Inspirational Quotes

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Are you looking for inspiration? Here are the best inspirational quotes to stimulate your amazing potential.

There are a countless ways to find inspiration, if we are willing to look.

Seeing other people accomplish great things, overcome adversity, or find simple admiration in the world gives us a way to feel brighter, more hopeful, and enthusiastic.

So we’ve collected the best quotes from inspiring figures to give you a spark when you need it most.

Top 10 Inspirational Quotes

Every noble work is at first impossible.

Thomas Carlyle

Believe you can and you’re halfway there.

Teddy Roosevelt
Norman Vaughan quote "Dream big and dare to fail"
“Dream big and dare to fail.” – Norman Vaughan

Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.

Dennis P. Kimbro

An obstacle is often a stepping stone.

William Prescott

There is nothing impossible to they who will try.

Alexander the Great

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.

Henry Ford
John Wooden quote "Make each day your masterpiece"
“Make each day your masterpiece.” – John Wooden

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lao Tzu

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

Nelson Mandela

Short Inspirational Quotes

Sometimes we need a big jolt of inspiration in a small package. These short inspirational quotes are a great way to lift yourself up when you need it.

A powerful phrase on your desk, stuck to your mirror, or written in your notebook is a great way to keep yourself inspired throughout the day.

If it matters to you, you’ll find a way.

Charlie Gilkey

Don’t wait, the time will never be just right.

Napoleon Hill
George Reeves inspiring quote "You can if you think you can"
“You can if you think you can.” – George Reeves

Do it with passion, or not at all.

Rosa Nouchette

In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.

Albert Einstein

Everything you can imagine is real.

Pablo Picasso

Whatever you are, be a good one.

Abraham Lincoln

The power of imagination makes us infinite.

John Muir

Live each day as if your life had just begun.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

If you can dream it, you can do it.

Walt Disney

All limitations are self-imposed.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Eighty percent of success is showing up.

Woody Allen
Robert Frost quote "The best way out is always through"
“The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost

Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Robert Schuller

Never regret anything that made you smile.

Mark Twain

Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it.

Joe Clark

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Steve Jobs

Every moment is a fresh beginning.

T.S. Eliot 

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

Maya Angelou

Those at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.

Marcus Washling

Self-Inspirational Quotes

Where do you look when you want to get inspired? Everyone may answer that question differently, but a big part of inspiration lies within ourselves.

These quotes show you may not need to look anywhere but in the mirror to find inspiration when you need it. Sometimes the most inspirational reminder we need is how capable we are when we try.

To be the best, you must be able to handle the worst.

Wilson Kanadi

The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job.

Zig Ziglar

You have to be bold and get rid of the thoughts that are holding you back.

Joel Osteen
Deep Roy quote "Inspiration comes from within yourself"
“Inspiration comes from within yourself.” – Deep Roy

Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

William James

Man doesn’t know what he is capable of until he is asked.

Kofi Annan

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

Maya Angelou

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

John Wooden

I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.

Stephen Covey

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi

Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.

George Addair

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

A.A. Milne

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

Lao Tzu
Babe Ruth quote "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run"
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” – Babe Ruth

The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.

Walt Whitman

Weaknesses are just strengths in the wrong environment.

Marianne Cantwell

The difference between a successful person and others is not lack of strength not a lack of knowledge but rather a lack of will.

Vince Lombardi

Some men see things as they are and say why – I dream things that never were and say why not.

George Bernard Shaw

Speak less than you know; have more than you show.

William Shakespeare

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Thomas Edison

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great makes you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

Mostly, the world sees you the way you see yourself.

Lisa Nichols
Wilma Rudolph quote "The triumph can’t be had without the struggle"
“The triumph can’t be had without the struggle.” – Wilma Rudolph

When ordinary people decide to step out and be part of something big, that’s when they become extraordinary.

Brett Harris,
Do Hard Things

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

Joseph Campbell

Inspiring Quotes

When something is inspiring, it makes us feel interested and enthusiastic in a way that moves us deeply.

Inspiring thoughts are stimulating to the mind and encourage us to believe in ourselves and reach for new heights. The actions we take from an inspired place are more likely to succeed and be enjoyable.

These quotes on inspiring thoughts and actions will help you redefine what is possible and energize your mind and spirit.

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.

Arthur C. Clarke

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

Nelson Mandela

Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!’

Audrey Hepburn

Impossible is for the unwilling.

John Keats

No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

Demi Lovato

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

Malala Yousafzai

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

Helen Keller

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

Edith Wharton

It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.

Ella Fitzgerald

Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.

Jack Canfield
"Nothing is impossible to a willing heart"
“Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.” – John Heywood

You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

André Gide

Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement.

Henry Ford

The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.

Will Rogers

There is no royal road to anything. One thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures.

Josiah Gilbert Holland

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.

Confucius

All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.

Earl Nightingale

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me.

Erma Bombeck

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Inspiring Thoughts

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

Milton Berle

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.

Francis Bacon

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

George Eliot
"We will fail when we fail to try"
“We will fail when we fail to try.” – Rosa Parks

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

Beverly Sills

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

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

Robert Breault

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have.

Thomas Edison

Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.

Bill Bradley

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.

Lyndon B. Johnson

To know oneself, one should assert oneself.

Albert Camus

If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.

Dolly Parton

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

Isaac Asimov

We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.

Earl Nightingale

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

William Shakespeare
"All progress takes place outside of your comfort zone"
“All progress takes place outside of your comfort zone.” – Michale John Bobak

You have to be where you are to get where you need to go.

Amy Poehler

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.

W. Clement Stone

Inspiring Actions

Action breeds inspiration more than inspiration breeds action.

Willem Dafoe

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

Zig Ziglar

The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity.

Amelia Earhart

Start where you are. Use what you have.  Do what you can.

Arthur Ashe

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

Will Rogers

Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.

George Horace Lorimer

Either you run the day, or the day runs you.

Jim Rohn

Leave no stone unturned.

Euripides

If not us, who? If not now, when?

John F. Kennedy

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.

Michael Altshuler

Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.

Russell Warren

It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

Howard Ruff
"Wherever you go, go with all your heart"
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

A year from now you may wish you had started today.

Karen Lamb

If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.

Mario Andretti

What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.

Carol Burnett

We will either find a way, or make one.

Philip Sidney

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

George Bernard Shaw

Have faith in yourself and in the future.

Ted Kennedy

There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.

Roger Staubach

Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.

Arnold Palmer

Quotes about Inspiration

We’ve shared a lot of inspirational quotes so far, but here are a few about inspiration itself.

What exactly is the meaning of inspiration and being inspired? Read on to find out from the best quotes about inspiration and learn how to find it for yourself when you need it.

Inspiration responds to our attentiveness in various and sometimes unexpected ways.

Wayne W. Dyer

Inspiration is some mysterious blessing which happens when the wheels are turning smoothly.

Quentin Blake

An inspirational quote, I think, is one that enters your mind and never leaves and lasting deep impression in your life.

Marie Moss

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.

Bo Bennett

Inspiration is God making contact with itself.

Ram Dass
Olivia Wilde quote "Inspiration is the key to everything"
“Inspiration is the key to everything.” – Olivia Wilde

To make any endeavor truly successful, integrity, inspiration, and insight are integral.

Jagadish Vasudev

Inspiration is an awakening, a quickening of all man’s faculties, and it is manifested in all high artistic achievements.

Giacomo Puccini

When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best – that is inspiration.

Robert Bresson

In times of difficulty, we often look around to find a source of inspiration and hope.

Verusha Singh,
Inspirational Short Stories About Success And Happiness

I have inspiration and feelings of being alive most every day I live.

Judy Collins

Jesus is the inspiration for anyone to go the distance.

Sylvester Stallone

Inspiration is finding something that excites you.

Connie Smith

Inspiration can come from anywhere, and a lot of the time, it depends on how you feel when you get up in the morning.

Tyler Shaw

Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.

Madeleine L’Engle

Beauty arises out of human inspiration.

Richard Dawkins

Inspiration can really strike from anywhere.

Bobby Berk

For me, a life without expectation results in a life with inspiration.

Alanis Morissette

Inspiration may be a form of super-consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.

Aaron Copeland

No one was ever great without some portion of divine inspiration.

Marcus Tullius Cicero
Kapil Dev quote "There is inspiration all around us"
“There is inspiration all around us.” – Kapil Dev

Don’t wait for inspiration. Learn to cultivate it.

Nick Petrie

Depression and anxiety can’t fit in your head if you’re cultivating feelings of joy and inspiration.

Austin Butler

My daughter is my greatest inspiration.

Whitney Houston

Every great inspiration is but an experiment – though every experiment we know, is not a great inspiration.

Charles Ives

Quotes to Inspire

Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.

Kobe Bryant

Surround yourself with people and things that inspire you.

Jameela Jamil

Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.

Samuel Smiles

I take inspiration from everyone and everything. I’m inspired by current champions, former champions, true competitors, people dedicated to their dream, hard workers, dreamers, believers, achievers.

Conor McGregor

Words can inspire, thoughts can provoke, but only action truly brings you closer to your dreams.

Brad Sugars

Instead of letting your hardships and failures discourage or exhaust you, let them inspire you.

Michelle Obama

A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.

Mary Kay

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

Zig Ziglar

Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

Stephen Covey
Michael Arden quote "Sometimes, disaster can inspire ingenuity"
“Sometimes, disaster can inspire ingenuity.” – Michael Arden

Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

John C. Maxwell

Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Joshua J. Marine

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

Mae West

Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.

Thomas Carlyle

Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.

Henry David Thoreau

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

W. Clement Stone

Getting Inspiration

Periodically, I return to the classics for inspiration and refreshment.

Cecilia Dart-Thornton

Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while working.

Henri Matisse

Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.

Pablo Picasso

There are little gems all around us that can hold glimmers of inspiration.

Richelle Mead

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

Jack London

Inspiration is hard to come by. You have to take it where you find it.

Bob Dylan

The ultimate inspiration is the deadline.

Nolan Bushnell

I long to speak out the intense inspiration that comes to me from the lives of strong women.

Ruth Benedict
Charles Baudelaire quote "Inspiration comes of working every day"
“Inspiration comes of working every day.” – Charles Baudelaire

Personally I find that deadlines are the best inspiration.

Richard Herring

Amateurs wait for inspiration. The real pros get up and go to work.

Harvey Mackay

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.

Winston Churchill

In life you need either inspiration or desperation.

Tony Robbins

Every day may not be a good day but there is good in every day.

Alice Morse Earle

Many a witty inspiration is like the surprising reunion of befriended thoughts after a long separation.

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.

Rudolf Nureyev

The only real inspiration or muse that I have is just the life that I live.

Andy Biersack

The only thing I do is just pray for inspiration, for a way of thinking, because I don’t have any particular goal in sight.

Mike Tyson

Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.

Benjamin Disraeli

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Eleanor Roosevelt

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

Thomas Edison

Do you feel inspired now? We hope these inspirational quotes give you the spark you needw.

Inspiration may mean different things to different people, but if we learn to look closely, we can find it all around us. Once you find yours, the next step is to act on it!

Getting inspired only counts for something if you take inspired actions and reach for new heights. So don’t be afraid to find what inspires you and allow it to lead you to a better way of life.

Photo of author

Quincy Seale

Quincy is KIM's editor, and has collected and shared inspiring quotes and stories since 2005. Quincy holds an MBA from the University of Dundee and an MSc from the University of Edinburgh, and lives in San Antonio with his wife Natalie, son Alex, and his dog Oban.

24 thoughts on “Inspirational Quotes”

  1. Wow ?, Amazing motivational quotes. These quotes inspire me to achieve my Goal. I always read these inspiring quotes in the morning.
    Thanks?

    Reply
  2. Soul inspiring quotes, I love the one that says, “Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.”

    Reply
  3. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed! Very helpful information specifically the last part of the quotes. so inspiring for me.

    Reply
  4. Good inspirational quotes to read after a rough day….and I am convinced that their are people in my life that are angels without wings

    Reply
  5. Life is like a winding way sometimes you will climb a hill on your way going ,sometimes you will get an easier way and even sometimes you may even missed your way and come back where you start . There is many difficulties in life but still never give up ..

    Reply
  6. Threat every part of your towel equally cos the part that dry your bottom today might wipe your face tomorrow…..mind the way u threat people that comes to path your life

    Reply
  7. You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

    Reply
  8. “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” This quote by Muhammad Ali is the one quote which keeps me inspired all the time

    Reply
  9. “Don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened.” -Dr. Seuss

    The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

    “Nothing worth having comes easy.” -Theodore Roosevelt

    “I don’t believe in magic. I believe in hard work.” -Richie McCaw

    Reply
  10. Thanks for these! This is one of my favorites: “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” I often see this quote attributed to Charles Swindoll as well, not sure who first said it. Here are a few of my other favorite inspirational life quotes:

    “How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I’m committed to?” — Anthony Robbins

    “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Christopher Columbus

    “Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.” — Helen Keller

    Reply
  11. A Winner is a Dreamer that never gives up… Let’s go get it 🙂
    My children aged 5 and 7 have really embraced this and it’s making such a difference to how they are dealing with the little things that go wrong in there day. We have a saying “Winners are Grinner and I’ll NEVER give up”

    Reply
  12. “If you are going to spend your life running you might as well be chasing your dreams.”. J.B. Bernstein

    Reply

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