • “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experiences that reveals the human spirit.” - e.e. cummings
  • “If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want.” - Kevin Ngo
  • “It is never too late to be who you might have been.” - George Eliot
  • “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” - Dolly Parton

Whether you’re pursuing a new dream , working hard toward ongoing goals or making a plan to transform your life in some way, you're bound to encounter challenges along the way. But those challenges could be a gateway to growth and new opportunities.

If you find any of these quotes particularly inspirational, consider printing them out and posting them in the places you view often throughout the day. Sometimes a simple quote can impact you in the most positive of ways.

Know someone who needs a bit of motivation? Share these quotes and help them on their personal growth journey.

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Mars Girolimon '21 '23G is a staff writer at Southern New Hampshire University where they earned their bachelor's and master's, both in English and creative writing. In addition to their work in higher education, Girolimon's short fiction is published in the North American Review, So It Goes by The Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library, X-R-A-Y and more. They're currently writing their debut novel, which was Longlisted for The First Pages Prize. Connect with them on LinkedIn .

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165 Inspirational Quotes To Keep You Motivated In Life

Inspirational quotes can help motivate us and create a positive outlook on life and work when we need it most. They do so by harnessing the power of positive thinking. Reframing our brains to think positively is a key step in leading a happy and successful life.

You make a choice when you decide how you will react to any given situation. If you’re choosing (sometimes subconsciously) to complain and think negatively, your natural reaction will be to dwell on the negatives of every situation.

When you actively choose to think positively, regardless of how absolutely ridiculous it may seem, you will turn the situation into a development plan for growth, helping you become a better problem-solver and leader . Over time and after reframing your mind to think positively about problems, you’ll stay motivated , inspired, and empowered to take on any challenge that comes your way!

While reading through this list of the best motivational quotes in English, I recommend writing down some of the best inspirational and motivational quotes that resonate with you and your current situation. After writing them down, find the most motivational thought or the most inspiring passage, read it out loud, and then really try to understand the meaning.

You may find these inspirational quotes may come in handy when you’re having a hard day and need a little extra encouragement a and motivational line!  So read these, write some down, and refer to them often.

Inspirational Quotes

The power of positive thinking is remarkable. When you think of something that brings you joy, your brain releases endorphins. Those endorphins fill you with the feeling of well-being.

Positive thinking helps you frame your mindset and change your life.

But when we feel down, it’s often difficult to conjure up things that make us happy. That’s why having some positive inspirational quotes or a motivated line on hand can be helpful in situations like that.

From short inspirational quotes and widely relatable anecdotes to motivational quotes specifically about work and life in general, here is a list of some of my favorite inspirational quotes.

Inspirational Quotes For Your Personal Life

  • “People tell you the world looks a certain way. Parents tell you how to think. Schools tell you how to think. TV. Religion. And then at a certain point, if you’re lucky, you realize you can make up your own mind. Nobody sets the rules but you. You can design your own life.”— Carrie Ann Moss
  • “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
  • “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”― George Bernard Shaw
  • “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot ― it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” ― Maya Angelou

Inspirational Quotes For Positive Thinking

  • “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem
  • “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
  • “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” —Lou Holtz
  • “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius

Inspirational Quotes For Happiness

  • “You are who you are meant to be. Dance as if no one’s watching. Love as if it’s all you know. Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” James Dean
  • “You do not find the happy life. You make it.” — Camilla Eyring Kimball
  • “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth.” ― William W. Purkey
  • “Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln

Inspirational Quotes For Dark Times

  • “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” — Aristotle
  • “You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.” — Unknown
  • “Fairytales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairytales tell children that dragons can be killed.” – G K Chesterton

Inspirational Quotes From Fairy Tales

  • “Just because it’s what’s done doesn’t mean it’s what should be done!”- Cinderella
  • “With a smile and a song, life is just like a bright sunny day. Your cares fade away.” – Snow White
  • “When we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now…” – Hans Christian Andersen, The Snow Queen
  • “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible then treat possibilities as probabilities.” -Charles Dickens

 Inspirational Quotes For Risk-Taking

  • “Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow.” — Mahatma Gandhi
  • “It is only when we take chances, when our lives improve. The initial and the most difficult risk that we need to take is to become honest. —Walter Anderson
  • “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”- Brian Tracy

Inspirational Quotes To Build Confidence

  • “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”– Helen Keller
  • “We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action. Fear is nature’s way of warning us to get busy.” –  Dr. Henry Link
  • “The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” – Hasidic Proverb
  • “What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” – Don Zimmer
  • “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”― Marilyn Monroe
  • “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
  • “Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
  • “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” —E.E. Cummings
  • “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Zig Ziglar

Inspirational Quotes To Help You Excel

  • “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” –  Malala Yousafzai
  • “The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ― Walt Disney
  • “Leaders set high standards. Refuse to tolerate mediocrity or poor performance.” – Brian Tracy
  • “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” –Vince Lombardi

Inspirational Quotes To Overcome Bad News

  • “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
  • “Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today.” – Will Rogers
  • “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
  • “Leaders never use the word failure. They look upon setbacks as learning experiences.” – Brian Tracy

Inspirational Quotes For Positive Thoughts

  • “We become what we think about” – Earl Nightingale
  • “There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking.” – Brian Tracy
  • “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
  • “Develop an ‘attitude of gratitude.’ Say thank you to everyone you meet for everything you do.” – Brian Tracy

Inspirational Quotes To Stay Motivated

  • “Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.” – Robert H. Schuller
  • “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” – Helen Keller
  • “Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Famous Quotes from Successful People

In your success journey, inspiration guides and motivates you through challenges. Explore the wisdom of successful people who have not only achieved greatness, but have also left a trail of inspiration for others to follow.

Inspirational Quotes By William James

  • “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James
  • “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” -William James
  • “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”― William James

Inspirational Quotes By Henry David Thoreau

  • “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that 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.”― Henry David Thoreau
  • “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ― Henry David Thoreau
  • “As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.” ― Henry David Thoreau
  • “There is no remedy for love but to love more.” ― Henry David Thoreau

Inspirational Quotes By Oprah Winfrey

  • “You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.” — Oprah Winfrey
  • “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” — Oprah Winfrey
  • “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
  • “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” ― Oprah Winfrey
  • “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”― Oprah Winfrey

Inspirational Quotes About Life By Ralph Waldo Emerson

  • “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • “Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Inspirational Quotes By Albert Einstein

  • “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
  • “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.” – Albert Einstein
  • “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
  • “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

Motivational Quotes

Motivational quotes, like the inspirational quotes above, are meant to inspire action. These quotes have the potential to encourage you to become the best version of yourself.

Let your positivity and optimism inspire you and  lead you to find success elsewhere. That’s my favorite way to achieve success.

These quotes are here to help motivate you to reach your peak performance. Read them when you need a push to work towards your goals.

You experience external change only once you change internally. Start today and watch how everything around you begins to change!

Motivational Quotes To Be Successful

  • “When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.” – Paulo Coelho
  • “While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.” Henry Link
  • “Imagine your life is perfect in every respect; what would it look like?” – Brian Tracy
  • “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” Chuck Palahniuk
  • “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
  • “Reading is to the mind, as exercise is to the body.” – Brian Tracy
  • “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” —George Lorimer
  • “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” —Thomas Carlyle

Motivational Quotes To Pursue A New Dream

  • “Waiting insistently in front of a tightly closed door is unfair to all of the open doors! Give a chance to the open doors!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
  • “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go. Dr. Seuss
  • “You make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. You draw your own box.”— Duchess Meghan
  • “The key responsibility of leadership is to think about the future. No one else can do it for you.” – Brian Tracy
  • “Make your life a masterpiece, imagine no limitations on what you can be, have, or do.”  – Brian Tracy

Motivational Quotes For Moving Forward

  • “Every closed door isn’t locked and even if it is…YOU just might have the key! Search within to unlock a world of possibilities!”― Sanjo Jendayi
  • “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”— Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa
  • “It’s easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone.” Mahatma Gandhi
  • “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.”― Robert Frost
  • “I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” – Michael Phelps
  • “To see what is right and not do is a lack of courage.” – Confucius.

Motivational Quotes To Stay On The Right Track

  • “Life has got all those twists and turns. You’ve got to hold on tight and off you go.”— Nicole Kidman
  • “The effective leader recognizes that they are more dependent on their people than they are on them. Walk softly. ” – Brian Tracy
  • “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals.” – Michelle Obama
  • “Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’” – Eleanor Roosevelt
  • “It takes courage to examine your life and to decide that there are things you would like to change, and it takes even more courage to do something about it.” – Sue Hadfield

Motivational Quotes To Stay Positive

  • “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino
  • “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” – John Wooden
  • “It hurt because it mattered.” – John Green
  • “Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” -Zig Ziglar
  • “Make sure your worst enemy is not living between your own two ears…”― Nitya Prakash
  • “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton
  • “Life changes very quickly, in a very positive way, if you let it.”  – Lindsey Vonn
  • “Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S. Eliot
  • “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” -Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  • “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.” —Muhammad Ali

Motivational Quotes For A Successful Outcome

  • “The only limits you have are the limits you believe.” Wayne Dyer
  • “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” ― Marie Curie
  • “Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
  • “Change the game, don’t let the game change you.” – Macklemore

Short Motivational Quotes

  • “Self-doubt kills talent.” Edie McClurg
  • “You get what you give.” – Jennifer Lopez
  • “Your life only gets better when you get better.”- Brian Tracy

Motivational Quotes For Work

  • “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” — Michael Jordan
  • “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs
  • “Entrepreneurs are great at dealing with uncertainty and also very good at minimizing risk. That’s the classic entrepreneur.” – Mohnish Pabrai.
  • “Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.” – Brian Tracy

Motivational Quotes To Change The World

  • “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”— Maya Angelou
  • “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”- Rob Siltanen
  • “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffet
  • “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” – Brian Tracy

Motivational Quotes For The Whole Human Race

  • “War is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate.” — Marvin Gaye
  • “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell
  • “Light tomorrow with today!” –  Elizabeth Barrett Browning
  • “Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”  – Mae Jemison
  • “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”― Mae West
  • “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” — Henry Ford

Motivational Quotes by Famous People

In a world that often presents numerous challenges and obstacles, motivation helps push you forward toward your goals. Here, we’ll look at the empowering words of successful people who have made a significant impact on the world.

Motivational Quotes By Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • “The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Motivational Quotes By Winston Churchill

  • “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
  • “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
  • “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ― Winston Churchill
  • “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” ― Winston Churchill

Motivational Quotes By Thomas Edison

  • “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. There is no substitute for hard work.”  – Thomas Edison
  • “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”― Thomas A. Edison
  • “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.”― Thomas Edison
  • “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” ― Thomas A. Edison

Stay On Track With Daily Inspirational Quotes

These positive quotes can push you towards progress and help you accomplish the goals you create for yourself.

Use these words of inspiration whenever you feel like you need a boost. They can guide you through any challenge and allow you to face any situation head-on. But the encouraging words do not stop here. I have so much more to share with you to boost your confidence and keep your mind focused on all the positive possibilities you can accomplish.

Sign up today to receive my  Daily Motivational Quotes Email  every day for the next 30 days. These daily quotes are sure to get you inspired for success!

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100 Powerful Motivational Quotes to Help You Rise Above

100 Powerful Motivational Quotes to Help You Rise Above

100 motivational and inspiratinal quotes about life and success to help you conquer lifes challenges..

Every member of the human race knows that life can present difficult challenges, often taking all the fun out of our day to day lives. To overcome these obstacles there are a lot of good strategies you can employ, and very often the answer lies within. 

One great way to dig deep and overcome your difficulties is to get motivated! You may need motivation for work, home life, or simply to gain the extra positive energy necessary to develop success and get through the week. 

Enjoy the inspirational quotes below, and remember that the only limit to achieving our desires is one of imagination! Create your own happy life by filling it with purpose, and you can achieve excellence and fulfill your own dreams and your own life plan on your terms.

Motivational Quotes: Information to Inspire Your Life

There Is No Greater Thing You Can Do With Your Life And Your Work Than Follow Your Passions – In A Way That Serves The World And You. RICHARD BRANSON (more Richard Branson quotes)
Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. ROALD DAHL
If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one. DOLLY PARTON
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. HELEN KELLER
Life is a series of baby steps along the way and if you add up these tiny little steps you take toward your goal, whatever it is, whether it's giving up something, a terrible addiction or trying to work your way through an illness. HODA KOTB
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. OPRAH WINFREY (more Oprah Winfrey quotes)
To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone. REBA MCENTIRE
Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking: “What’s in it for me?” BRIAN TRACY
The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. OPRAH WINFREY
As soon as something stops being fun, I think it’s time to move on. Life is too short to be unhappy. Waking up stressed and miserable is not a good way to live. RICHARD BRANSON

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, '"What are you doing for others?""

Martin luther king, jr. (more martin luther king, jr. quotes), "i've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why i succeed.", michael jordan, "nothing can dim the light that shines from within.", maya angelou, "it's not what we have in life but who we have in our life that matters.", margaret laurence, "embrace the glorious mess that you are.", elizabeth gilbert, "sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.", "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, "life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how i react to it.", charles swindoll, "don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.", robert louis stevenson, "without passion, you don’t have energy. without energy, you have nothing.", warren buffett (more warren buffett quotes), "it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. if you think about that, you’ll do things differently.", warren buffett, "remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.", dale carnegie, work for that feeling that you have accomplished something…don’t waste your time on this earth without making a mark., "life is not fair, get used to it", "the only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.", ralph waldo emerson, "live for each second without hesitation.", we define ourselves far too often by our past failures. that’s not you. you are this person right now. you’re the person who has learned from those failures., "you don’t need to be better than anyone else, you just need to be better than you used to be.", success quotes to inspire and help you overcome roadblocks.

For some, there is only one motivation that they need, and that’s providing for their family. For others (like Elon Musk, for example) motivation can be harder to come by - especially if your goal is to move the human race forward and onto Mars!. 

Everyone feels like quitting at some point, and no one has all the answers. And even though it can be tempting to get under the blanket and shut out the world sometimes, quitting won’t make the challenges go away. If you give zero effort, you’ll have exactly the same number of chances at getting what you want.

Use these motivational quotes for work, for your personal life, and for anything that requires that extra boost of motivation.

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour. ELON MUSK (more Elon Musk quotes)
Talent is god-given. Be humble. Fame is Man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. JOHN WOODEN
Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose. WAYNE DYER
The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty. WINSTON CHURCHILL (more Winston Churchill quotes)
If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily. JACK CANFIELD
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. NAPOLEON HILL (more Napoleon Hill quotes)
A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided. TONY ROBBINS (more Tony Robbins quotes)
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. HENRY DAVID THOREAU
By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own. MARK VICTOR HANSEN
Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. JOHN LENNON
You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it. CHARLES BUXTON
You cannot afford to live in potential for the rest of your life; at some point, you have to unleash the potential and make your move. ERIC THOMAS
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. CALVIN COOLIDGE
There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. PAULO COELHO
Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine. ROY T. BENNETT
The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do. SWATI SHARMA
You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind. DALE CARNEGIE
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. JIMMY DEAN
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I’m possible'! AUDREY HEPBURN
Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. HENRY FORD
Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. GEORGE ADDAIR
Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. NORMAN VINCENT PEALE
If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you. LES BROWN
Someone else’s success does not equal a failure for you. JOE ROGAN
Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. WINSTON S. CHURCHILL
Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value. ALBERT EINSTEIN
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. STEVE JOBS
Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. ALICE WALKER
You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end. JESSICA HERRIN, FOUNDER AND CEO OF STELLA & DOT

Inspirational Quotes About Persevering Through Difficulty: From Albert Einstein to Babe Ruth

It may be just an opinion, but a so-called “minimum wage work ethic” will not get you want you want (or deserve!). Use the following handpicked motivational quotes to inspire you to not give up, but rather, to come through the other side and emerge as a winner!

I like criticism. It makes you strong. LEBRON JAMES
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. ALBERT EINSTEIN
Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about. WINSTON CHURCHILL
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. THOMAS EDISON
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. ARISTOTLE ONASSIS
It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up. VINCE LOMBARDI
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. HENRY FORD
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
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. CONFUCIUS
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. C.S. LEWIS
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
It always seems impossible until it’s done. NELSON MANDELA
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. NELSON MANDELA
Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed. BOB RILEY
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. MAHATMA GANDHI
You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events. JOEL OSTEEN
Every problem is a gift –- without problems we would not grow. TONY ROBBINS
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. MARK TWAIN (more Mark Twain quotes)
Believe you can and you’re halfway there. THEODORE ROOSEVELT
It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs. JILLIAN MICHAELS
The man who says he can, and the man who says he can’t are both correct. CONFUCIUS
Never give up. You only get one life. Go for it! RICHARD E. GRANT
You just can’t beat the person who never gives up. BABE RUTH
If you can’t, you must. If you must, you can. TONY ROBBINS
It is never too late to be what you might have been. GEORGE ELIOT
You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over. RICHARD BRANSON
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. ROBERT F. KENNEDY

Motivational Quotes for Women - From Eleanor Roosevelt to Lady Gaga

We all look forward to strong, successful and independent women. But have you ever wondered how they managed to become strong and successful? 

Here are some motivational quotes about success for you to achieve your ambitious goals from some of the most impressive women throughout history.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. MAYA ANGELOU (more Maya Angelou quotes)
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. MARGARET MEAD (more Margaret Mead quotes)
Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this. CELINE DION
Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can. HILLARY CLINTON
Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE
I've always been famous, it's just no one knew it yet. LADY GAGA (more Lady Gaga quotes)
Any actress who appears in public without being well-groomed is digging her own grave. JOAN CRAWFORD
Fame is not the glory! Virtue is the goal, and fame only a messenger, to bring more to the fold. VANNA BONTA
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. HELEN KELLER
My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent. RUTH BADER GINSBERG
Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and enjoying it for everything that it is. MANDY HALE
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success. MARTHA STEWART
If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just. ANITA RODDICK
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. AMELIA EARHART
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. MAYA ANGELOU
Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain. VIVIAN GREENE
Believe in yourself, take on your challenges, dig deep within yourself to conquer fears. Never let anyone bring you down. You got to keep going. CHANTAL SUTHERLAND
We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. BARBARA DE ANGELIS
I may be kindly, I am ordinarily gentle, but in my line of business I am obliged to will terribly what I will at all. CATHERINE THE GREAT
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform. DIANE MARIECHILD
Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. CHARLOTTE WHITTON
I want to do is because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others. AMELIA EARHART
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
Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country. MARGARET THATCHER (more Margaret Thatcher quotes)

Motivational Quotes for Business 

Starting a business is tough, but if you want to change the world and make money while you’re at it, you might need some inspirational quotes and motivational quotes to get you going. You can not only plan to be a success, you can plan to succeed beyond your wildest dreams! Who knows – you could be the next Steve Jobs! Let these quotes for business inspire you, remind you of why you started in the first place, and get you out of your comfort zone.

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. GEORGE HERBERT
You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. ZIG ZIGLAR
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. HELLEN KELLER
Play by the rules, but be ferocious. PHIL KNIGHT
Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow. ANTHONY ROBBINS
You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong. WARREN BUFFETT
Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. HENRY DAVID THOREAU
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
Don’t settle for what life gives you; make life better and build something. ASHTON KUTCHER
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
Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you. GEORGE WHITEFIELD
When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you’ll find a way to get it. JIM ROHN
Fortune always favours the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself. P. T. BARNUM
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. THOMAS A. EDISON
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. DALE CARNEGIE
When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there. ZIG ZIGLAR
Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. PELE
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. HELEN KELLER
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. WINSTON CHURCHILL
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. STEPHEN COVEY
The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same. COLIN R. DAVIS
Opportunities don't happen. You create them. CHRIS GROSSER
It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. HERMAN MELVILLE
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
Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming. RICHARD BRANSON
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure. COLIN POWELL
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. VIDAL SASSOON
There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them. SETH GODIN

Motivational Quotes for College Students - Quotes About Life in School and Beyond

Being a college student is stressful. After all, preparing for the real world is not an easy job! We can all use a little bit of help getting through, so check out these motivational quotes about life to keep you resilient.

A winner is a dreamer who never gives up. NELSON MANDELA
Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. OG MANDINO
It never gets easier. You just get better. JORDAN HOECHLIN
The true success is the person who invented himself. AL GOLDSTEIN
All progress takes place outside the comfort zone. MICHAEL JOHN BOBAK
Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you. RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. W. CLEMENT STONE
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above them. WASHINGTON IRVING
Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. THEODORE N. VAIL
With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world. Dalai Lama
Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle. CHRISTIAN D. LARSON
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. WALT DISNEY
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. CONFUCIUS
Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better. JIM ROHN
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. MARK TWAIN
Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. JOSHUA MARINE
Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now. DENIS WAITLEY
College is the reward for surviving high school. JUDD APATOW
Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. MALCOLM X
Every year, many, many stupid people graduate from college. And if they can do it, so can you. JOHN GREEN
Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest when you haven't planted. DAVID BLY
College inspired me to think differently. It's like no other time in your life. LARA OLEYNIK

Motivational Quotes from Celebrities

Everyone looks for a little wisdom and inspiration now and then, even celebrities. Here are some of the top motivational quotes from celebrities to push you forward on your journey to success. Allow these inspirational quotes to fill your mind with clarity and purpose, straight from Hollywood.

You never really learn much from hearing yourself speak. GEORGE CLOONEY
Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. LUCILLE BALL
Don't give it five minutes if you're not going to give it five years. MEGHAN MARKLE​
Every day is not a success. Every year is not a success. You have to celebrate the good. REESE WITHERSPOON
Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable. COCO CHANEL
I refuse to accept other people’s ideas of happiness for me. As if there’s a ‘one size fits all’ standard for happiness. KANYE WEST
Life is being on the wire, everything else is just waiting. KARL WALLENDA
Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing. DENIS WAITLEY
It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default. J.K. ROWLING
When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important. ELLEN DEGENERES  
Stick around. Don’t lose your heart, just keep going, keep at it. MARK RUFFALO
I'd rather be called a boy and play with paper airplanes than be called a man and play with a girl's heart. NIALL HORAN
I don’t like to share my personal life… it wouldn’t be personal if I shared it. GEORGE CLOONEY
The image is one thing and the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to an image, put it that way. ELVIS PRESLEY
I've always been famous, it's just no one knew it yet. LADY GAGA
Your imperfections make you beautiful, they make you who you are. So just be yourself, love yourself for who you are and just keep going. DEMI LOVATO
No matter how talented you are, not everybody is going to like you. But that’s life, just stay strong. JUSTIN BIEBER
Don’t feel stupid if you don’t like what everyone else pretends to love. EMMA WATSON
If you can do what you do best and be happy, you are further along in life than most people. LEONARDO DICAPRIO
Ignore the naysayers. Really the only option is, head down and focus on the job. CHRIS PINE
I’ve learned it’s important not to limit yourself. You can do whatever you really love to do, no matter what it is. RYAN GOSLING
I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself. EMMA STONE
I’m a big believer in accepting yourself and not really worrying about it. JENNIFER LAWRENCE
I don’t do things for the response or the controversy. I just live my life. RIHANNA

Motivational Quotes for Entrepreneurs

Planting a sapling and starting your own business are similar in terms of growth. First, you need to invest money and time. Then, gently taking care of your new project, you must build with no expectations in return. During the entrepreneurial journey, you may require constant motivation. 

Here is a collection of motivational quotes for entrepreneurs to help you keep the fires burning bright. Hopefully, these inspirational quotes will help you so that you never lose the passion you need to succeed.

I never dreamed about success. I worked for it. ESTÉE LAUDER
Don’t let others convince you that the idea is good when your gut tells you it’s bad. KEVIN ROSE, CO-FOUNDED DIGG
Think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life is too short to think small. TIM FERRISS
I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite. G.K. CHESTERTON
I don’t know the word ‘quit.’ Either I never did, or I have abolished it. SUSAN BUTCHER
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. THEODORE ROOSEVELT
If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time. STEVE JOBS
Almost everything worthwhile carries with it some sort of risk, whether it’s starting a new business, whether it’s leaving home, whether it’s getting married, or whether it’s flying into space. CHRIS HADFIELD
Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. WILL RODGERS
The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere. BARACK OBAMA
Winners never quit and quitters never win. VINCE LOMBARDI
The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell. ANDREW CARNEGIE
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. WALT DISNEY
Success depends on employees. For me knowing and connecting with my employees is very important. DIVINE NDHLUKULA, FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF DDNS SECURITY OPERATIONS LTD
Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless. JAMIE PAOLINETTI
Do not focus on numbers. Focus on doing what you do best. It’s about building a community who want to visit your site every day because you create value and offer expertise. CASSEY HO, FOUNDER OF BLOGILATES.COM
In the age of transparency, honesty, and generosity, even in the form of an apology, generate goodwill. ALEXANDER ASSEILY, FOUNDER OF JAWBONE
If you know too much before the start, then you will get overwhelmed. Come up with an original idea, and don’t copy because there will be no passion. You need that otherworldly passion. Just start. JENI BRITTON BAUER
Don’t try to do everything by yourself, but try to connect with people and resources. Having that discipline and perseverance is really important. CHIEU CAO
It’s necessary to find a mentor who can invest time to know your personal capabilities and business model. NIGEL DAVIES, FOUNDER OF CLAROMENTIS
Don’t get distracted. Never tell yourself that you need to be the biggest brand in the whole world. Start by working on what you need at the present moment and then what you need to do tomorrow. So, set yourself manageable targets. JAS BAGNIEWSKI, CO-FOUNDER OF EVE SLEEP
You have to get good at ceding control and not taking things personally. Even seasoned entrepreneurs have struggled with that. I think it’s about not taking failures personally and also not taking successes personally. LEILA JANAH, FOUNDER OF SAMASOURCE AND LXMI
Your ability to attract, evaluate, and forge strong working relationships with co-founders, early employees, and investors often mean the difference between failure and success. CLARA SHIH, CO-FOUNDER OF HEARSAY SYSTEMS
My advice is to focus on the importance of forging a long-term relationship, whether with colleagues, partners, or customers. It is often easy to get caught up in short-term decisions. SHEILA LIRIO MARCELO, FOUNDER OF CARE.COM
If you’re starting something on your own, you better have a passion for it, because this is hard work. SALLIE KRAWCHECK, CO-FOUNDER OF ELLEVEST
Be nicer to your customers than your competitors. RICHARD REED, CO-FOUNDER OF INNOCENT DRINKS
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Mom Learns Teacher Bullied Her Son, So She Writes a Letter

Most parents recognize that no child is perfect and are willing to work with leaders and educators to raise decent human beings. But when one mother realized the person charged with her son’s education was nothing more than a bully , she wrote him an epic letter.

Called Into the Office

Mom responds to headmaster with epic letter

This past Mother’s Day, a man named Henry Wismayer paid tribute to his mum by sharing one of his favorite memories of her online .

“Once again marking Mother's Day by sharing my mum's ferocious letter to my asshole headmaster,” he wrote. Below, Wismayer attached a copy of a note his mother prepared in July 1998.

As it turns out, Wismayer’s mom was called into the headmaster’s office to discuss her son's failure to attend an athletic competition. Instead, she got an earful of her son’s supposed character. The mother was understandably furious and wrote a response as soon as she returned home.

“Dear sir,” she began. “Although common sense dictates that I delay writing this letter until I have cooled down, I am aware that the end of term is near and the opportunity to respond to your ill-considered and offensive remarks might soon be lost.”

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

“I came to your office yesterday prepared to agree with your assessment of my son’s character and prospects, and willing to support you in any decision you made regarding his future,” the mother continued, noting the original reason for the meeting.

“But in fact, this was not the purpose of the meeting at all and apart from a brief comment that, ‘I’ll have to suspend him because that’s what I did with the other boy,' you spent 45 minutes informing me that my son was worthless, arrogant, lazy, selfish and stupid.”

The angry mother then noted the headmaster threatened her son’s future and said, “No university or employer will consider him when I have finished with him,” among several other disheartening comments that she would never expect an educator to make. Then, she called the situation for what it was: bullying.

“You came across to me as the worst sort of bully — one who knows he is unlikely to be held accountable for his actions. It is easy to destroy a child with an unremitting torrent of criticism and abuse, and I am ashamed to say that I have hitherto supported you in your grossly distorted assessment of Henry’s shortcomings, believing quite mistakenly that you were a man whose judgment I could trust.”

The mom then wrapped the letter by asking the headmaster to “leave the disciplining of my son to a teacher less blinded by prejudice and spite, who might still be able to temper justice with mercy, a quality you clearly lack.”

An Epic Reaction

At the time, Wismayer had no idea his mom had written the letter. However, in a follow-up comment to the post, the man gave an update.

“To those asking what happened next, my form tutor divulged that the head went apoplectic,” he shared. So he did what any curious kid would do: He looked for the letter on his mom’s computer. When he found it, he knew how great it was, so he printed off a few dozen copies and distributed them around the school.

“My mum became a schoolyard legend. The headteacher left me alone,” he wrapped.

Wismayer eventually graduated, and his mother’s well-aimed words may have inspired him in another way: Today he is a freelance writer in London with work in more than 80 publications, including the New York Times.

The Importance of Teachers

As a parent or caregiver, you know that kids learn many lessons outside the home and beyond your reach. All you can do is try to build a positive community filled with love and support, and trust that those who are tasked with helping to raise your child can do so in a kind and clear-minded way.

Obviously, that wasn’t the case in this particular story, but this mom stepped in just when action was needed. Sometimes it’s important to stand up for yourself, or as this mom did, for your child. But this story also reminds us just how wonderful the great teachers out there really are, and how important they are to a child’s development.

So if you have a great teacher in your life, remember to thank them and let them know how much they’re appreciated. They’re an important part of your kid’s present, but their impact is often still felt many years in the future.

Jelly Roll Is Kicked Out Of His High School - Years Later, He Returns With a Surprise

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Ed Dwight is Finally Going to Space, 60 Years Later

Back in the sixties, an American named Ed Dwight thought he would be the first Black astronaut in space. He never made it, but years later, the 90-year-old is preparing for his inaugural flight.

A Hopeful Mission

View of Earth and satellite

In 1961, President John. F. Kennedy selected Air Force member Ed Dwight to enter a training program that would pave the way to NASA’s Astronaut Corps, reports CBS News . It was an opportunity that meant Dwight would become the first Black astronaut.

“I thought these dudes were crazy,” he recalled. Still, he went through the training and completed the program two years later. The Air Force recommended that he join the corps, but surprisingly, he wasn’t selected.

“So, all these white folks that I'm dealing with, I mean, my peers, the other guys that were astronaut candidates, and the leadership was just horrified at the idea of my coming down to Edwards and the president appointing me to the position,” Dwight said.

When Kennedy was assassinated, so was Dwight's journey to space. He left the Air Force in 1966 to pursue art and spent the next 60 years creating sculptures of iconic figures in Black history. According to CBS , more than 130 of Dwight’s pieces have been shown in public spaces and museums.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t until 1983 that the first Black astronaut, Guion Bluford, actually reached space.

A Second Chance

Dwight is now 90 years old, but he never gave up his dream of going to space. Sixties years later, it’s finally happening. The man is one of six civilians who will board the upcoming June Blue Origin flight to the edge of space.

The company, which was founded by Jeff Bezos, has already completed 22 successful space missions. Many of those flights have included celebrities, like Michael Strahan and William Shatner.

When Shatner flew into space in 2021, he became the oldest man to do so at 90 years old. Now, Dwight will tie that record with his $250,000 ticket, which is sponsored by Space for Humanity .

Sometimes a dream may seem too far-fetched to ever become a reality. Or perhaps you were on the road to realizing a dream, but something came up, and it just didn’t happen. This story proves that sometimes a dream might not happen the way you thought it would, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still come true.

Dwight's upcoming journey into the atmosphere, where he’ll experience weightlessness and a spectacular view of space and Earth, isn’t what he initially thought his journey to space would be like. Yet he’s still going, and in that way, his dream is coming true.

The takeaway for all of us is that we should never be afraid to dream, and to dream big. Sure, the dream might not come true, but by giving up you’re ensuring that it won’t. Dreams give us a sense of purpose and meaning, and the more we invest in them, the more complete we can be.

Sometimes it may take a whole lifetime, but as Edwards proves, dreams do come true.

Copyright © 2024 Goalcast

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best quotes for personal statement

Quotes In A Personal Statement: What You Need To Know

best quotes for personal statement

There is a great deal of debate around the use of quotes in personal statements, with assumption and misinformation rife. Unless the application guidelines specifically prohibit the use of quotes in a personal statement, you are free to use them, but only if they add value . Here’s the answer to how you should use quotes in a personal statement…

You can use quotes in a personal statement to evidence your wider reading and subject knowledge or to put your personal experiences into context for the reader. Quotes can also help you compare opinions, define positions and engage the reader when used appropriately.

There’s lots of detail on how to use quotes for each of these purposes, as well as the pitfalls to avoid, below…

Use a Quote to Evidence Wider Reading and Knowledge

Using a quote to show that you have undertaken and understood an aspect of wider reading related to your application is a powerful way to engage the reader. You need to make sure that the quote is relevant and that it actually demonstrates that you have read a book or article, not that you just used the first result that came up when you Googled it. Evidencing that you have a comprehensive understanding of the sector or industry into which your subject falls and the contemporary challenges within your field of study is vital, and using a brief quote to support your own original opinion is an ideal way to do this.

Look at the image below.

best quotes for personal statement

I’ve used the search term ‘quotes on Geography’ and immediately I have a range of options from which to choose.  Maybe I think the first one looks good; it’s a relevant quote, and a well-known source. The problem here is that thousands of other people will do the same, and including this quote doesn’t show any evidence of a depth of knowledge or understanding in the eyes of an admissions officer. It is also far too long for most personal statement length limits, and you may end up with too much of your content being someone else’s words.

It would be far more compelling to have read a significant book on contemporary geography , and to be able to use a specific, relevant quote from somewhere within that book. That would show wider reading and knowledge, but also a far higher level of commitment to your intended course of study than a quick internet search.

Use a Quote to Contextualise Personal Experience

A quotation can be used to convey an aspect of your own life experience more convincingly than a simple description of a moment or encounter might. If you have been inspired by a person in real life, online, in a storybook, in your research or in popular culture, and it’s relevant to the point you want to make , then use a quote. Some examples of the kinds of quotations that might underpin a powerful point in a personal statement might be…

Everyone has the right to compassionate healthcare, free at the point of delivery. Someone Inspiring

Perhaps you attended a lecture in the past, or heard a speech that you’ve always remembered, and words similar to the ones above motivated you to pursue a study of Medicine. You might well want to use the quote to introduce and outline your commitment, your focus or your ambition.

You can make a difference to the world if you study hard. A Parent or Grandparent

Maybe you had a parent or grandparent who gave you this piece of advice and you’ve never forgotten it. Perhaps it plays a part in your desire to study Engineering or Physics. If so, it might be a legitimate quote to use to introduce your connection with the subject.

To read is to enter another world. To write is to open the door to that world for generations to come. Your favourite Author

This could easily be a quote from the introduction to a childhood book that might have prompted your creativity or inspired your imagination. As a consequence, this could be a wonderfully relevant quote to use in a personal statement related to the creative arts or literature. Any quote can be compelling to the reader and illustrate your connection to a subject or industry if it genuinely acts as a relevant link between your experiences, the course and your academic ambitions.

Use a Quote to Compare and Contrast Viewpoints

If your personal statement is one which could successfully utilise opposing viewpoints to show understanding and wider research, then quotations can be an excellent way to evidence a depth of understanding whilst writing in a concise way. Don’t use too many quotes to achieve this, as you will end up with a personal statement that seems repetitive and tells the reader more about the quotes than about the applicant, but judicious use of this technique can certainly be effective.

Suppose you are writing a personal statement related to Theatre Studies. To show your understanding of key practitioners and artistic movements, as well as your own approach to practice, you might begin with a comparative quote. Maybe something like…

best quotes for personal statement

You could then go on to discuss your own experiences in more detail, relating them to the demands of the course. By comparing other perspectives through the use of quotations, not only do you show a depth of understanding, but you provide a context for your own approach.

If you want to illustrate opposing viewpoints whilst also offering a relevant opinion, your passage might look something like this…

best quotes for personal statement

Mistakes You MUST Avoid When Using Quotations

Now that you have some examples of the most effective ways to use quotes in your personal statement, it is worth finishing with a consideration of the mistakes to avoid when using quotations…

Do not use quotes if they cause your personal statement to pass the word limit or veer off-topic. They should be avoided if too much of your own voice is lost, or their use becomes repetitive. Quotations that are commonly used, used without relevance or used inaccurately will harm, not support your application.

If you would like some advice on getting started with your personal statement , then check this post out, or use this resource to develop some excellent sentence starters.

Last of all, don’t forget to check out Grammarly . It’s a tremendously effective, free software application that helps you get your spelling and grammar to a precise and accurate level. I often recommend it to the applicants I work with, especially if the are plannin gto move in into higher education, where it is an essential for essays and papers. You can check out the benefits here or clik the banner.

best quotes for personal statement

Good luck with your personal statement, and don’t forget to contact me if you’d like some 1-1 support. You’ve got this! D

Research and content verified by Personal Statement Planet.

David Hallen

I've worked in the Further Education and University Admissions sector for nearly 20 years as a teacher, department head, Head of Sixth Form, UCAS Admissions Advisor, UK Centre Lead and freelance personal statement advisor, editor and writer. And now I'm here for you...

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55 Personal Mission Statement Quotes for 2024

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Do you ever feel like you’re just drifting through life? Have you ever asked yourself what more you could be doing with the abilities and talents you possess?

Many people have had the same feeling and asked the same question in their quest for a more meaningful life. The truth is, we all hunger for a sense of purpose—something that becomes our reason for getting up every morning .

A personal mission statement is a concise representation of this purpose. Having one gives you a destination in life.

In this article, we’re sharing a compilation of personal mission statement quotes to help you discover your life’s purpose.

Hopefully, these quotes will inspire you to craft your own personal mission statement .

Before heading on to the quotes, let’s talk about specific reasons why a personal mission statement is important.

Table of Contents

Why Do You Need a Personal Mission Statement?

As mentioned earlier, a mission statement provides you with a sense of purpose.

It clarifies the goals you want to achieve. This short statement allows you to stay on track and ensure that you’re working toward the goals that are aligned with your purpose.

When you have a personal mission statement, you’ll find that it is liberating to base your decisions and actions on it. Distractions are minimized or even avoided entirely.

Considering that your personal mission statement is the foundation of your actions and decisions, you’ll also discover that success comes more easily.

If you already have a personal mission statement, the following quotes can serve as additional inspiration as you continue to live out your life’s purpose .

This list of quotes is an affirmation of all that you have worked on to gain a deeper understanding of who you truly are and what you’re meant to do in this lifetime.

Here they are!

55 Personal Mission Quotes

  • “ The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed. It focused on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based. ” – Stephen Covey
  • “ Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements. ” – Ron Livingston
  • “ Make your life a mission – not an intermission. ” – Arnold H. Glasgow
  • “ To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal. ” – Abdul Kalam
  • “ Mission defines strategy, and strategy defines structure. ” – Peter F. Drucker
  • “ Without a mission statement, you may get to the top of the ladder and then realize it was leaning against the wrong building! ” – Dave Ramsey
  • “ The mission of your life should be to leave a better world behind than what you inherited. ” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
  • “ Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill. ” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Personal Mission Quotes - “Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | personal mission statement habits | personal mission statement essay | how to write a personal mission statement #dailyquotes #quotes #inspirational

  • “ Surround yourself with those who are on the same mission as you. ” – Richard Blackmore
  • “ Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission. ” – Zig Ziglar
  • “ A mission statement is not something you write overnight… But fundamentally, your mission statement becomes your constitution, the solid expression of your vision and values. It becomes the criterion by which you measure everything else in your life. ” – Stephen Covey
  • “ Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive it isn't. ” – Richard Bach
  • “ Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. ” – Henry Ford
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. ” – Henry Ford
  • “ The only permission, the only validation, and the only opinion that matters in our quest for greatness is our own. ” – Steve Maraboli
  • “ Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it. ” – Buddha
  • “ I define personal success as being consistent to my own personal mission statement: to love God and love others. ” – Joel Manby
  • “ To ensure that your work is also a play, I recommend that you develop a personal mission statement. This will help you find what it is to enjoy so much that you lose track of time when you're doing it. ” – Ken Blanchard
  • “ What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. ” – Zig Ziglar

Personal Mission Quotes - “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar | examples of personal mission statements for career | personal mission statement brainly | personal mission statement examples for family #personamissionstatement #selfimprovement #personaldevelopment

  • “ You are here for a special mission. There is a purpose of your life. Find that purpose of your life, work on it and live your life happily. ” – Raaz Ojha
  • “ The most extraordinary people in the world today don’t have a career. They have a mission. ” – Vishen Lakhiani
  • “ Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose. ” – Viktor Frankl
  • “ We all have a purpose in life, and when you find yours you will recognize it. ” – Catherine Pulsifer
  • “ The secret of success is constancy to purpose. ” – Benjamin Disraeli
  • “ Bitter experience has taught us how fundamental our values are and how great the mission they represent. ” – Jan Peter Balkenende
  • “ A man with money is no match against a man on a mission. ” – Doyle Brunson
  • “ When you discover your mission… it will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it. ” – W. Clement Stone
  • “ There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born and how you become most truly alive. ” – Oprah Winfrey
  • “ Success demands singleness of purpose. ” – Vincent Lombardi
  • “ Life without purpose is like a body without soul. ” – Tasneem Hameed

Personal Mission Quotes - “Life without purpose is like a body without soul.” – Tasneem Hameed | personal mission statement examples for students | personal mission statement examples for leaders | personal mission statement template #weeklyquotes #motivationalquotes #healthyhabits

  • “ Knowing our personal mission further enhances the flow of mysterious coincidences as we are guided toward our destinies. First, we have a question, then dreams, daydreams, and intuitions lead us toward the answers, which usually are synchronistically provided by the wisdom of another human being. ” – James Redfield
  • “ A warrior’s mission is to foster the success of others. ” – Morihei Ueshiba
  • “ My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some humor, and some style. ” – Maya Angelou
  • “ It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. ” – Winston Churchill
  • “ Anything and everything you have experienced has been purposeful; it has brought you to where you are now. ” – Iyanla Vanzant
  • “ To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist. ” – Oscar Wilde
  • “ In the midst of excitement, grief, joy, and solitude, I remind myself every moment that the sole mission of my life is to find ‘the ultimate questioner' — that unimaginable who has put me in this madness to answer an unanswerable question. ” – Kedar Joshi
  • “ The bigger your mission becomes, the greater inspiration you will be given. ” – Ryuho Okawa
  • “ Greatness is a life mission, being the best is not about being better than anyone else but striving to be the best that you can and bringing out the best in others. ” – Dominick Cruz
  • “ People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost. ” – Dalai Lama
  • “ Knowing your life purpose is the first step toward living a truly conscious life. A life purpose provides us with a clear goal, a set finish line that you truly want to reach. ” – Simon Foster
  • “ The person without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder. ” – Thomas Carlyle
  • “ Peak performers see the ability to manage change as a necessity in fulfilling their missions. ” – Charles A. Garfield

Personal Mission Quotes - “Peak performers see the ability to manage change as a necessity in fulfilling their missions.” – Charles A. Garfield | printable personal mission statement templates | personal life mission statement | personal vision and mission statement #selflove #missionstatement #qotd

  • “ He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ” – Friedrich Nietzsche
  • “ Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it. ” – Viktor Frankl
  • “ Having a purpose is the difference between making a living and making a life. ” – Tom Thiss
  • “ Discovering your purpose is the most significant thing you will do in your life, and you, your loved ones, and the world will be better off because you went on this journey. ” – Mastin Kipp
  • “ The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. ” – Pablo Picasso
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. ” – Pablo Picasso
  • “ We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work with. We already have capacities, talents, direction, missions, callings. ” – Abraham H. Maslow
  • “ The two most important days in life are the day you born and the day you discover the reason why. ” – Mark Twain
  • “ Until your mission is an obsession, nothing will change in your life. ” – Robin Sharma
  • “ What matters most in a purposeful life is giving ones fullest strength to ones cause. Great efforts assure satisfaction, while common efforts can lead to regrets. ” – John Soforic
  • “ Understanding purpose is one thing, but recognizing the importance of having purpose is another. Everybody has a unique purpose in their life, whether it be to help others, provide for family, or be free. ” – Ben Gothard
  • “ The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose. ” – Charles Dickens
  • “ Can you have more than one major mission pervading your life? No. That would be like coming to a fork in the road and trying to go both ways by straddling it. ” – Charles A. Garfield
  • “ The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for. ” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Final Thoughts on Personal Mission Statement Quotes

There you have it—a list of the finest personal mission statement quotes to inspire and motivate you to live in alignment with your true purpose.

We hope you enjoyed reading these words as much as we enjoyed compiling them.

If you are looking for more resources about personal mission statements, you can check out these amazing personal mission statement examples . Finally, here is a five-step guide to writing your personal mission statement .

Related Posts:

  • Mission Statements VS Goals: 5 Key Differences
  • 11 Life Purpose Questionnaires & Quizzes to Take
  • 9 Best Books on Finding Your Purpose in Life

personal mission statement quotes | mission statements quotes | personal mission statement generator

The 50 Best Resilience Quotes

  • Chelsea Erieau
  • February 20, 2019

best quotes for personal statement

The best resilience quotes resonate with something deep inside the human spirit. They endure because they touch the parts of us that are hurting, that are trying, the parts that say “Maybe I’m not enough for this.” The parts of us that hope our future is not determined by the stars, but by our own sweat. And the best quotes about resilience are handed down through the years, because they capture a tiny piece of the reality of being human – and like any good saying or fairytale, they condense and capture some essential characteristic of our experience.

I don’t know what you’re going through right now. Are you reading this to pump yourself up? Maybe for public speaking, maybe a business setback, maybe a difficult relationship? Are you scraping the bottom of your soul for the inspiration that you’re sure is hiding somewhere? Has your past left you with hidden needles in the haystack of your mind, that you’re only now starting to sift through? Or maybe, you’re reading this for a friend – someone you love, and your own words don’t seem like enough.

Well, take heart, reader. Some of the best minds have distilled some of humanity’s best wisdom, just for us. Be inspired, and then inspire others.

1. “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

2. “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” ― Angela Duckworth

3. “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” ― Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven

4. “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” ― Elizabeth Edwards

5. “‎Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself-and be lenient to everybody else.” ― Henry Ward Beecher

6. “The human capacity for burden is like bamboo- far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.” ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper

7. “If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.” ― Shane Koyczan

8. “No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.” ― Greg Kincaid

9. “It is really wonderful how much resilience there is in human nature. Let any obstructing cause, no matter what, be removed in any way, even by death, and we fly back to first principles of hope and enjoyment.” ― Bram Stoker, Dracula

10. “My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon.” ― Mizuta Masahide (17th century Japanese poet and samurai)

11. “Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” ― Gever Tulley

12. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” ― Margaret Thatcher

13. “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

14. “Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” ― Nelson Mandela

best quotes for personal statement

15. “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” ― Maya Angelou

16. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.” ― J.K. Rowling

17. “She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” ― Elizabeth Edwards

18. “A good half of the art of living is resilience.” ― Alain de Botton

19. “You must bear losses like a soldier, the voice told me, bravely and without complaint, and just when the day seems lost, grab your shield for another stand, another thrust forward. That is the juncture that separates heroes from the merely strong.” ― Margaret George, The Memoirs of Cleopatra

20. “Grief and resilience live together.” ― Michelle Obama, Becoming

21. “No matter how bleak or menacing a situation may appear, it does not entirely own us. It can’t take away our freedom to respond, our power to take action.” ― Ryder Carroll

22. “On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it. Raise your sail and begin.” ― Gregory S. Williams

23. “I tried and failed. I tried again and again and succeeded.” ― Gail Borden

24. “The difference between a strong man and a weak one is that the former does not give up after a defeat.” ― Woodrow Wilson

25. “It may sound strange, but many champions are made champions by setbacks.” ― Bob Richards

best quotes for personal statement

26. “Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.” ― Robert F. Kennedy

27. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” ― Confucius

28. “Forget mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you are going to do right now, and do it. Today is your lucky day.” ― Will Durant

29. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” ― Japanese Proverb

best quotes for personal statement

30. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” ― Helen Keller

31. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” ― Winston Churchill

best quotes for personal statement

32. “When we learn how to become resilient, we learn how to embrace the beautifully broad spectrum of the human experience.” ― Jaeda Dewalt

33. “Resilience is very different than being numb. Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fail, you hurt. You fall. But, you keep going.” ― Yasmin Mogahed

34. “We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.” ― Stephen Covey

35. “Resilience is the ability to attack while running away.” ― Wes Fessler

36. “Resilience is based on compassion for ourselves as well as compassion for others.” ― Sharon Salzberg

37. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow’.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher

38. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” ― Oprah Winfrey

39. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ― Thomas Edison

40. “Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.” ― Les Brown

41. “Like tiny seeds with potent power to push through tough ground and become mighty trees, we hold innate reserves of unimaginable strength. We are resilient.” ― Catherine DeVrye, The Gift of Nature

42. “No one escapes pain, fear, and suffering. Yet from pain can come wisdom, from fear can come courage, from suffering can come strength – if we have the virtue of resilience.” ― Eric Greitens, Resilience

43. “Successful people demonstrate their resilience through their dedication to making progress every day, even if that progress is marginal.” ― Jonathan Mills, How to Be Successful in Business and in Life

44. “We all have battles to fight. And it’s often in those battles that we are most alive: it’s on the frontlines of our lives that we earn wisdom, create joy, forge friendships, discover happiness, find love, and do purposeful work.” ― Eric Greitens, Resilience

45. “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” ― Og Mandino

46. “I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance Never settle for the path of least resistance” ― Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance

47. “Resilience isn’t a single skill. It’s a variety of skills and coping mechanisms. To bounce back from bumps in the road as well as failures, you should focus on emphasizing the positive.” ― Jean Chatzky

48. “Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up.” ― Mary Holloway

best quotes for personal statement

49. “As much as talent counts, effort counts twice.” ― Angela Duckworth

50. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

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48 Inspiring, Wise, and Witty Quotes to Use in Your Email Signatures

A Little Touch of Flair Goes a Long Way in Everyday Correspondence

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Your email signature—an optional footer you can add to every message you send out—is an ideal place to put your name and contact information, so people can easily reach you in a variety of ways. If you're using personal email, it's also a field where you might add a quote—a few short words that are inspiring, wise, or humorous to enlighten the reader. The remarks of famous writers, politicians, activists, and entertainers can serve as personal statements in the digital age. Find a quote that speaks to you and then use it as a sign-off at the end of your emails.

Inspiring Quotes

These quotes from Maya Angelou to Confucius to Mark Twain were handpicked to help the seeker in all of us—to keep us bounding forward even during the most challenging days.

Maya Angelou

"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated."

Walter Bagehot

"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

Simone de Beauvoir

"Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay."

Josh Billings

"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while."

"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large."

William Hazlitt

"The more we do, the more we can do."

Gary Player

"The harder you work , the luckier you get."

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment."

Eleanor Roosevelt

"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."

Charles R. Swindoll

"Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it."

Rabindranath Tagore

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water."

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

Wise Quotes

An email signature can be a place to share a nugget of wisdom, something that expresses your personal values or outlook on life. If you work in education, you might choose a quote about teaching or learning. If you're a writer or a painter, you might choose a quote about the power of art.

Bill Clinton

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America."

Paul Ehrlich

"To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer."

"Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness."

Robert Frost

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on."

"There are limits to self-indulgence, none to self-restraint."

Khalil Gibran

"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind."

Omar Khayyam

"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life."

Thomas La Mance

"Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans."

Jawaharlal Nehru

"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will."

General George S. Patton Jr.

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

Pablo Picasso

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls."

Josiah Royce

"Thinking is like loving and dying. Each of us must do it for himself."

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."

Bertrand Russell

"No one gossips about other people's secret virtues."

George Sand

"There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved."

William Shakespeare

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."

Robert S. Surtees

"It is better to be killed than frightened to death."

Oscar Wilde

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead."

William Butler Yeats

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

Witty Quotes

Email signatures don't have to be serious. If you're known for being lighthearted and making people laugh, you might be happier using a funny email signature, such as a quote from a comedian. A snappy one-liner or a clever zinger can leave the person on the other end with a smile—just be sure you know your audience well.

"I don't want to own anything that won't fit into my coffin."

Woody Allen

"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."

Louis Hector Berlioz

"Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately, it kills all its pupils."

Red Buttons

"Never raise your hands to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected."

George Carlin

"The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life."

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

"If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out."

Carrie Fisher

"Instant gratification takes too long."

Benjamin Franklin

"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterward."

Fran Lebowitz

"You're only as good as your last haircut."

P.J. O'Rourke

"Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely."

Charles M. Schulz

"I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong."

George Bernard Shaw

"Youth is wasted on the young."

Lily Tomlin

"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain."

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."

"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it."

Steven Wright

"If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you."

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Resources | Storytelling | Strategy

50 powerful quotes to start your presentation.

best quotes for personal statement

Written by Kai Xin Koh

best quotes for personal statement

When was the last time you attended a conference where the speaker didn’t just say: “Oh hi, my name is XYZ and today, I’ll be speaking to you about Topic X”?

Great stories possess riveting narrative arcs that begin strong and end strong. We’ve written at length about some of the best ways to end your presentation , but how does one design a presentation to start without sounding too cliche?

One of the most powerful ways to begin a presentation is to start by sharing a powerful and memorable quote that relates to the message of your talk.

Powerful quotes have so much power on your presentation. Not only does it help reinforce your message, it also helps boost your credibility since it implied the quote is ‘agreeing’ with your statement.

Take this TED talk by Andrew Solomon for example. Notice how he skilfully uses a quote from a book by Emily Dickinson to set the stage for his numerous anecdotes regarding the topic on Depression in his presentation:

Hence, if you’re looking to follow suit and start your next presentation strong with a powerful quote, we’ve got you covered. Here, we compiled a list of 50 quotes that you can use to boost your next presentation.

50 Powerful Quotes To Start Your Presentation:

1)   “ The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” –  Mark Twain

2) “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” –  Babe Ruth

3) “ If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” –  Albert Einstein

4) “ If you’re too comfortable, it’s time to move on. Terrified of what’s next? You’re on the right track.” –  Susan Fales Hill

5) “ Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” –  Bill Gates

6) “ You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently.” –  Steve Jobs

7) “ Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.” –  Jack Dorsey

8) “ Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” –  Oprah Winfrey

9) “ Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after an experience with you becomes your trademark.” –  Jay Danzie

10)  “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” –  Warren Buffett

11)  “Some entrepreneurs think how can I make a lot of money? But a better way is to think how can I make people’s lives a lot better? If you get it right, the money will come.” –  Richard Branson

12)  “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse? ’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.” –  Elon Musk

13)  “There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” –  Ray Goforth

14)   “Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” –  Charles F. Kettering

15)  “People rarely buy what they need. They buy what they want.”   – Seth Godin

16)  “Please think about your legacy, because you’re writing it every day.”   – Gary Vaynerchuck

17)  “The golden rule for every business man is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place.” –  Orison Swett Marden

18)  “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”   –  David Brinkley

19)  “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid.”   –  Einstein

20)  “The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.”   –  Lilly Tomlin

21)  “ When you run a part of the relay and pass on the baton, there is no sense of unfinished business in your mind. There is just the sense of having done your part to the best of your ability. That is it. The hope is to pass on the baton to somebody who will run faster and run a better marathon.”   – N. R. Narayana Murthy

22)  “Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger.” – Tony Hsieh

23)  “When you find an idea that you can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.”   – Josh James

24)  “What would you do if you’re not afraid?” –  Sheryl Sandberg

25)  “Don’t worry about failure, you only have to be right once.”   – Drew Houston

26)  “When I’m old and dying. I plan to look back on my life and say ‘Wow, an adventure’ not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe’” – Tom Preston Werner

27)  “80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.”   – Vilfredo Pareto

28)  “You just have to pay attention to what people need and what has not been done.”   – Russell Simmons

29)  “We are really competing against ourselves, we have no control over how other people perform.”   – Pete Cashmore

30)  “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”   – Wayne Gretzy

31)  “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”   – George Lucas

32)  “If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”   – Zig Ziglar

33)  “Words may inspire but action creates change.”   – Simon Sinek

34)  “It isn’t what we say or think that denies us, but what we do.”   – Jane Austen

35)  “Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be someone; get action.”   – Theodore Roosevelt

36)  “There is only one boss. The customer.” – Sam Walton

37)  “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

38)  “You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having.” –  Frank Lloyd Wright

39)  “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

40)  “Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” – Bob Marley

41)  “There is no great genius without some touch of madness.”    – Seneca

42)  “If you think you are too small to make an impact try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” – Ekaterina Walter

43)   “If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” – Mark Zuckerberg

44)   “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” –  Thomas Edison

45)  “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”  – Abraham Lincoln

46)  “Don’t build links. Build relationships.”   – Rand Fishkin

47)   “100 percent of the shots you don’t take, don’t go in.”   –  Wayne Gretzky, Hockey Legend

48)  “If you’ve got an idea, start today. There’s no better time than now to get going. That doesn’t mean quit your job and jump into your idea 100 percent from day one, but there’s always small progress that can be made to start the movement.” – Kevin Systrom, Founder of Instagram

49)   “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”   –  Jack Welch, Former CEO of GE

50)    “You must be very patient, very persistent. The world isn’t going to shower gold coins on you just because you have a good idea. You’re going to have to work like crazy to bring that idea to the attention of people. They’re not going to buy it unless they know about it.”  –   Herb Kelleher, Founder of Southwest Airlines.

There you have it!

Phew! – now you have an additional 50 powerful quotes that you can add in your presentation arsenal. Leave an unforgettable impression on your presentation with these quotes starting today!

Comment down your favourite quote. And let us know if you have any that we didn’t add to the list!

Article Written By: Kai Xin Koh

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wisdom quotes trending all quotes

100 Short Quotes That Will Inspire You (FAST)

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page .

Best Quotes – Very Short – Inspirational – Wise – Takeaways – Further Readings

short quotes wisdom

Here are 100 short inspirational quotes for you.

I’ve been collecting and using them since 2004.

And one thing I’ve learned is this:

The most effective and inspiring quotes are the shortest.

For example, one of the quotes I’ve repeated the most in my head is “stay hungry, stay foolish” by Steve Jobs.

It’s only 4 words long.

But it’s packed with wisdom and power.

The best part?

It’s a practical quote you can apply in your life.

Like most quotes you’ll find here.

So, I guarantee you’ll find inspiration FAST .

It’s a collection I’ve been upgrading and pruning for 19+ years.

I hope you’ll like it as much as I do.

Are you ready for great one-liners, simple thoughts, and wise sayings to start your day?

Let’s begin!

The Best Short Quotes

short quotes who brave free seneca wisdom

He who is brave is free. Seneca
You can totally do this.
We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough. Helen Keller
The fastest road to meaning and success: choose one thing and go all in. Maxime Lagacé
Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong. Winston Churchill
Try again. Fail again. Fail better. Samuel Beckett
Impossible is for the unwilling. John Keats
I can and I will.

short quotes pressure diamonds thomas carlyle wisdom

No pressure, no diamonds. Thomas Carlyle
Don’t tell people your plans. Show them your results.
Prove them wrong.
Good things happen to those who hustle. Anaïs Nin
Go forth on your path, as it exists only through your walking. Augustine of Hippo
No guts, no story. Chris Brady

short quotes take risk lose chance wisdom

Take the risk or lose the chance.
Screw it, let’s do it. Richard Branson
Boldness be my friend. William Shakespeare
Keep going. Be all in. Bryan Hutchinson
Dream big. Pray bigger.
If you want it, work for it.
Leave no stone unturned. Euripides

short quotes stay foolish stay sane maxime lagace wisdom

Stay foolish to stay sane. Maxime Lagacé
And so the adventure begins.
You can if you think you can. George Reeves
Whatever you are, be a good one. Abraham Lincoln
Broken crayons still color.
Grow through what you go through.
Do it with passion or not at all.

short quotes once choose hope anything possible christopher reeve wisdom

Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. Christopher Reeve
If it matters to you, you’ll find a way. Charlie Gilkey
She believed she could, so she did.
The past does not equal the future. Tony Robbins
Forget about style; worry about results. Bobby Orr
Success is the child of audacity. Benjamin Disraeli
Whatever you do, do with all your might. Marcus Tullius Cicero
If you’re going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill

short quotes when nothing goes right go left wisdom

When nothing goes right, go left.
Every noble work is at first impossible. Thomas Carlyle
We are twice armed if we fight with faith. Plato
Be faithful to that which exists within yourself. André Gide
Let him that would move the world first move himself. Socrates
Persistence guarantees that results are inevitable. Paramahansa Yogananda

short quotes life message gandhi wisdom

My life is my message. Mahatma Gandhi
I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees. Euripides
The true success is the person who invented himself. Al Goldstein
Fall seven times, stand up eight. Japanese proverb
Each day provides its own gifts. Marcus Aurelius
  • 79 Positive Quotes To Uplift Yourself
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Very Short Quotes (For Tattoos, Mantras, etc.)

short quotes go wisdom

I love you.
You matter.
Choose joy.
Choose happy.
Take it easy.
Be in the now.

short quotes live the moment wisdom

Live the moment.
Keep going.
Keep your chin up.
Relax. Seriously. Ryan Holiday
Paradise is a mindset. Maxime Lagacé
Keep moving forward.
Fear less. Love more.
Work hard. Stay humble.
Enjoy the little things.
The best is yet to come.
Collect moments – not things.
Feel the fear and do it anyway.
It’s not a loss, it’s a lesson.

More Short Inspirational Quotes

short quotes voice not echo wisdom

Be a voice. Not an echo.
Every wall is a door. Ralph Waldo Emerson
If youth knew; if age could. Sigmund Freud
Time is the soul of this world. Pythagoras
Life begins where fear ends. Osho
Stars can’t shine without darkness.
Be who you needed when you were young.
Find what you love and let it kill you. Charles Bukowski

Related : 10 Gentle Ways to Find Inspiration in Everyday Life (andymort.com)

short quotes yesterday take too much today will rogers wisdom

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today. Will Rogers
The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. William Blake
Peace of mind is freedom from desire. Shane Parrish
Know yourself and you will know what to do. Maxime Lagacé
The less you want, the richer you are. Yanni
You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop. Rumi
Freedom is taking what comes. Maxime Lagacé

Small And Simple Quotes

short quotes have odd number one dr seuss wisdom

You have to be odd to be number one. Dr. Seuss
Wherever you are, be there totally. Eckhart Tolle
The quieter you become, the more you can hear. Ram Dass
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent. Martin Luther King Jr
Failure is success if we learn from it. Malcolm Forbes

short quotes chop your own wood henry ford wisdom

Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice. Henry Ford
It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. Henry David Thoreau
What counts can’t always be counted; what can be counted doesn’t always count. Albert Einstein
The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. James Crook
Fools chase. The wise relax. Maxime Lagacé

Key Takeaways

  • Life is short . Be patient with results and impatient with actions.
  • You can accomplish many things. But start with ONE and give it your 100%. Then go to the next.
  • Choose hope and positivity. But remember: what’s valuable is not easy.
  • Stop overthinking. Planning is fine, but life gets better when you expect less and trust more.
  • You have one life. And it’s right now. In front of you. So GO!

Further Readings

  • Topic: Life
  • 100 Life Quotes To Transform Your Life Today
  • 100 One Word Quotes (For Quick Inspiration)
  • 101 Two Word Quotes (Find Motivation And Inspiration)
  • 100+ Of The Most Famous Quotes Of All Time
  • 75 Words of Wisdom From The Best Minds (Ever)
  • 5 Ways to Find Inspiration (hint: stop looking for it!) (notsomoderngirl.com)
  • How To Get Motivated Now (becalmwithtati.com)
  • 120 Inspirational Quotes For Teens To Cheer Yourself Up
  • 100 Inspirational Quotes For Women To Empower You
  • 130 Inspirational Quotes For Men
  • 87 Deep Quotes That Will Make You Think

Hope you liked these short inspirational quotes! If you did, share one of them with a friend today!

What’s your favorite short quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.

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short inspirational quotes wisdom

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"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." -Aristotle

best quotes for personal statement

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  1. 100 Quotes to Kickstart Your Personal Statement (with examples)

    Inspirational Quotes for personal statement. Inspirational quotes can be a great way to show your motivation, resilience, and determination. They can also help you communicate your values and beliefs and demonstrate your commitment to achieving your goals. "Believe you can and you're halfway there.". - Theodore Roosevelt.

  2. 100 Quotes to Kickstart Your Personal Statement (with examples

    I'll also provide a couple of examples where successful candidates employed quotes to begin their personal statements. 100 Best Quotes for Personal Statement. To make the process of selecting the perfect quote for your personal statement uniform best, I've organized the list into categories that are common themes in personalized statements. ...

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    7. "Your past does not define you; it prepares you for the brilliance of your future.". 8. "Success is not measured by your accomplishments but by the positive impact you leave on others.". 9. "The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong endeavor that fuels the fire of wisdom within.". 10.

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    1. www.PersonalStatementLength.com 100 Best Quotes for Personal Statement Motivation, passion, courage and leadership — these are what the best personal statement quotes could help you with in demonstrating your reasons and your uniqueness for applying to a particular study and university. Below is a good list to start with when looking for great quotations to help you get there — success.

  5. How to Write a Personal Statement

    Watch out for cliches like "making a difference," "broadening my horizons," or "the best thing that ever happened to me." 3. Stay focused. Try to avoid getting off-track or including tangents in your personal statement. Stay focused by writing a first draft and then re-reading what you've written.

  6. 100 Quotes to Kickstart Your Personal Statement (with examples

    Looking with inspiration to start your university personal statement? Verification outwards their collection of cite and use them to make a lasting impression on admissions officers. 100 Quotes to Kickstart Your Personal Statement (with examples) | BrightLink Prep - Tips for Writing the Personal Statement

  7. 50 Best Personal Growth Quotes

    Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.". - Abraham Maslow. "We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are.". - Oprah Winfrey. "When we're growing up there are all sorts of people telling us what to do when really what we need is space to work out who to be.". - Elliot Page.

  8. 16 Winning Personal Statement Examples (And Why They Work)

    Here are 16 personal statement examples—both school and career—to help you create your own: 1. Personal statement example for graduate school. A personal statement for graduate school differs greatly from one to further your professional career. It is usually an essay, rather than a brief paragraph. Here is an example of a personal ...

  9. How to Write Your Personal Statement

    Strategy 1: Open with a concrete scene. An effective way to catch the reader's attention is to set up a scene that illustrates something about your character and interests. If you're stuck, try thinking about: A personal experience that changed your perspective. A story from your family's history.

  10. 165 Inspirational Quotes To Keep You Motivated In Life

    Inspirational Quotes By Albert Einstein. "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."―. Albert Einstein. "Creativity is intelligence having fun.". - Albert Einstein. "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.". - Albert Einstein.

  11. How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps

    Use your closing couple of lines to summarise the most important points in your statement. 9. Check your writing thoroughly and get someone else to check it, too. 10. Give your brain a rest by forgetting about your personal statement for a while before going back to review it one last time with fresh eyes.

  12. 500+ Personal Statement Examples

    A-Z of Personal Statements. Learn from previous student personal statements here. We have collated over 700 personal statement examples to help you on your university journey and to help you with how to write a personal statement.

  13. How to start a personal statement: The attention grabber

    Top tips on how to write your statement opener. We spoke to admissions tutors at unis and colleges - read on for their tips. 1. Don't begin with the overkill opening. Try not to overthink the opening sentence. You need to engage the reader with your relevant thoughts and ideas, but not go overboard. Tutors said: 'The opening is your chance ...

  14. 100 Powerful Motivational & Inspirational Quotes About Life

    ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. "Without passion, you don't have energy. Without energy, you have nothing." WARREN BUFFETT (more Warren Buffett quotes) "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." WARREN BUFFETT.

  15. Quotes In A Personal Statement: What You Need To Know

    You can use quotes in a personal statement to evidence your wider reading and subject knowledge or to put your personal experiences into context for the reader. Quotes can also help you compare opinions, define positions and engage the reader when used appropriately. There's lots of detail on how to use quotes for each of these purposes, as ...

  16. 9 winning personal statement examples for a job

    Here are some examples of personal and professional statements: 1. Personal statement for a postgraduate programme. Joan David Personal statement for master's programme in Public Policy and Administration London School of Policy 'I held my first textbook when I was a 23-year-old undergraduate.

  17. 55 Personal Mission Statement Quotes for 2024

    55 Personal Mission Quotes. " The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed. It focused on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based. " - Stephen Covey.

  18. The 50 Best Resilience Quotes

    1. "Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.". 2. "Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.". 3. "The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.". 4. "Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before.

  19. 111 Best Quotes About Life

    Best quotes about life. 1. "Not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do is the secret of happiness." —J.M. Barrie ( August 1933) 2. "My father gave me the best advice of my life ...

  20. 48 Inspiring, Wise, and Witty Quotes to End Your Emails

    George Sand. "There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." William Shakespeare. "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." Robert S. Surtees. "It is better to be killed than frightened to death." Oscar Wilde. "Keep love in your heart.

  21. 50 Powerful Quotes To Start Your Presentation

    50 Powerful Quotes To Start Your Presentation: 1) "The secret of getting ahead is getting started.". - Mark Twain. 2) "Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games.". - Babe Ruth. 3) "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.". - Albert Einstein.

  22. 100 Quotes to Kickstart Your Personal Statement (with examples)

    Looking for inspiration to start your university personal statement? Check out our collection of quotes and use them to make a lasting impression on admissions officers. GRE. GRE Prep Live Online; GRE 1-on-1 Prep; Other Prep Options ... Starting your personal statement for university admissions can be a daunting task. It's the first thing the ...

  23. 100 Short Quotes That Will Inspire You (FAST)

    Best Quotes - Very Short - Inspirational - Wise - Takeaways - Further Readings. Here are 100 short inspirational quotes for you.. I've been collecting and using them since 2004.. And one thing I've learned is this: The most effective and inspiring quotes are the shortest. For example, one of the quotes I've repeated the most in my head is "stay hungry, stay foolish" by ...

  24. CNN political commentator Alice Stewart dies

    CNN —. Alice Stewart, a veteran political adviser and CNN political commentator who worked on several GOP presidential campaigns, has died. She was 58. Law enforcement officials told CNN that ...