153 Best Inspirational Quotes On Life, Change and Success

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Here are the best inspirational quotes we could find to help you tap into your full potential!

We only have one life, and at times, life can seem short.

But let’s be clear, life is long enough for us all to make major progress and improvements.  

A life committed to working on ourselves and creating positive change for others is not easy.

A life dedicated to service and growth does not escape pain and tragedy.

We all go through it.

That’s why it’s so important that we feed our minds with information, words, stories, quotes, and visuals that develop our faith, perseverance, and optimism.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful collection of the best inspirational quotes!

Another wonderful collection to help you recognize and utilize your greatness!

Enjoy these powerful words about life, success, and challenges, and check out these quotes for happiness when you’re done!

Best Inspirational Quotes To Drastically Improve Your Life!

1. “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” –Martin Luther King Jr.

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2. “Hope is a waking dream.” – Aristotle

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3. “Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of.”― Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger

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4. “We all hope. It’s what keeps us alive.” – David Mamet, Playwright

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5. “In your own life it’s important to know how spectacular you are.” – Steve Maraboli

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6. “Do you love yourself enough to BE what you love yourself enough to WANT?”― Steve Maraboli

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7. “I celebrate myself, and sing myself.” – Walt Whitman

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8. “Freedom lies in being bold.” – Robert Frost

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9. “Happiness is in your ability to love others.”— Leo Tolstoy

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10. “Don’t be afraid to hit the ball.”— Billie Jean King

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11. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” –Thomas Edison

12. “Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.”― Langston Hughes

13. “We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming – well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.”― Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses

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14. “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.”  –Anne Lamott

15. “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” –Harriet Beecher Stowe

16. “I think it’s a mistake to ever look for hope outside of one’s self.” -Arthur Miller, Playwright

17. “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”  –Christopher Reeve

18. “Hope is the physician of each misery.”  -Irish Proverb

19. “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”― C.G. Jung, Psychiatrist

20. “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”― Shel Silverstein

21. “I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”― Brene Brown

22. “It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”-Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

23. “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” -Malcolm S. Forbes

24. I’ve finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?” – Goldie Hawn

25. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserves your love & affection.” -Buddha

26. “Strange as it may seem, I still hope for the best, even though the best, like an interesting piece of mail, so rarely arrives, and even when it does it can be lost so easily.”― Lemony Snicket, The Beatrice Letters

Best Inspirational Quotes About Life

27. “Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults.” -Les Brown

28. “I was once afraid of people saying, “Who does she think she is?” Now I have the courage to stand and say, “This is who I am.” -Oprah Winfrey

29. “When people believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.” –Norman Vincent Peale

30. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”― Nora Ephron

31. Courage is, “… when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” -Harper Lee (Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”)

32. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.”― Mark Twain

33. “The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”― Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

34. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”― Nelson Mandela

35. “You get your confidence and intuition back by trusting yourself, by being militantly on your own side. … Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.”— Anne Lamott

36. “If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. Otherwise, you’ll just be rearranging furniture in rooms you’ve already been in.”— Anne Lamott

37. “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” –Barack Obama

38. “Whatever you choose, do it fully—with passion and childlike enthusiasm.”— Dr. Oz

39. “Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul / And sings the tune without the words / And never stops at all.”― Emily Dickinson

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Best inspirational quotes to elevate your mind

40. “The constant happiness is curiosity.”— Alice Munro

41. “What is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.”— Willa Cather

42. “Happiness isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. You must define what it looks like for you and then make a conscious effort to access whatever gets you to your unique definition of joy.”— Dr. Phil

43. “The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”— Anna Quindlen

44. “Growth itself contains the germ of happiness.”— Pearl S. Buck

45. “Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”— Randy Pausch

46. “No matter what the situation is…close your eyes and think of all the things you could be grateful for in your life right now.”— Deepak Chopra

47. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J. K. Rowling

48. “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” – Haruki  Murakami

49. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” –Maya Angelou

50. “However mean your life is, meet it and live it.” –Henry David Thoreau

51. “The roughest roads often lead to the top.” -Christina Aguilera

52. “The first step is you have to say that you can.” –Will Smith

53. “Never regret your past. Accept it as the teacher that it is.” –Robin Sharma

54. “It takes no more time to see the good side of life than to see the bad.” -Jimmy Buffett

55. “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.” –Vince Lombardi

Best inspirational quotes to live by

56. “I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.” -Jewish Proverb

57. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”  -Oprah Winfrey

58. “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.”  -African Proverb

59. “When written in Chinese the word “crisis” is composed of two characters – one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”  –John F. Kennedy, address, 12 April 1959

60. “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.”  -Duke Ellington

61. “The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.”  -Bernard M. Baruch

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

63. “A setback is a setup for a comeback” -T.D. Jakes
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64. I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.” – Colin Powell, Retired U.S. Army Four-Star General

65. “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

66. “Problems are messages.” -Shakti Gawain (“New Age” author of Personal Development)

67. “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” -Truman Capote

68. “We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.”  –Winston Churchill

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Best inspirational quotes from famous people

69. “Identity is a prison you can never escape, but the way to redeem your past is not to run from it, but to try to understand it, and use it as a foundation to grow.” – Jay-Z
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70. My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” – Oprah Winfrey, American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

71. “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby

72. “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela
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73. “There is no fear when you choose love. The more you choose love, the more love is in your life. It gets easier and easier.” – Melissa Etheridge

Best inspirational quotes

74. “Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world…if you do so, you are insulting yourself.” – Bill Gates

75. “Start where you are. Use what you have.  Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

76. “I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot.” – Bill Gates

77. “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” – Bill Gates

78. “Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama

79. “Choose people who lift you up.” – Michelle Obama

80. “We should remember that just as a positive outlook on life can promote good health, so can everyday acts of kindness.” – Hillary Clinton

81. “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” – Hillary Clinton

Best inspirational quotes to keep you going

82. “The most important thing to remember is that you can wear all the greatest clothes and all the greatest shoes, but you’ve got to have a good spirit on the inside. That’s what’s really going to make you look like you’re ready to rock the world.” – Alicia Keys

83. “He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

84. “Accept responsibility for your own life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

85. “Goals help you channel your energy into action.” – Les Brown

86. “Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours.” – Les Brown

87. “Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

88. “Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” – William Faulkner

89. “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” – Anne Lamott
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90. “You can’t base your life on other people’s expectations.” – Stevie Wonder

91. “When you’re moving in the positive, your destination is the brightest star.” – Stevie Wonder

Best inspirational quotes for your journey to greatness

92. “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”   –Plato

93. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” – Marie Curie

94. “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” – Booker T. Washington

95. “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby

96. “Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

97. “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

98. What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” – Oscar Wilde

99. “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” – John D. Rockefeller

100. “If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you!” – T. Harv Eker

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Best inspirational quotes and sayings

101. “Life is short and unpredictable. Eat the dessert first!” – Helen Keller

102. “One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle was between 2 “wolves” inside us all. One was Evil. It was anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other was Good. It was joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.” ― Cherokee Indian

103. “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

104. “The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” —Kakuzō Okakura

105. “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

106. “Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.” —Max McKeown

107. Don’t be afraid to stand for what you believe in, even if that means standing alone.” – Andy Biersack

108. “The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.” —Bill Clinton

109. “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

110. “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” —Jim Rohn

111. “Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy, or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don’t have a plan.” – Larry Winget

112. “When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.” —Tuli Kupferberg

Best inspirational quotes to motivate you

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

114. “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson

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

116. “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot

117. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

118. “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart

119. “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth

120. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James

121. “If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

122. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – Les Brown

123. “To begin, begin.” – William Wordsworth

Best Inspirational Quotes for Life Success

124. “We become what we think about” – Earl Nightingale

125. “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Rob Siltanen

126. “Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.” – Brian Tracy

127. “Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

128. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

129. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

130. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

131. “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean

132. “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

133. “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James

Inspirational Quotes about Change

134. “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change” – Albert Einstein

135. “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude” – Oprah Winfrey

136. “Every day the clock resets. Your wins don’t matter. Your failures don’t matter. Don’t stress on what was, fight for what could be.” – Sean Higgins

137. “Don’t let rejection create self-doubt. The founder of Starbucks was turned down by 217 of the 242 investors he initially spoke with.” – Elizabeth Galbut

138. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy

139. “Play to your strengths. If you aren’t great at something, do more of what you’re great at.” – Jason Lemkin

140. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill

141. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

142. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

143. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new” – Socrates

Best Inspirational Quotes On Life To Value Every Moment

144. “Life doesn’t require that we be the best, only that we try our best.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.

145. “I believe that nothing in life is unimportant. Every moment can be a beginning.” — John McLeod

146. “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” — Bruce Lee

147. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” — George Halas

148. “You choose the life you live. If you don’t like it, it’s on you to change it because no one else is going to do it for you.” — Kim Kiyosaki

149. “Life is very interesting… in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.” — Drew Barrymore

150. “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” — Vivian Greene

151. “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” — Oprah Winfrey

152. “There are no regrets in life, just lessons.” — Jennifer Aniston

153. “Make each day your masterpiece.” — John Wooden