persons right foot on white wallPhoto Credit: Clay Banks

Hang tough! Herein we present 450+ of the best motivational quotes out there. May these quotes prove helpful and worthy. If they do, please share widely. And may you kick butt and take names on all the obstacles you encounter today. Wishing you a productive, happy, and successful day!

Don't look back -- you're not going that way.

--Mary Engelbreit

What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

--Plutarch

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

--Maya Angelou

Longer Version:

We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. That sounds goody two-shoes, I know, but I believe that a diamond is the result of extreme pressure and time. Less time is crystal. Less than that is coal. Less than that is fossilized leaves. Less than that it's just plain dirt. In all my work, in the movies I write, the lyrics the poetry, the prose, the essays, I am saying that we may encounter many defeats -- maybe it's imperative that we encounter the defeats -- but we are much stronger than we appear to be and maybe much better than we allow ourselves to be.


A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.

--Helen Keller

The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.

--Joe Paterno

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.

--Walt Disney

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

--George Eliot

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.

--Denis Watiley

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

The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.

--Stephen McCranie

Perfection is boring. Getting better is where all the fun is.

--Dragos Roua

We must train from the inside out. Using our strengths to attack and nullify any weaknesses. It's not about denying a weakness may exist but about denying its right to persist.

--Vince McConnell

A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.

--Mildred Struven

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

--George Adair

Goals live on the other side of obstacles and challenges. Be relentless in pursuit of those goals, especially in the face of obstacles. Along the way, make no excuses and place no blame.

--Ray Bourque

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

--Tim Notke

I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don't.

--Neila Rey

You promote yourself every time you take on a new responsibility.

--William Gore

People spend their lives in the service of their passions instead of employing their passions in the service of their lives.

--Sir Richard Steele

Sometimes the best helping hand you can get is a good, firm push.

--Joann Thomas

Choice, not chance, determines human destiny.

--Robert W. Ellis

Life without risk is not worth living.

--Chuck Lindbergh

To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can't just accept the ones you like.

--Mike Kafka

If you don't run your own life, somebody else will.

--John Atkinson

Each man is the architect of his own fortune.

--Appius Claudius Caecus

Motivate yourself and commit to being better as each decade of your life passes by; Live what you teach; do what you promise to do.

--Alan Maiccon

The shell must break before the bird can fly.

--Alfred, Lord Tennyson

You are what you think about all day.

--Allen Ginsberg

Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness.

--Allen Ginsberg

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.

--Anatole France

Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret.

--Anonymous

I'm too busy working on my own grass to notice if yours is greener.

--Anonymous

Just stick with it. What seems so hard now will one day be your warm up.

--Anonymous

The first step to getting anywhere is deciding you're no longer willing to stay where you are.

--Anonymous

If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission.

--Anonymous

Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them.

--Anonymous

Success isn't given. It's earned. In the kitchen, in the gym, in the workout, all day. With blood, sweat, and the occasional tear.

--Arnold Schwarzenegger

Stay hungry, stay healthy, be a gentleman, believe strongly in yourself and go beyond limitations.

--Arnold Schwarzenegger

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.

--Arnold Schwarzenegger

I wasn't there to compete. I was there to win.

--Arnold Schwarzenegger

Good ideas are common -- what's uncommon are people who will work hard enough to bring them about.

--Ashleigh Brilliant

Triumph often is nearest when defeat seems inescapable.

--B.C. Forbes

The wise does at once what the fool does at last.

--Baltasar Gracian

Never retreat. Never explain. Get it done and let them howl.

--Benjamin Jowett

I've always tried to go a step past wherever people expected me to end up.

--Beverly Sills

If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win.

--Carl Lewis

Needing motivation is a sign of your goals lacking meaning.

--Carlos Del Valle

When one must, one can.

--Charlotte Whitton

Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.

--Christopher Morley

Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't sell out.

--Christopher Reeve

If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out.

--Chuck Noll

Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.

--Conan O'Brien

I am not talented. I am obsessed.

--Conor McGregor

There is always room at the top.

--Daniel Webster

Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they've started.

--David Allen

I really believe that everyone has a talent, ability, or skill that he can mine to support himself and to succeed in life.

--Dean Koontz

There may be people that have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.

--Derek Jeter

Wake up determined. Go to bed satisfied.

--Dwayne Johnson

Blood, sweat and respect. First two you give. Last one you earn.

--Dwayne Johnson

Motivated people always find a way. Unmotivated people will always find a way not to.

--Ed Latimore

It's not the moutain we conquer but ourselves.

--Edmund Hillary

Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way.

--Eileen Caddy

If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.

--Émile Zola

Don't make a habit out of choosing what feels good over what's actually good for you.

--Eric Thomas

Stop whining, start grinding.

--Eric Thomas

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

Your focus determines your reality.

--George Lucas

You simply have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Put blinders on and plow right ahead.

--George Lucas

Work is not man's punishment. It is his reward and his strength and his pleasure.

--George Sand

Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you.

--George Whitefield

Nobody but you have to believe in your dreams to make them a reality.

--Germany Kent

Though no one can backtrack and create a brand new start, Everyone is capable of taking their life in a brand new direction.

--Germany Kent

Seven Ways To Get Ahead in Business:
1. Be forward thinking
2. Be inventive, and daring
3. Do the right thing
4. Be honest and straight forward
5. Be willing to change, to learn, to grow
6. Work hard and be yourself
7. Lead by example.

--Germany Kent

Positive thinking is powerful thinking. If you want happiness, fulfillment, success and inner peace, start thinking you have the power to achieve those things. Focus on the bright side of life and expect positive results.

--Germany Kent

Stand for something. Make your life mean something. Start where you are with what you have. You are enough.

--Germany Kent

Everyday presents a new opportunity to grow and press forward to your success. Stay the course believing that where you are right now doesn't matter, as long as you are moving in the right direction.

--Germany Kent

The 7 Steps to Transformation:
1. Dream it.
2. Envision it.
3. Think it.
4. Grow it.
5. Become it.
6. Live it.
7. OWN it.

--Germany Kent

You have to know what you want to get it.

--Gertrude Stein

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.

--Greg Anderson

You must take action now that will move you towards your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life.

--H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.

--Haile Gebrselassie

The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.

--Harry Golden

Always aim for achievement, and forget about success.

--Helen Hayes

Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit.

--Helena Rubinstein

Never give in and never give up.

--Hubert Humphrey

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

--Jack London

Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation.

--Jack Nicklaus

Most people think they lack motivation when they really lack clarity.

--James Clear

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

--James Dean

You have to motivate yourself with challenges. That's how you know you're still alive.

--Jerry Seinfeld

You can look for external sources of motivation and that can catalyze a change, but it won't sustain one. It has to be from an internal desire.

--Jillian Michaels

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

--Jim Ryun

Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.

--Jimmy Buffett

If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?

--Joe Namath

If you think you can do it, you can.

--John Burroughs

A somebody was once a nobody who wanted to and did.

--John Burroughs

The older you get, the more fragile you understand life to be. I think that's good motivation for getting out of bed joyfully each day.

--Julia Roberts
persons right foot on white wall

Thank you for checking out our selection of motivating quotes! Please consider sharing and also connect with us on social media. Wishing you a day of action and accomplishment!