We have all read stories of people who have lead extraordinary lives. They have been able to do the work they love, made bold choices to live a life they dreamt of.
Getting to know their stories – of success, of failures, and of struggles makes us feel they were as vulnerable as we are, yet pushed through! We’ve admired them, cherished watching about them and wanted to develop those traits.
Here are inspirational quotes from these very people that we look up to.
To pursue your dreams
The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams. – Oprah Winfrey
A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want. –Madonna
Whatever happens, take responsibility –Tony Robbins
There’s always a way – if you’re committed. –Tony Robbins
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. –Henry
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. –Pablo Picasso
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain
You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life? – Rumi
Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor. –Rumi
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray. –Rumi
I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done. –Lucille Ball
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. –Anais Nin
If you want something and you’ve never had it before, you’re going to have to do something you’ve never done before in order to get it. –Tiffany Dufu
Being brave is not being unafraid but feeling the fear and doing it anyway. When you feel fear, try using it as a signal that something really important is about to happen. –Gloria Steinem
Be passionate about what you believe in and do not be afraid to stand alone, because you may find yourself in a position one day where you have to stand alone. That doesn’t mean it’s easy; it isn’t. –Olympia Snowe.
Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance. –Anne Lamott
Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. –Mae Jemison
If you organize your life around your passion, you can turn your passion into your story and then turn your story into something bigger – something that matters. –Blake Mycoskie
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. –Maya Angelou
I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams. –Oprah Winfrey
To leaders
The way you tell your story to yourself matters. –Amy Cuddy
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage. - Maya Angelou
Nothing will work unless you do. - Maya Angelou
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning. - Maya Angelou
The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind. - Maya Angelou
Never doubt yourself. Never change who you are. Don’t care what people think and just go for it. – Britney Spears
Leaders spend 5% of their time on the problem & 95% of their time on the solution. Get over it and crush it. Tony Robbins
To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others. Tony Robbins
If you’re someone people count on, particularly in difficult moments,that’s a sign of a life lived honorably. –Rachel Maddow
Being brave is not being unafraid but feeling the fear and doing it anyway. When you feel fear, try using it as a signal that something really important is about to happen. –Gloria Steinem
Don’t be patient and don’t wait for someone to ask you and don’t think everyone’s going to like you, because if you’re not pissing someone off, you’re probably not doing your job! And that’s how change happens, because people are bold and audacious. – Cecile Richards
To living the life you want
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. - Maya Angelou
How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! -Maya Angelou
Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: “I’m with you kid. Let’s go.’ - Maya Angelou
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. - Maya Angelou
Don’t let the incidents which take place in life bring you low. And certainly don’t whine. You can be brought low, that’s ok, but don’t be reduced by them. Just say, ‘That’s life.’ - Maya Angelou
All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike. - Maya Angelou
The future belongs to those who prepare for it today. – Malcolm
The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus. – Bruce Lee
Little by little, one travels far – J.R.R. Tolkien
I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. – Wayne Gretzky
If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right. – Henry
The best way to predict your future is to create it. – Abraham Lincoln
Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly. – John F Kennedy
Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do. – Denzel Washington
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. – Confucius
The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams. – Oprah Winfrey
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - J.K Rowling
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Lao Tzu
Where focus goes, energy flows. Tony Robbins
You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action -Tony Robbins
It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently. – Tony Robbins
However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. – Stephen Hawking
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. –Henry
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new. –Socrates
Fill your life with women that empower you, that help you believe in your magic and aid them to believe in their own exceptional power and their incredible magic too. women that believe in each other can survive anything. Women who believe in each other create armies that will win kingdoms and wars. –Nikita Gill
Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use. –Ruth Gordon
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. –Alice Walker
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear. –Rosa Parks
Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. –Roald Dahl
Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life. – A.P.J Abdul Kalam
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