“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Motivational Quotes page 5
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist
Original from Zig Ziglar https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zig_Ziglar <br class="br">Misattributed
Mark Victor Hansen (1948) American writer
“Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway”
Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986) American journalist
“Never, never, never give in!”
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Variant: Never, never, never give up.
“Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America
Variant: Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
Stephen King (1947) American author
Source: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Patrick Lencioni (1965) American writer
Source: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”
Billy Joel (1949) American singer-songwriter and pianist
“You can do anything, but not everything.”
David Allen (1945) American productivity consultant and author
Jason Fried software entrepreneur
Source: Rework
“Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, and social theorist
Attributed
Source: As quoted in The Book of Positive Quotations (2007) by John Cook, p. 548
“Your life only gets better when you get better.”
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
“He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.”
Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
“A witty woman is a treasure; a witty beauty is a power.”
George Meredith book Diana of the Crossways
Ch. 1 http://books.google.com/books?id=pDlxjZ-z-woC&q=%22A+witty+woman+is+a+treasure+a+witty+beauty+is+a+power%22&pg=PA2#v=onepage. <br class="br">Source: Diana of the Crossways http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4470/4470.txt (1885)
Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist
Variant: You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better.
Source: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be
The candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton (1862–1937) American novelist, short story writer, designer
"Vesalius in Zante (1564)", in North American Review (November 1902), p. 631
Variant: There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.
“It’s life. You don’t figure it out. You just climb up on the beast and ride.”
Rebecca Wells book Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Source: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
“Life is very interesting… in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.”
Drew Barrymore (1975) American actress, director and producer
Variant: In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.
“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting”
Paulo Coelho book The Alchemist
Variant: It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.
Source: The Alchemist
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
“Making money is art. And working is art. And good business is the best art.”
Andy Warhol (1928–1987) American artist
Source: 1975, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975), p. 92
Context: Business art is the step that comes after Art. I started as a commercial artist, and I want to finish as a business artist. After I did the thing called 'art' or whatever it's called, I went into business art. I wanted to be an Art Businessman or a Business Artist. Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. During the hippies era people put down the idea of business – they'd say 'Money is bad', and 'Working is bad', but making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.
“Make the most of yourself…. for that is all there is of you.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
Og Mandino (1923–1996) American author
“The secret to success is to do the common things uncommonly well.”
John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) American business magnate and philanthropist
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
1840s, Essays: First Series (1841), Circles
“It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.”
Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer
“Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
“It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.”
Lena Horne (1917–2010) American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer
Variant: It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.
“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game.”
Michael Jordan (1963) American retired professional basketball player and businessman
Earl Nightingale (1921–1989) American motivational speaker
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor
“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”
Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012) American educator, author, businessman and motivational speaker
As quoted in Wake-up Calls : You Don't Have to Sleepwalk through your Life, Love, or Career! (1992) by Eric Allenbaugh, p. 65
“Very little is needed to make a happy life.”
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
ἐν ὀλιγίστοις κεῖται τὸ εὐδαιμόνως βιῶσαι
VII, 67
Source: Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book VII
“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.”
Dave Ramsey (1960) American financial advisor
“How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?”
Seth Godin (1960) American entrepreneur, author and public speaker
Source: Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet
As quoted in Conversations with Maya Angelou (1989) by Jeffrey M. Elliot
Lance Armstrong book It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
"Back in the Saddle - An Essay by Lance Armstrong", as quoted in The Book of Action (2006) by Jeramy L. Patrick and Justin L. Helms, p. 68
Source: Armstrong, Lance. It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. New York: Berkley Books, 2001
“Live for each second without hesitation”
Elton John (1947) English rock singer-songwriter, composer and pianist
“The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one's destiny to do, and then do it.”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist
“When they give you lined paper, write the other way.”
Ray Bradbury book Fahrenheit 451
Misattributed
Variant: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.
Source: Epigraph, in Fahrenheit 451 a translation of a statement by Juan Ramón Jiménez
Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, and a key figure in Spanish language literature
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774) Irish physician and writer
Variant: Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Source: The Citizen of the World, Or, Letters from a Chinese Philosopher, Residing in London, to His Friends in the Country, by Dr. Goldsmith
Steven Pressfield (1943) United States Marine
Source: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles
“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.”
Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet
Anthony Bourdain book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Source: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
“The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.”
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Russian-American novelist and philosopher
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Attribution debunked in Langworth's Churchill by Himself. The earliest close match located by the Quote Investigator is from the 1953 book How to Say a Few Words by David Guy Powers. <br class="br">Misattributed <br class="br">Variant: Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. <br class="br">Source: 1953, How to Say a Few Words by David Guy Powers, Quote p. 109, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York. Referenced by Quote Investigator http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/06/28/success
“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”
Lance Armstrong book Every Second Counts
Source: Every Second Counts
“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Variant: Your actions speak so loudly, I can not hear what you are saying.
Paulo Coelho book Brida
Source: Brida (1990).
Context: When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British stateswoman and politician
This quote is widely attributed to Margaret Thatcher on various websites, and also appears in a number of books, including The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, Columbia University Press (1989), ed. Robert Andrews, p. 320 : ISBN 0231069901. 9780231069908 , but without any further source information such as date, location or any other context. <br class="br">One valid Thatcher quote which may be the basis for the version above appears in the Second Carlton Lecture http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105799 (‘Why Democracy Will Last’), delivered at the Carlton Club, London (November 26, 1984) : Mr. Chairman, each generation has to stand up for democracy. It can’t take anything for granted and may have to fight fundamental battles anew. You know that marvellous quotation from Goethe : ‘That which thy fathers bequeathed thee / Earn it anew if thou would possess it.’ <br class="br">Thatcher also expressed this thought in a Speech to Atlantic Bridge (May 14, 2003) http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111266, delivered at the St. Regis Hotel, New York City : My friends, every generation has to fight anew the battle for liberty. <br class="br">Disputed
“If they give you lined paper, write the other way.”
William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) American poet
“Always mind the distance between your dreams and your reality.”
Zoë Heller (1965) British writer
Source: Notes On A Scandal
“The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
“Do the thing and you will have the power.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.”
Duke Ellington (1899–1974) American jazz musician, composer and band leader
Source: Music is My Mistress
“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
“Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) American businessman and philanthropist
“I have been bent and broken, but -I hope- into a better shape.”
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) American poet
“Life tells you to take the elevator, but love tells you to take the stairs.”
David Levithan (1972) American author and editor
Source: Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List
“In matters of style, swim with the current: in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America
As quoted in Careertracking: 26 success Shortcuts to the Top (1988) by James Calano and Jeff Salzman; though used in an address by Bill Clinton (31 March 1997), and sometimes cited to Notes on the State of Virginia (1787) no earlier occurence of this has yet been located.
Disputed
“Don't let yesterday take up too much of today.”
John Wooden (1910–2010) American basketball coach
Source: Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court
“All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.”
Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American writer
“It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.”
Harriet Tubman (1820–1913) African-American abolitionist and humanitarian
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
Paulo Coelho book The Alchemist
The alchemist, p. 141.
Variant: There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.
Source: The Alchemist (1988)
“Sadness can find you anywhere, anytime, so you better have fun when you can.”
Rebecca Wells (1952) American writer
Source: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder
Helen Keller (1880–1968) American author and political activist
Source: The Open Door (1957) This quotation is often contracted into: Security is mostly a superstition... Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. or paraphrased: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist
“But that's the challenge -- to change the system more than it changes you.”
Michael Pollan book The Omnivore's Dilemma
Source: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
“Don't look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.”
Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist
Source: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.”
Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist
Source: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
“We need men who can dream of things that never were.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
“The secret is that there is no secret.”
Lionel Shriver book We Need to Talk About Kevin
Source: We Need to Talk About Kevin
“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”
Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist
“I wish to go beyond the fire that burns me.”
Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374) Italian scholar and poet
“The best way to predict your future is to create it”
Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant
“Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, sauté it, whatever. MAKE.”
Joss Whedon (1964) American director, writer, and producer for television and film
“I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to to dance better than myself.”
Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948) Soviet-American dancer, choreographer, and actor born in Letonia, Soviet Union