Motivation Quotes

“You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"
- George Bernard Shaw
(Only person to have won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and an Oscar; Playwright and Economist)
"The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible."
- Richard M. De Vos
(Billionaire entrepreneur and author)
“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it.”
- Michelangelo
(Artist, architect, poet and engineer)
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
(Writer, artist, philosopher and scientist)
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”
- Andrew Carnegie
(Industrialist, entrepreneur and philanthropist; regarded by Forbes magazine as the 2nd wealthiest man in history)
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
- Lou Holtz
(American Football Coach; Winner of 4 championships and 9 coach of the year awards)
“Without some goal and some effort to reach it, no one can live.”
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
(Russian writer and philosopher)
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
– Peter Drucker
(Writer and management consultant to worldwide companies)
“When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.”
- Greg Anderson
(Author)
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman
(Author, philosopher, theologian and civil rights leader)
“A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.”
- Thomas Carlyle
(Writer and historian)
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
- Helen Keller
(Author, lecturer and political activist; the first blind and deaf person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree)
“To always be intending to live a new life, but never find time to set about it - this is as if a man should put off eating and drinking from one day to another till he be starved and destroyed.”
- Walter Scott
(Novelist, playwright and poet)
“Keep believing. Miracles happen.”
– Marvin Andrews
(Professional football player; winner of two championships and two Scottish League Cups; Played for his country 101 times)
"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to."
- George E. Allen
(American football coach and basketball coach)
“When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one which has opened for us.”
- Alexander Graham Bell
(Inventor of the telephone; scientist, engineer and innovator)
"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results."
- Jack Dixon
(Author)
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
- Socrates
(Greek philosopher)
“There is no education like adversity.”
- Benjamin Disraeli
(Twice Prime Minister of Great Britain)
- George Bernard Shaw
(Only person to have won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and an Oscar; Playwright and Economist)
"The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible."
- Richard M. De Vos
(Billionaire entrepreneur and author)
“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it.”
- Michelangelo
(Artist, architect, poet and engineer)
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
(Writer, artist, philosopher and scientist)
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”
- Andrew Carnegie
(Industrialist, entrepreneur and philanthropist; regarded by Forbes magazine as the 2nd wealthiest man in history)
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
- Lou Holtz
(American Football Coach; Winner of 4 championships and 9 coach of the year awards)
“Without some goal and some effort to reach it, no one can live.”
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
(Russian writer and philosopher)
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
– Peter Drucker
(Writer and management consultant to worldwide companies)
“When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.”
- Greg Anderson
(Author)
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman
(Author, philosopher, theologian and civil rights leader)
“A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.”
- Thomas Carlyle
(Writer and historian)
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
- Helen Keller
(Author, lecturer and political activist; the first blind and deaf person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree)
“To always be intending to live a new life, but never find time to set about it - this is as if a man should put off eating and drinking from one day to another till he be starved and destroyed.”
- Walter Scott
(Novelist, playwright and poet)
“Keep believing. Miracles happen.”
– Marvin Andrews
(Professional football player; winner of two championships and two Scottish League Cups; Played for his country 101 times)
"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to."
- George E. Allen
(American football coach and basketball coach)
“When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one which has opened for us.”
- Alexander Graham Bell
(Inventor of the telephone; scientist, engineer and innovator)
"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results."
- Jack Dixon
(Author)
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
- Socrates
(Greek philosopher)
“There is no education like adversity.”
- Benjamin Disraeli
(Twice Prime Minister of Great Britain)

“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.”
- Horace
(Roman soldier and poet)
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”
- George Bernard Shaw
(Playwright, economist and Nobel prize winner)
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”
- C. S. Lewis
(Author and poet)
“The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one.”
- Elbert Hubbard
(Writer, publisher, artist and philosopher)
“Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
- Plato
(Greek philosopher and mathematician)
“Everyone needs reminders that the fact of their being on this earth is important and that each life changes everything.”
- Marge Kennedy
(Author and playwright)
“Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.”
- Og Mandino
(Author; President of Success Unlimited Magazine; speaker)
“How can we turn our problems into opportunities? It’s by the way we think.”
– Ken Carter
(Basketball coach; educational activist; speaker; entrepreneur)
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal.”
- Thomas Jefferson
(3rd US President, principle author of the declaration of independence)
“If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.”
- Pat Riley
(Most successful coach in basketball with 7 championship titles)
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
- Winston Churchill
(Two term Prime Minister of Great Britain)
“Happiness depends on ourselves.”
- Aristotle
(Greek philosopher, writer, polymath and teacher of Alexander The Great)
“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.”
- Lord Byron
(Romantic poet)
“My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes; most of which never happened.”
- Michel de Montaigne
(French renaissance author and statesman)
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
- Dale Carnegie
(Author, business mentor and lecturer)
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson
(Author and poet)
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sales. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- Mark Twain
(Author and lecturer)
“Gain all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.”
- John D. Rockeffeler
(Started life selling potatoes door to door as a child to help keep a roof over his family’s head. He studied book keeping and helped start a small oil company. He became the richest man in history, worth around $600billion in today’s money.)
“Yes, we can!”
- Barack Obama
(First African American to hold the office of President of the USA)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
- King Solomon of Israel
(Famed for his wisdom and wealth in the Old Testament; Ruled Israel from 970 to 931BC)
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
- Paul of Tarsus
(Apostle; Influential New Testament writer)
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
(26th President of the USA, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, writer, hunter, explorer and U.S. Army Colonel)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened.”
- Jesus Christ
(Son of God; More books and songs have been written about him than anyone in history; Healed the sick; Raised the dead; Taught people how to live life to the full; Loved the unloved; Laid down his life to take the punishment for the crimes of humanity; Made it possible for every person to enjoy a life enhancing relationship with God for all eternity)
You can learn all you need to know about motivation from my book, Live A Motivated Life. You can get your copy now, by clicking here. Invest in yourself!
- Horace
(Roman soldier and poet)
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”
- George Bernard Shaw
(Playwright, economist and Nobel prize winner)
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”
- C. S. Lewis
(Author and poet)
“The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one.”
- Elbert Hubbard
(Writer, publisher, artist and philosopher)
“Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
- Plato
(Greek philosopher and mathematician)
“Everyone needs reminders that the fact of their being on this earth is important and that each life changes everything.”
- Marge Kennedy
(Author and playwright)
“Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.”
- Og Mandino
(Author; President of Success Unlimited Magazine; speaker)
“How can we turn our problems into opportunities? It’s by the way we think.”
– Ken Carter
(Basketball coach; educational activist; speaker; entrepreneur)
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal.”
- Thomas Jefferson
(3rd US President, principle author of the declaration of independence)
“If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.”
- Pat Riley
(Most successful coach in basketball with 7 championship titles)
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
- Winston Churchill
(Two term Prime Minister of Great Britain)
“Happiness depends on ourselves.”
- Aristotle
(Greek philosopher, writer, polymath and teacher of Alexander The Great)
“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.”
- Lord Byron
(Romantic poet)
“My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes; most of which never happened.”
- Michel de Montaigne
(French renaissance author and statesman)
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
- Dale Carnegie
(Author, business mentor and lecturer)
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson
(Author and poet)
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sales. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- Mark Twain
(Author and lecturer)
“Gain all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.”
- John D. Rockeffeler
(Started life selling potatoes door to door as a child to help keep a roof over his family’s head. He studied book keeping and helped start a small oil company. He became the richest man in history, worth around $600billion in today’s money.)
“Yes, we can!”
- Barack Obama
(First African American to hold the office of President of the USA)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
- King Solomon of Israel
(Famed for his wisdom and wealth in the Old Testament; Ruled Israel from 970 to 931BC)
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
- Paul of Tarsus
(Apostle; Influential New Testament writer)
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
(26th President of the USA, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, writer, hunter, explorer and U.S. Army Colonel)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door shall be opened.”
- Jesus Christ
(Son of God; More books and songs have been written about him than anyone in history; Healed the sick; Raised the dead; Taught people how to live life to the full; Loved the unloved; Laid down his life to take the punishment for the crimes of humanity; Made it possible for every person to enjoy a life enhancing relationship with God for all eternity)
You can learn all you need to know about motivation from my book, Live A Motivated Life. You can get your copy now, by clicking here. Invest in yourself!