50 Powerful Motivational Quotes to Achieve Your Dreams

Powerful motivational quotes remind us that whatever challenges we are facing, many others have been in our shoes. This curated list features wise words from sports champions, great leaders, and many others who have succeeded against the odds. By the time you finish reading, you’ll feel ready for whatever lies ahead.

Add them to presentation slides, write them in your journal, or send them to loved ones to let them know you’re rooting for them.

Powerful motivational quotes

This selection of powerful motivational quotes is great for any of life’s obstacles—whether you’re looking to muster some extra courage, forge your own path, or do what others have deemed impossible.

• “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.” —Muhammed Ali, boxer and activist
• “Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It’s something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success.” —Vince Lombardi, football coach
• “Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.” —Bethany Hamilton, surfer and writer
• “I hear you say ‘Why?’ Always ‘Why?’ You see things; and you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’”  —George Bernard Shaw, playwright and critic
• “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 which has been opened for us.” —Helen Keller, author
• “Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.” ―Isaac Asimov, writer and professor
• “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” —Maya Angelou, memoirist and essayist
• “We can’t become what we want by remaining what we are.” —Max Depree, businessman and writer
• “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” —George Adair, real-estate developer
• “Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” —Dylan Thomas, poet

Powerful motivational quotes for work

Powerful motivational quotes for work are bound to inspire you to take that creative leap, build your own business, or go for that promotion.

• “Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you.” —Stephen Covey, educator and author
• “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” —Aristotle, philosopher
• “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is hard work.” —Stephen King, author
• “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” —Confucius, philosopher
• “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” —Leonardo da Vinci, polymath
• “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth.” —Abraham Maslow, psychologist
• “We’re only envious of those already doing what we were made to do. Envy is a giant, flashing arrow pointing us toward our destiny.” —Glennon Doyle Melton, author
• “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” —Karen Lamb, author
• “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”  —Archilochus, poet
• “The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.” —Carl Sagan, astronomer

Powerful motivational quotes to believe in yourself

This list of powerful motivational quotes is for anyone who feels they can be their own worst critic. It’ll remind you of how capable you truly are and how important it is to make the most of each day.

• “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”  —Edmund Hillary, mountaineer and explorer
• “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver, poet
• “Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.” —Ann Landers, columnist
• “This above all: to thine own self be true.” —Shakespeare, playwright
• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” —Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the United States
• “Just like moons and like suns, / With the certainty of tides, / Just like hopes springing high, / Still I’ll rise.” —Maya Angelou, memoirist, poet, and essayist
• “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ―George Bernard Shaw, playwright and critic
• “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” ―Paulo Coelho, lyricist and novelist
• “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” ―Audrey Hepburn, actress and humanitarian
• “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” —Alice Walker, novelist and short story writer

Powerful motivational quotes on not giving up

If you’ve ever felt like you’re at the end of your rope with whatever it is you’re trying to achieve, these quotes serve as a reminder that you might be closer than you think.

• “I don’t pay attention to the world ending. It has ended for me many times and began again in the morning.” —Nayyirah Waheed, poet
• “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” Japanese proverb
• “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” —Theodore Parker, minister
• “It is a serious thing / just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in the broken world.” —Mary Oliver, poet
• “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” —Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher
• “The darkest hour is just before the dawn.” —Thomas Fuller, preacher and historian
• “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” —Dolly Parton, singer-songwriter and philanthropist
• “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ―Thomas Edison, inventor and businessman
• “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” ―L.M. Montgomery, author
• “The paradox of learning is that to get better, you need to go outside your comfort zone, and thus feel worse. The people who grow continuously, thus feel consistently over their heads.”  —Scott Young, writer

Powerful motivational quotes that are short and sweet

These short motivational quotes are perfect for sharing with friends and family or saving on your computer so you have them when you need them. Download your favorites in one click.

• “If it is easy, then you are doing it wrong.” —Gabby Williams, basketball player

• “Skill is only developed by hours and hours of work.” —Usain Bolt, Olympic sprinter

• “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” —Robert Collier, self-help author

• “There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.” —Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker

• “Don’t watch the clock. Do what it does. Keep going.” —Sam Levenson, humorist and writer

• “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ―George Eliot, novelist and poet

• “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” —Wayne Gretzky, hockey player

• “May you live every day of your life.” ―Jonathan Swift, writer and essayist

• “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” ―Haruki Murakami, writer

• “Always do what you are afraid to do.” ―Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist

Frequently asked questions about powerful motivational quotes

What are examples of motivational quotes about life?

Examples of motivational quotes about life are:

• “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver, poet
• “We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” ―May Sarton, novelist
• “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” ―Roy T. Bennett, author

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What are examples of funny motivational quotes?

Examples of funny motivational quotes include:

• “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” —Zig Ziglar, author
• “Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.” —Charlotte Whitton

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What are some short motivational quotes for students?

Short motivational quotes for students include:

• “What we know matters, but who we are matters more.” —Brené Brown, business professor, leadership researcher, author, and podcaster
• “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” —Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker
• “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” —B.B. King, world-famous blues guitarist and songwriter
• “Remember that if you really want to motivate yourself, love is more powerful than fear.” —Kristin Neff, educational psychologist and podcaster
• “If you dream it, you can do it.” —Walt Disney

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