It can be tough to be motivated and encouraged sometimes. Especially when times get tough. But, it’s important to remember that we’re not alone in this life. And, there are people who care about us and want to see us succeed. We just need to keep our heads up and push forward and encouraging quotes can help motivate and inspire during these times.
Sometimes you just need to hear something positive to help you get through the day or a difficult time. We curated 161 of the best encouraging quotes by incredible leaders and celebrities that probably have gone through the same challenges you’re facing and persevered! I hope these quotes will help motivate you to keep going because trust me, you can do this!
Let the encouraging quotes begin!
1) “A constructive, useful life, good works, and good relationships are as valid as writing poetry or inventing a machine. Anything that one does well and obtains satisfaction from is a good enough reason for living. To be a decent human being that people like and feel better for knowing is enough.” – Robert Gould
2) “It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.” – Dr. Seuss
Short Encouraging Quotes by William James
3) “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
4) “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James
5) “All dreams are within reach. All you have to do is keep moving towards them.” – Viola Davis
Positive Encouraging Quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt
6) “Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
7) “When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. You should give a good thought to happiness that you can give out.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
8) “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
9) “I always find beauty in things that are odd and imperfect, they are much more interesting.” – Marc Jacobs
10) “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – Malala Yousafzai
11) “At the end of the day, whether or not those people are comfortable with how you’re living your life doesn’t matter. What matters is whether you’re comfortable with it.” – Dr. Phil
The Best Encouraging Quotes by Oprah Winfrey
12) “Be thankful for what you have and you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
13) “You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.” – Oprah Winfrey
Strong Encouraging Quotes by B.B. King
14) “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
15) “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” – B.B. King
16) “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” – Kahlil Gibran
17) “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
18) “By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.” – Edwin Elliot
19) “The best revenge is massive success.” – Frank Sinatra
Be an original.
20) “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” – Herman Melville
21) “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh
22) “You can be everything. You can be the infinite amount of things that people are.” – Kesha
23) “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
24) “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
25) “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” – Jon Acuff
26) “Be courageous. Challenge orthodoxy. Stand up for what you believe in. When you are in your rocking chair talking to your grandchildren many years from now, be sure you have a good story to tell.” – Amal Clooney
27) “Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.” – Edwin Markham
28) “Being different isn’t a bad thing. It means you’re brave enough to be yourself.” – Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter
Encouraging Quotes for Students by Dale Carnegie
29) “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” – Dale Carnegie
30) “It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” – Dale Carnegie
Encouraging Quotes for Hard Times by John Wooden
31) “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
32( “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” – John Wooden
33) “Never doubt yourself, it will only hold you back.” – J.M. Barrie
34) “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.” – Jesse Jackson
35) “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder
36) “When your dreams are bigger than the places you find yourself in, sometimes you need to seek out your own reminders that there is more. And there is always more waiting for you on the other side of fear.” – Elaine Welteroth
37) “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle
38) “Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy.” – Groucho Marx
39) “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
Encouraging Quotes About Life by Helen Keller
40) “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
41) “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” – Helen Keller
42) “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller
43) “There is in every true woman’s heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.” – Washington Irving
44) “Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso
45) “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” – Helen Hayes
46) “Always keep your eyes open. Keep watching. Because whatever you see can inspire you.” – Grace Coddington
47) “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
48) “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” – C.S. Lewis
49) “Don’t fear failure. Be afraid of not having the chance, you have the chance!” – Sally Carrera, Cars 3
50) “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” –Thomas Jefferson
Life is a journey, not a destination…
51) “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson
52) “Genius is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration.” – Thomas Edison
53) “When you get tired, learn to rest, not quit.” – Banksy
54) “When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming.” – Dory, Finding Nemo
55) “Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.” – W. P. Kinsella
56) “God uses suffering as a whetstone, to make men sharp with.” – Henry Beecher
57) “Life goes by fast. Enjoy it. Calm down. It’s all funny.” – Joan Rivers
58) “I’m going to make everything around me beautiful – that will be my life.” – Elsie de Wolfe
Positive Encouraging Quotes by Roald Dahl
59) “If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sun beams and you will always look lovely.” – Roald Dahl
60) “Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.” – Roald Dahl
61) “Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold, the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul.” – Democritus
62) “I don’t harp on the negative because if you do, then there’s no progression. There’s no forward movement. You got to always look on the bright side of things, and we are in control. Like, you have control over the choices you make.” – Taraji P. Henson
63) “Life has got all those twists and turns. You’ve got to hold on tight and off you go.” – Nicole Kidman
64) “I have learned not to allow rejection to move me.” – Cicely Tyson
Daily Encouraging Quotes by Anne Frank
65) “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
66) “Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.” – Anne Frank
67) “Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is.” – Anne Frank
68) “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
69) “I just want you to know that if you are out there and you are being really hard on yourself right now for something that has happened … it’s normal. That is what is going to happen to you in life. No one gets through unscathed. We are all going to have a few scratches on us. Please be kind to yourselves and stand up for yourself, please.” – Taylor Swift
70) “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
71) “In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” – Tony Robbins
72) “Inhale, exhale, it is well, it is well. All of this is a part of the story you will tell.” – Morgan Harper Nichols
Encouraging Quotes for Life by Audrey Hepburn
73) “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!'” – Audrey Hepburn
74) “I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.” – Audrey Hepburn
75) “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
76) “In every job that must be done there is an element of fun.” – Mary Poppins
77) “When joy is habit, love is a reflex.” – Bob Goff
78) “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman
Short Encouraging Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi
79) “Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow.” – Mahatma Gandhi
80) “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
81) “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
82) “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” – Lao Tzu
83) “There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” – Amanda Gorman
84) “Never look back, darling. It distracts for the now.” – Edna Mode, The Incredibles
85) “I’ve always loved journaling as a way to clear my mind. Whether I’m traveling or at home, the first thing I do when I wake up is pull out my notebook and record positive things that have happened to me as well as uplifting thoughts.” – Gloria Reuben
86) “If you make your internal life a priority, then everything else you need on the outside will be given to you and it will be extremely clear what the next step is.” – Gabrielle Bernstein
87) “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited.” – Plutarch
88) “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
89) “You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.” – Unknown
90) “The most beautiful people wear their hearts on their sleeves, and their souls in their smiles.” – Mark Anthony
Stay motivated…
91) “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
92) “Nature has given us all the pieces required to achieve exceptional wellness and health, but has left it to us to put these pieces together.” – Diane McLaren
93) “You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens.” – Mandy Hale
94) “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
95) “No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” – Demi Lovato
96) “Do not allow people to dim your shine because they are blinded. Tell them to put some sunglasses on.” – Lady Gaga
97) “Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.” – Bruce Barton
98) “Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement – and we will make the goal.” – Jerome Fleishman
99) “Often we women are risk-averse. I needed the push. Now, more than ever, young women need more seasoned women to provide that encouragement, to take a risk, to go for it. Once a glass ceiling is broken, it stays broken.” – Jennifer Grahnolm
100) “If you focus on what you left behind, you will never see what lies ahead.” – Gusteau, Ratatouille
Encouraging Quotes by Michelle Obama
101) “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.” – Michelle Obama
102) “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.” – Michelle Obama
103) “It is only when we take chances, when our lives improve. The initial and the most difficult risk that we need to take is to become honest.” – Walter Anderson
104) “Our fate lives within us; you only have to be brave enough to see it.” – Merida, Brave
105) “If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.” – David Allen
106) “People tell you the world looks a certain way. Parents tell you how to think. Schools tell you how to think. TV. Religion. And then at a certain point, if you’re lucky, you realize you can make up your own mind. Nobody sets the rules but you. You can design your own life.” – Carrie Ann Moss
107) “Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.” – Rainer Rilke
Choose to be extraordinary!
108) “I think it’s possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.” – Elon Musk
109) “‘Precious’ is strangely uplifting. It goes down into the valley but it also goes to the mountain tops. A lot of difficult realities are explored in ‘Precious,’ but the peaks make the valleys and the valleys make the peaks.” – Geoffrey S. Fletcher
110) “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” –Abraham Lincoln
111) “Procrastination makes easy things hard and hard things harder.” – Mason Cooley
112) “You can’t rely on how you look to sustain you, what sustains us, what is fundamentally beautiful is compassion; for yourself and for those around you.” – Lupita Nyong’o
113) “Remember you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine.” – Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
114) “The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” – Colin R. Davis
115) “Don’t save your best for when you think the material calls for it. Always bring your full potential to every take, and be on top of your job, or they will replace you.” – Gabrielle Union
116) “Saying yes to happiness means learning to say no to things and people that stress you out.” – Thema Davis
117) “If you see something beautiful in someone speak it.” – Ruthie Lindsey
Encouraging Quotes for Students by Albert Einstein
118) “A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is NOT what it is built for.” – Albert Einstein
119) “We cannot solve problems with the kind of thinking we employed when we came up with them.” – Albert Einstein
120) “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
121) “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Stills
122) “Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” – Madam C.J Walker
123) “Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.” – Garrison Keillor
124) “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama XIV
125) “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa
126) “When we stop opposing reality, action becomes simple, fluid, kind, and fearless.” – Byron Katie
127) “Never let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth
Encouraging Quotes for Friends by Winston Churchill
128) “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
129) “Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
130) “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
131) “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” – David Brinkley
132) “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated.” – R. Collier
133) “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” – Stephen King
134) “Teachers can open the door, but you must enter it yourself.” – Chinese proverb
135) “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler
136) “There is nothing impossible to they who will try.” – Alexander the Great
137) “If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito.” – African Proverb
138) “This too shall pass.” – Persian Sufi Poets
139) “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” – Mister Rogers
140) “It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever – the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it.” – Vince Lombardi
Encouraging Quotes by Mark Twain
141) “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” – Mark Twain
142) “Stay away from those people who try to disparage your ambitions. Small minds will always do that, but great minds will give you a feeling that you can become great too.” – Mark Twain
143) “The man who does not read books has no advantage over the one who cannot read them.” – Mark Twain
144) “When you get to your wits end, you will find, God lives there.” – Unknown
145) “Success usually comes to those who are too busy looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
146) “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
147) “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa
Encouraging Quotes of Love by Zig Ziglar
148) “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
149) “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
150) “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” – Carol Burnett
151) “Wherever you stand, be the soul of that place.” – Rumi
152) “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” – Diane Mariechild
153) “A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.” – Unknown
154) “Always work hard and have fun in what you do because I think that’s when you’re more successful. You have to choose to do it.” – Simone Biles
155) “If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs
Press on and stay persistent…
156) “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge
157) “When written in Chinese the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy
158) “You can’t focus on what’s going wrong. There’s always a way to turn things around.” – Joy, Inside Out
159) “You make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. You draw your own box.” – Duchess Meghan
160) “When you change your thoughts, remember to also change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
161) “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
I hope you enjoyed these quotes!
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