100 Great Quotes to Boost Motivation

I am an avid collector of quotes. I think that reading quotes is a definite mood lifter.

Why Read Motivational Quotes and Sayings?

Reading motivational quotes can be a great mood-lifter when you have the blues. These motivational sayings are a great way to keep yourself motivated and to moving toward your goals.

Do you have an exam today? Are you suddenly feeling dejected for some reason? Are you feeling like the whole world is against you? These motivational quotes are sure to help you feel more positive.

Uplifting Quotations to Improve Your Mood

1. We are what we think. —Buddha
2. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. —Buddha
3. Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes. —Kenneth Hildebrand
4. When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. —Patanjali, the author of Yoga Sutra
5. Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose—a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. —Mary Shelley
6. In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one being an innate desire of pleasure; the other, an acquired judgment which aspires after excellence. —Socrates
7. Every big problem was at one time a wee disturbance. —Unknown
8. I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become. —Oprah Winfrey
9. Dance as though no one is watching you. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth. —Souza
10. You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. —Zig Ziglar
11. Men's best successes come after their disappointments. —Henry Ward Beecher
12. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. —Albert Einstein
13. You see things; and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" —George Bernard Shaw
14. Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall. —Confucius
15. Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile. —Gary Ryan Blair
16. Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. —Stephen R. Covey
17. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. —Aristotle
18. Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love. —Mahatma Gandhi
19. Nobody can hurt me without my permission. —Mahatma Gandhi
20. Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. —George Washington

All great achievements require time.

— Maya Angelou

More Positive Sayings to Keep You Inspired

21. Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. —Obama

22. If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all. —Obama

23. Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. —Albert Einstein

24. When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live. —Greg Anderson

25. Whether it's Google or Apple or free software, we've got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes. —Bill Gates

26. A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle. —Benjamin Franklin.

27. This world is but a canvas to our imaginations. —Henry David Thoreau

28. All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. —Walt Disney

29. Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice. —Wayne Dyer

30. Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. —Jim Ryun

31. This paper will no doubt be found interesting by those who take an interest in it. —John Dalton

32. I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end. —Abraham Lincoln

33. When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion. —Abraham Lincoln

34. Being number two sucks. —Andre Agassi

35. The whole idea is to get an edge. Sometimes it takes just a little extra something to get that edge, but you have to have it. —Don Shula

36. Under pressure you can perform fifteen percent better or worse. —Scott Hamilton

37. Ninety percent of the game is half mental. —Yogi Berra

38. Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. —Stephen Covey

39. Be the dream. —John Chaney

More Famous Motivational Quotes

40. Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. —Albert Einstein

41. Life has no limitations, except the ones you make. —Les Brown

42. Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. —Napoleon Hill

43. An obstacle is often a stepping stone. —Prescott

44. Replace the word "problem" with the word "opportunity" in all your thoughts. —Matthew Keith Groves

45. There was never a genius without a tincture of madness. —Aristotle

46. Winners never quit and quitters never win. —Anon

47. Never give up. —Winston Churchill

48. Who dares wins. —Winston Churchill

49. The only difference between a Good Day And a Bad Day Is your attitude. —Dennis S Brown

50. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. —Theodore Roosevelt

51. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. —Albert Einstein

52. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. —Muhammad Ali

53. He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year. —Leonardo Da Vinci

54. If you learn only methods, you’ll be tied to your methods, but if you learn principles you can devise your own methods. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

55. Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything. —Napoleon Hill

56. Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved. —William Jennings Bryan

57. Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. —David Frost

If you can't fly, then run.

If you can't run, then walk.

If you can't walk, then crawl.

But whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Additional Sayings to Boost Your Mood

58. Life is never free of contradictions. —Dr. Manmohan Singh

59. Tough times never last, but tough people do. —Dr. Robert Schuller

60. To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives. —Denis Waitley

61. Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. —Helen Keller

62. The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity. —Peter Drucker

63. What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it is another matter. —Anonymous

64. Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. —Dale Carnegie

65. The ability to concentrate and to use time well is everything. —Lee Iacocca

66. You don't have to get it perfect – you just have to get it going. Babies don't walk the first time they try, but eventually they do. —Mark Victor Hansen

67. True motivation comes from within - from the willingness to see a dream fulfilled - from the desire to leave the world better than you found it. —Steve Brunkhorst

68. There isn't a ruler, a yardstick or a measuring tape in the entire world long enough to compute the strength and capabilities inside you. —Paul J. Meyer

69. Genius is eternal patience. —Michaelangelo

70. Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling. —Van Gogh

71. Creation is always happening. Every time an individual has a thought, or a prolonged way of thinking, they’re in the creation process. Something is going to manifest out of those thoughts. —Michael Bernard Beckwith

72. Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome. —Arthur Ashe Jr

73. You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try. —Beverly Sills

74. Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don’t have any problems, you don’t get any seeds. —Norman Vincent Peale

75. Formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune. —Jim Rohn

76. The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach. —Benjamin Mays

77. Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all. —Dale Carnegie

More Words to Live By

78. People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily. —Zig Ziglar

79. If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it. —William Arthur Ward

80. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. —Henry David Thoreau

81. Man is what he believes. —Anton Chekhov

82. Eighty percent of success is showing up. —Woody Allen

83. Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. —Oscar Wilde

84. I hear: I forget / I see: I remember / I do: I understand —Chinese Proverb

85. Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. —Winston Churchill

86. Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. —Dan Stanford

87. There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them. —Dr. Denis Waitley

88. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. —Unknown

89. The most important single ingredient in the formula for success is the knack of getting along with people. —Theodore Roosevelt

90. Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination. —Unknown

91. Some succeed because they are destined. Some succeed because they are determined. —Unknown

92. Wisdom is knowing. Skill is know how to do it. Virtue is doing it. —David Starr Jordan

93. The road to success runs uphill. —Willie Davis

94. A man only learns in 2 ways, one by reading and the other by association with smarter people. —Will Rogers

95. Success consists of doing the common things of life uncommonly well. —Unknown

96. Opportunities multiply as they are seized. —Sun Tzu

97. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind. —Dale Carnegie

98. I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. —Michael Jordan

99. There is a lesson in almost everything that you do, and getting the lesson is how you move forward. It is how you enrich your spirit. —Oprah Winfrey

100. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work. —Oprah Winfrey

Love you, Oprah.

© 2010 Kannan

Which Quote Did You Like the Most?

Kannan (author) from Mumbai on October 30, 2017:

@Tiyint Happy that it helped.

Tiyint on October 30, 2017:

Thanks to open my mind in other way round

Margaret on November 20, 2016:

You can't change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react to it

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on October 20, 2015:

I love all of these quotes. So inspirational and motivational, especially when you're feeling low-spirited and having rough times. Fantastic hub!

Kannan (author) from Mumbai on July 12, 2013:

@Mathi Good one and thanks for the comment.

Mathi on July 10, 2013:

If we want to look around the world we have to climb up.

anxietygoaway on June 14, 2012:

thank you very much i really loved reading your motivational quotes. its really nice to read stuff that really can pull at your mind and heartstrings thank you once again cant wait to read more

Sara molly on April 20, 2012:

hello i love all these qoutes they help me getn out of the house and not take my dogs everywhere after reading just a few of these qoutes i went out on a dATE WITH THIS BOY NAMED DYLAN AND TRIED NEW THINGS. now i go to the grocery store with out hiding in the tolit paper section till no one see's me i encourage everyone to read these qoutes they are simply life changing. thankyou thankyou i applaud all of these authors you are also my new bestfriends these qoutes are my family except for my two dogs toto and nemoo kiss kiss mwuahh

Jewelz1313 from Branson, Missouri on January 18, 2012:

Nothings starts your day out better than a little motivation. Thank you I needed this today. Voted up.

Michelle Jarvis on October 02, 2011:

If you always do What you always did you will always get what you always Got

Tracy McGrath from Tyler, Texas on August 25, 2011:

I like good quotes that keep you thinking in the right direction though I prefer the quotes from King Solomon. My favorite one that he said is. "there is a way that seems right unto a man but then end is the way of destruction." Makes me think about where and for whom my steps are taking me.

Good Job on your hub!

Sima Ballinger from Michigan on April 24, 2011:

#39 - Be the Dream by John Chaney is one of my favs. Excellent motivational quotes! Thanks!

Josh Wing from Pittsburgh, PA on March 08, 2011:

I agree 100% with TheToddMan. This list is well constructed and definitely contains some of the most inspirational and motivational quotes in history.

Now all we need to do is take it beyond the words and act on the things that truly motivate us.

rakesh on February 06, 2011:

BE HONEST 100% AND KEEP TRYING ALWAYS

TheToddMan on December 14, 2010:

Nice hub. Obviously took a great deal of research to compile. Thank you for writing it.

BTW, if you think reading motivational quotes is a great mood lifter, try acting on them. It's magical!

I especially like #2, #4, #8, #11 and #92.