100+ Inspirational Quotes I Love and Recommend

As someone who is constantly trying to improve in life, I've developed a real appreciation for quotes. In fact, I've found some quotes over the years that I believe can teach more in a sentence than many books can in 500 pages.

To create a list of these incredible quotes that impact my life without sharing it with the world seems selfish. Therefore, I will update this page over time as I find and rediscover quotes that really impact me. I hope you find it helpful.

Inspirational quotes that impact my life:

1. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” – Will Durant (summing up Aristotle's philosophy)

2. “I'm not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.” – Unknown

3. “Success leaves clues.” – Tony Robbins

4. “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

5. “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Ben Franklin

6. “Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.” – Albert Einstein

7. “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

8. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that is is stupid.” Albert Einstein

9. “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein

10. “There is no such thing as failure. There are only results.” – Tony Robbins

11. “Happiness is found in the absence of expectation and a continuous focus on appreciation.” – Tony Robbins

12. “A real decision is measured by the face that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided.” – Tony Robbins

14. “The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you.” – Tony Robbins

15. “Success is doing what you want, when you want, where you want, with whom you want, as much as you want.” – Tony Robbins

16. “Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don't want to.” – Richard Branson

17. “I don't think of work as work and play as play. It's all living.” – Richard Branson

18. “if somebody offers you can amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it,m say yes – then learn how to do it later!” – Richard Branson

19. “What we fear doing is usually what we most need to do.” – Tim Ferriss

20. “Focus on being productive instead of busy.” – Tim Ferriss

21. “If you don't have time, the truth is, you don't have priorities. Think harder; don't work harder.” – Tim Ferriss

22. “I value self-discipline, but creating systems that make it next to impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control.” – Tim Ferriss

23. “The world s changed by your example, not by your opinion.” – Tim Ferriss

24. “All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy.” – Scott Alexander

25. “People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work and enjoy working.” – Elon Musk

26. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk

27. “My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wished it for my sake.” – Aristotle

28. “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies.” – Aristotle

29. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle

30. “There is only one what to avoid criticism: Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Aristotle

31. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” – Plato

32. “Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress no matter how slow.” – Plato

33. “Don't let anyone rent a space in your head unless they're a good tenant.” – Plato

34. “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” – Plato

35. “A gem cannot be polished without friction, not a man perfected without trials.” – Seneca

36. “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.” – Seneca

37. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Seneca

38. “True happiness is… to enjoy the present without anxious dependence upon the future.” – Seneca

39. “We are more often frightened than hurt and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” – Seneca

40. “Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember.” – Seneca

41. “If you wish to be loved, love.” – Seneca

42. “A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intentions of the giver or doer.” – Seneca

43. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

44. “The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can't are both right.” – Confucius

45. “When anger rises, think of the consequences.” – Confucius

46. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius

47. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Confucius

48. “It is better to light one small candle of gratitude than to curse the darkness.” – Confucius

49. “The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.” – Confucius

50. “Ask yourself constantly, “What is the right thing to do?”” – Confucius

51. “The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.” – Confucius

52. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Confucius

53. “It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.” – Confucius

54. “To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.” – Confucius

55. “When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.” – Confucius

56. “If they spit at you behind your back, it means you're ahead of them.” – Confucius

57. “We should love, not fall in love because everything that falls gets broken, – Confucius

58. “If you plan is for 1 year, plant rice. If your plan is for 10 years, plant trees. If you plan is for 100 years, educated children.” – Confucius

59. “To see what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.” – Confucius

60. “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” – Confucius

61. “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius

62. “Your time is limited. Don't waste it living someone else's life.” – Steve Jobs

63. “We're here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?” – Steve Jobs

64. “My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” – Steve Jobs

65. “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I'm about to do today?” – Steve Jobs

66. “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs

67. “Don't let the noise of other people's opinions drown out your inner voice.” – Steve Jobs

68. “If you look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs

69. “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practices every day.” – Jim Rohn

70. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn

71. “Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” – Jim Rohn

72. “Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn

73. “Service to others leads to greatness.” – Jim Rohn

74. “Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn

75. “Work on yourself more than you do your job.” – Jim Rohn

76. “If you want to have more, you have to become more. For things to change, you have to change. For thing to get better, you have to get better. For things to improve, you have to improve. If you grow, everything grows for you.” – Jim Rohn

77. “Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hand, but not you.” – Jim Rohn

78. “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” – Jim Rohn

79. “Every day, stand guard at the door of your mind.” – Jim Rohn

80. “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn

81. “Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all you want.” – Jim Rohn

82. “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” – Jim Rohn

83. “Successful people have libraries. The rest have big screen TVs.” – Jim Rohn

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

85. “If you are born poor, its not your mistake. But if you die poor, it's your mistake.” – Bill Gates

86. “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lost.” – Bill Gates

87. “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” – Bill Gates

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

89. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

90. “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you'll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

91. “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

92. “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

93. “Do not judge my story by the chapter you walked in on.” – Unknown

94. “Without passion, you don't have energy. Without energy, you have nothing.” – Warren Buffett

95. “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett

96. “It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.” – Warren Buffett

97. “Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything.” – Unknown

98. “Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.” – Socrates

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

100. “The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.” – Marcus Aurelius

101. “When you complain, nobody wants to help you.” – Stephen Hawking

Conclusion

To gain wisdom and know the right approach to many of life's situations, I recommend referring back to this page from time to time. You can learn a lot from some of the most influential and successful people in history.