We all desire to be successful in the diverse endeavors we find ourselves—business, finance, career, family, relationships and many more.

But, oftentimes we lose our motivation to keep chasing our dreams until we achieve them. I could recall days when I thought of giving up, days when I questioned my abilities and goals. 

Truth is, we’ve all been there countless times and some of us might be going through that phase of discouragement. 

Fortunately, motivational quotes for success are an effective toolkit to power yourself back on the success track.

In fact, I keep these motivational quotes for success handy and fall back to them on a daily basis especially when the going gets tough. 

Here is my list of motivational quotes for success that will inspire you.

What is Motivation?

Motivation is the inner state of being optimistic and enthusiastic about yourself or something—this could be goals, career, family, business, health, e.t.c

It’s also an external factor like motivational quotes for success, supportive friends and environment that inspire action and resilience to achieve greatness.

Hence, to attain great height and live a fulfilling life on this journey called life, you need a daily dose of motivational quotes for success. 

You could start right here:

Great Motivational Quotes for Success

Success is replicable, hence, don’t think your goals are too big to be achieved, or you aren’t capable of reaching such great heights. 

Thinking of quitting? Reflect upon these great motivation quotes for success:

1. “When you change your thoughts, remember to also change your world.” —Norman Vincent Peale

2. “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot ― it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” ― Maya Angelou

3. “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” —Will Rogers

4. Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” — Dale Carnegie motivational quotes for success

5. No dream is too big. No challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.” – Donald Trump

6. “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Zig Ziglar

7. “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

8. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” —Helen Keller

9. “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” —Stephen R. Covey

10. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” —Lou Holtz

11. “Feeling confident or pretending that you feel confident is necessary to reach for opportunities. It’s a cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they’re seized. – Sheryl Sandberg

12. “You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can.” – Jimmy Carter

13. “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe

14. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” — Pele

15. “Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.”- Roy T. Bennett

16. “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”― Robert F. Kennedy

17. “Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama

18. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler motivational quotes for success

19. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” —Henry David Thoreau

20. “It is only when we take chances that our lives improve. The initial and the most difficult risk we need to take is to become honest.” —Walter Anderson

21. “There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking.” – Brian Tracy

22. “Life is like a sewer … what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.” —Tom Lehrer

23. “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” —William James

24. “Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had.” —Angela Bassett

25. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”- Walt Disney

26. “Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don’t settle for them.” —Mia Hamm

27.“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” —Albert Einstein

28. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell motivational quotes for success

29. “One of the differences between some successful and unsuccessful people is that one group is full of doers, while the other is full of wishers.” —Edmond Mbiaka

30. “Never be afraid of failure. And don’t stop yourself from doing something you want to do because of what others might think. Only you know yourself best.” –Suki Waterhouse

31. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

32. “Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference.” – Lou Holtz

33. “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” —Zig Ziglar motivational quotes for success

34. “You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.” — Richelle E. Goodrich

35. “I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.” — Margaret Thatcher

Short Motivational Quotes for Success

Oftentimes, short motivational quotes for success have lasting impacts on our minds and life. 

They are easy to jot down on sticky notes and paste on strategic places in your home, car and offices.

Let’s begin:

36. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”― George Bernard Shaw

37. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou

38. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” — Albert Einstein

39. “You do not find a happy life. You make it.” — Camilla Eyring Kimball

40. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill

41. “Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.” —Pablo Picasso

42. “Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.” — Susan L. Taylor

43. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford motivational quotes for success

44. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”— Babe Ruth

45. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius

46. “The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ― Walt Disney

47. “Getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place.” —Hal Lancaster

48. “Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.” —Chris Grosser

49. “Earn Nicely, spend wisely and you will live happily.” ― Auliq Ice

50. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” —Estée Lauder

51. “You are never too small to make a difference.” — Greta Thunberg

52. “If you’re not positive energy, you’re negative energy.” —Mark Cuban

53. “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” — Walter Elliot

54. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” —Milton Berle

55. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem

56. “Change course, but don’t give up.”- Roy T. Bennett

57. “Find out what you like doing best, and get someone to pay you for doing it.” – Katharine Whitehorn

58. “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” —Dalai Lama

59. “You’ll never please everyone, but you only have to please a few people to get an offer.” – Harvey MacKay

60. “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” —Herman Melville

61. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”― Thomas A. Edison

62. “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” —George Eliot

63. “Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success” ― Arianna Huffington motivational quotes for success

63. “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius

64. “Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure, it just means you haven’t succeeded yet.” ― Robert H. Schuller

65. “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” ― Vince Lombardi

66. “If you can dream it, you can do it.” ―Walt Disney

67. “We become what we think about” – Earl Nightingale

68. “Match your talent with opportunities that you are passionate about.” ― Germany Kent

69. “Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything.” ― Marilyn Monroe

70. “Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.” —Les Brown

Encouraging Motivational Quotes for Success

Difficult times are inevitable in life. But, what matters most is how we react in such tough moments.

Feeling discouraged about your goals and dreams? Here are encouraging motivational quotes for success to get you back on your feet:

71. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman

72. “Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today.” – Will Rogers

73. “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”- Brian Tracy

74. “I don’t believe in failure. It’s not a failure if you enjoy the process.” – Oprah Winfrey

75. “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” — Bill Gates

76. “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!’” — Audrey Hepburn

77. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein motivational quotes for success

78. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” — Aristotle

79. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go. Dr. Seuss

80. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” —Paulo Coelho

81. “Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals.” ― Roy Bennett

82. “For every reason it’s not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and succeeded.” – Jack Canfield

83. “When opportunities knock on your door, don’t wait too long to decide because when you take too much time, the decision will be made for you — typically, this will not be to your benefit.” ― Jen Alvares

84. “It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.” —Lucius Annaeus Seneca

85. “I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.” —Arianna Huffington

86. “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” – John Wooden

87. “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ― Winston S. Churchill

88. “The minute you decide to do what you love to do, you have made a life plan for yourself and a career choice.” — Huda Kattan

89. “You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.” — Marian Wright Edelman

90. “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

91. “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” ― Robert T. Kiyosaki motivational quotes for success

92. “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” –Vince Lombardi

93. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” -Dale Carnegie

94. “You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. To begin, begin.” ―Gordon B. Hinckley.

95. “Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. ” ― Coco Chanel

96. “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” —Walt Disney

97. “The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” ― Bette Midler

98. “Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.” ―Theodore Roosevelt

99. “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” – Helen Keller motivational quotes for success

100. “Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.”―W. P. Kinsella

Motivational Quotes for Workplace Success

Workplace is the junction where different individuals meet to achieve a common goal. 

Oftentimes, we lose our enthusiasm towards hitting our goals at work because of a failed task, a criticising colleague or a nagging boss. 

However, you can soar above workplace challenges and be at your best when you ponder on these workplace motivational quotes for success:

101. “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

102. “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” —Alexander Graham Bell

103. “Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions – Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.” — Chanakya

104. “Courage doesn’t always roar, sometimes it’s the quiet voice at the end of the day whispering ‘I will try again tomorrow.” — Mary Anne Radmacher

105. “I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.” ― Lou Holtz

106. “No career counselor or internship will be able to help you with your career if you don’t have an aim, purpose, and passion for what you want to do in life.” ― Germany Kent motivational quotes for success

107. “Fear of what other people will think is the single most paralyzing dynamic in business and in life. The best moment of my life was the day I realized that I no longer give a damn what anybody thinks. That’s enormously liberating and freeing, and it’s the only way to live your life and do your business” —Cindy Gallop

108. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

109. “Losing is a learning experience. It teaches you humility. It teaches you to work harder. It’s also a powerful motivator.” – Yogi Berra

110. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” —Wayne Dyer

111. “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” —Winston Churchill

112. “Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.” —Raymond Joseph Teller

113. “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.” —Isabel Allende

114. “We can see through others only when we can see through ourselves.” —Bruce Lee

115. “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” —Tony Robbins motivational quotes for success

116. “Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.”- Brian Tracy

“While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.” Henry Link

117. “Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S. Eliot

118. “Either you run the day or the day runs you.” —Jim Rohn

119. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” —Andrew Carnegie motivational quotes for success

120. “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” -Ruth Bader Ginsburg

121. “It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.” — Queen Elizabeth II

122. “Entrepreneurs are great at dealing with uncertainty and also very good at minimizing risk. That’s the classic entrepreneur.” – Mohnish Pabrai.

123. “He that can have patience can have what he will.” ―Benjamin Franklin

124. “If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.” ― Les Brown

125. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” —Steve Jobs

126. “A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.” —Sonia Sotomayor

127. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible then treat possibilities as probabilities.” -Charles Dickens

128. “Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.” – Brian Tracy motivational quotes for success

129. “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” —George Lorimer

130. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” —Thomas Edison

Powerful motivational quotes for success

When the going gets tough and it looks like the light at the end of the tunnel is far, you could always draw strength from the below powerful motivational quotes for success.

Let’s dive in:

131. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ― Albert Einstein

132. “We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action. Fear is nature’s way of warning us to get busy.” –  Dr. Henry Link

133. “When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.” —Marcus Aurelius motivational quotes for success

134.“What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” – Don Zimmer

135. “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” — Nietzsche

136. “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

137. “Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.” – Deep Roy

138. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” —Ayn Rand

139. “Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take action. Take the action and your feelings will change.” – Barbara Baron

140. “The future belongs to the competent. Get good, get better, be the best!” – Brian Tracy

141. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” —Henry Ford

142. “Fake it until you make it! Act as if you had all the confidence you require until it becomes your reality.” – Brian Tracy

143. “I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.” —Edna Mode

144. “If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.” —Maria Edgeworth

145. “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” ―Eleanor Roosevelt

146. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” —Earl Nightingale motivational quotes for success

147. “If you believe something needs to exist, if it’s something you want to use yourself, don’t let anyone ever stop you from doing it.” —Tobias Lütke

148. “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” ― Oprah Winfrey

149. “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”— Stephen King

150. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton

151. “Failure is a bend in the road, not the end of the road. Learn from failure and keep moving forward.” ― Roy T. Bennett

152. “Live out of your imagination, not your history.” —Stephen Covey motivational quotes for success

153. If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality.”— Dr. Roopleen

154. “If you can’t yet do great things, do small things in a great way.” ―Napoleon Hill

155. “You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.” —Wayne Dyer

156. “The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” ― Roy T. Bennett

157. “The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t win’ is you, and you don’t have to listen.” —Jessica Ennis

158. “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.” —Muhammad Ali

159. “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James

160. “Do it again. Play it again. Sing it again. Read it again. Write it again. Sketch it again. Rehearse it again. Run it again. Try it again. Because again is practice, and practice is improvement, and improvement only leads to perfection.”- Richelle E. Goodrich

161. “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” —Andrew Carnegie

162. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”- George Addair

163. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar

164. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” —Michael Jordan

165. “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean

166. “Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”  – Mae Jemison

167. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”― Mae West

168. “You are who you are meant to be. Dance as if no one’s watching. Love as if it’s all you know. Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” James Dean

169. “You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.” — Oprah Winfreymotivational quotes for success

170. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” — Charles R. Swindoll

171. “No. Don’t give up hope just yet. It’s the last thing to go. When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope.” — Pittacus Lore

172. “Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” – Farrah Gray

173.Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” —Karim Seddiki

174. “The two most important days in your life are the day you’re born and the day you find out why.” —Mark Twain.

175. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison

176. “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” —Erica Jong

177. “Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it. … Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.” —Steve Jobs motivational quotes for success

178. “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” ―Jim Rohn

179. “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” —Bo Jackson

180. “Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.” – Robert H. Schuller

Team Motivational Quotes for Success

Much task can be achieved when the team works together in unity and harmony. However, this seems to be the reverse with most teams as everyone wants to outsmart the other. 

Perhaps you’re finding it difficult working with your team, draw inspiration from the below team motivational quotes for success:

181. “When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. You should give good thought to the happiness that you can give out.” —Eleanor Roosevelt motivational quotes for success

182. “I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.” ― Abraham Lincoln

183. The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” – Hasidic Proverb

184. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” —Michael Jordan

185. “I invite everyone to choose forgiveness rather than division, teamwork over personal ambition.” —Jean-Francois Cope

186. “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” —Henry Ford

187. “Goal setting is the secret to a compelling future.” —Tony Robbins

188. “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” —Zig Ziglar

189. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I will learn.” — Benjamin Franklin

190. “Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

191. Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” — Ryunosuke Satoro, Japanese author.

192. “Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” —Vince Lombardi motivational quotes for success

193. “If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” —Steve Jobs

194. “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” —Steve Furtick

195. “Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln

196. “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller motivational quotes for success

197. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” —Henry Ford

198. However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” — Stephen Hawking

199. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” —Arthur Ashe

200. “For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together.” —Vincent Van Gogh

201. “Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use.” —Ruth Gordo

202. “Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” —Patrick Lencioni

203. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

204. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Theodore Roosevelt

205. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”— Maya Angelou motivational quotes for success

Final Thoughts on Motivational Quotes for Success

To reach and surpass your success mark, you must become dedicated to being motivated—and this has to be done daily!

As Zig Ziglar rightly said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

Begin today by making the above motivational quotes for success your daily strength hub.

Remember, motivation is that fuel you need to overcome fear, oppose the status quo, and be the best version of yourself. 

What’s your favourite motivational quote for success? Do let me know in the comment section.

Frequently Asked Questions