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101 Inspirational Quotes

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

I am one of those people who is crazy about quotes. I collect quotes from everywhere. When someone says something that strikes me, I have to write it down so that I can remember it. I write quotes down in notebooks, on napkins, and on the backs of receipts. It doesn’t really matter where—I’ve just got to have them!

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, then you know that I love to throw quotes into my content. And if you’ve ever spoken with me, then you know that I love to throw quotes into conversation, too. I can’t seem to get enough. I love how there is an appropriate quote for just about everything that happens in my life. When times get difficult, I pull out my quotes & I can always find something to lift me up.

I’ve been collecting inspirational quotes on Twitter for awhile now and I thought that you might enjoy them. My very favourite ones are highlighted in bold. Enjoy!

(P.S. Read to the bottom to find out who won last week’s book giveaway.)

Fear

1. I am not afraid. I was born to do this. —Joan of Arc

2. You’ll seldom experience regret for anything that you’ve done. It is what you haven’t done that will torment you. —Wayne Dyer

3. Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile…initially scared me to death. —Betty Bender

4. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. —Eleanor Roosevelt

5. Many people are afraid of the dark, but the real tragedy is those who are afraid of the light. —Unknown

6. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. —Galileo Galilei

7. The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them. —Unknown

8. In order to dominate the soul you must also learn to dominate the body. And in order to dominate the body you cannot fear pain. —Paulo Coelho

9. Every shadow—no matter how deep—is threatened by morning light. —Unknown

10. As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can. —Julius Caesar

11. Anxiety is just repeatedly experiencing failure in advance. —Seth Godin

12. By acting bravely we become brave; not the other way round. —Unknown

Forgiveness

13. Forgiveness is choosing to love. It is the first skill of self-giving love. —Gandhi

14. Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” —Mark Twain

15. An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. —Ghandi

16. The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you. —John E. Southard

17. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” —Ghandi

18. When I choose to imagine someone’s pain/perspective I lose my appetite for anger. —Unknown

Happiness

19. Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. —Thich Nhat Hanh

20. The only reason you are happy is because you choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice, and so is suffering. —don Miguel Ruiz

21. Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions. —Tony Robbins

22. Positive people don’t need an outside push; they seemingly have a natural internal push that continually pulls them forward. —Unknown

23. You must choose between your attachments and happiness. —Adyashanti

24. Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. —Unknown

25. The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. —William A. Ward

26. Not only is the kingdom of heaven within, but the kingdom of Hell is within as well – it’s your choice. —Unknown

27. What we feel is not based on our experience, but on our INTERPRETATION of experiences. —Anthony Robbins

28. In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don’t worry. Be happy. —Bobby McFerrin

Love

29. The sanest thing in this world is love. —Anne Sexton

30. The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread. —Mother Teresa

31. When two people fall in love, past and future disappear. —The Alchemist

32. Love means protection, adoration, mutual growth, & respect above all other things. Without this, love is an illusion, a confused attachment. —Dena Botbyl

33. Love is the beginning of the journey, its end, and the journey itself. —Unknown

34. Detachment is not indifference. Detachment is love without expecting anything in return. —Unknown

35. There is only love; there is nothing else. —Dena Botbyl

Hard Work

36. When I work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, I get lucky. —Armand Hammer

37. Opportunities multiply as they are seized. —Sun Tsu

38. The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying. —Steven Pressfield

39. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently. —Anthony Robbins

40. Everyone wants to be strong and self sufficient, but few are willing to put in the work necessary to achieve worthy goals. —Gandhi

41. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail. —Bruce Lee

42. When the lion is chasing the antelope, he doesn’t look back. He has to eat. —Robert Cheruiyot

43. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. —Theodore Roosevelt

44. The Pearl Principle – no inner irritation, no pearl. —Lama Surya Das

45. Discipline is an exercise of repetition. Not once or twice but until. Until completed. —Unknown

46. Giving up is not failing — it’s the chance to begin again. —Unknown

47. We only get to play this game one time, one life. —Gary Vaynerchuk

48. If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. —Michelangelo

49. If you’re bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals. —Lou Holtz

Purpose

50. Ask not what the world needs; ask what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. —Howard Thurman

51. We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world. —Woodrow Wilson

52. Whether you KNOW it or not, ACCEPT it or not, with each moment that passes, you get closer to fulfilling your life’s purpose. —Dena Botbyl

53. A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. —Lou Holtz

Faith

54. Let go and let God. —Unknown

55. God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. You were never not coming here. —Sufi poem

56. Remember that when you truly want something, the entire Universe conspires to make it happen. —The Alchemist

57. There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. —Louis L’Amour

58. Act, & God will act. —Joan of Arc

59. When you let go of the need for any and all outcomes life becomes a creative magical adventure. —Deepak Chopra

60. To me faith means not worrying. —John Dewey

61. Whatever is… is best. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox

62. Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. —Langston Hughes

Presence

63. The present moment is the still point around which the universe arises and subsides, only to be reborn again, fresh as a new born child. —Deepak Chopra

64. With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

65. Begin at once to live, and count each day as a separate life. —Seneca

66. Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back. —Harvey MacKay

Strength

67. Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be. —Clementine Paddleford

68. Whatever I fight weakens me. Whatever I cooperate with strengthens me. —Wayne Dyer

69. There is one grand lie: that we are limited. The only limits we have are the limits we believe. —Wayne Dyer

70. The people you have to lie to, own you. The things you have to lie about, own you. —Michael Ventura

71. I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self. —Aristotle

72. The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure. —Joseph Campbell

Leadership

73. Be willing to say to those in your charge, “I don’t know.” —Unknown

74. There are three ways to lead: 1. By example 2. By example 3. By example. —Unknown

75. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others. —Marianne Williamson

76. Many people have gone a lot farther than they thought they could because someone else thought they could. —Zig Ziglar

Nature

77. A bird in a cage is safe but God didn’t create birds for that. —Unknown

78. Nature goes to the same place to create a galaxy of stars: a cluster of nebulas, a rain forest, a human body, or a thought. That place is Spirit. —Deepak Chopra

79. Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich. —Sarah Bernhardt

80. The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. —John Milton

Gratitude

81. If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “Thank You,” that would suffice. —Meister Eckhart

82. There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is. —Albert Einstein

83. In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. —Aaron Rose

84. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. —Rumi

Kindness

85. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. —Plato

86. Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel. —King Solomon

87. Don’t allow your wounds to turn you into a person you are not. —Paulo Coelho

88. My every thought has the power either to wound or heal. I will use my thoughts wisely and respect their power. —Deepak Chopra

89. Before you speak, ask yourself: is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence? —Unknown

90. We are never so much disposed to quarrel with others as when we are dissatisfied with ourselves. —William Hazlitt

91. All the pain of a human life is caused by words, as is all the joy. —Yogic sages

92. The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend. —Henry David Thoreau

Wisdom

93. You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you. —Joseph Campbell

94. Learning to unlearn is the highest form of learning. —Buddhist proverb

95. Every great mistake has a half way moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied. —Pearl Buck

96. Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. —Aldous Huxley

97. Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered – either by themselves or by others. —Mark Twain

98. Every human is an artist. And this is the main art that we have: the creation of our story. —don Miguel Ruiz

99. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. —Albert Einstein

100. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. —Ghandi

101. Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. —Socrates

Hope you enjoyed the quotes! Feel free to share your own favourites in the comments. See more inspirational quotes at Quote Catalog.

If you’ve got a moment, please give us a vote over on Top Baby Blogs! Many thanks. xo

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    Review: Tribes by Seth Godin

    On a recent flight, I began reading Seth Godin’s Tribes. On the return flight, I finished it. It was my introduction to Seth Godin—no idea why I hadn’t found him sooner!—and what an introduction it was. The book blew me away. It is the best book on leadership and change management that I’ve ever read. While the content is sure to inspire change of the greatest sort within any organization—from business to church, non-profit to learning institution—it is also of incredible value to individuals.

    In this post I want to share some of my favourite pieces from Tribes as well as some of my own insights.

    Whether you want to create positive change in the world, in the workplace, or simply in your own, I recommend that you read the book for yourself. It is a relatively easy read, spliced up into short, digestible chapters. I got through it in a few hours. But it is absolutely packed with revolutionary ideas, suggestions, and real-life examples of people making a difference and leading tribes in today’s world.

    Many people are starting to realize that they work a lot and that working on stuff they believe in (and making things happen) is much more satisfying then just getting a paycheck and waiting to get fired (or die).

    I’ve begun to think of my generation as the Fight Club generation. Tyler Durden said it best, “We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.” I think Tyler and Seth’s sentiments are one and the same. Our parents (or maybe you) were raised to believe that you needed to grow up, go to school, get a job, and stay there. Work hard, save money, vacation once a year, and retire as soon as possible.

    Well, the Fight Club generation doesn’t want to hear that nonsense. We want gratification now. We don’t want to spend 40 hours a week miserable just so that we can collect a paycheck twice a month. We don’t want to spend half a lifetime at a job that we hate just so we can get fired or die one day! We believe that we can be happy now. We can pursue our passions, make a difference in the world, live out our dreams, and be successful all at once. And… we are right. We can do it. There are people doing it every single day. I love Tribes because it tells the stories of those people and more importantly, how they got there and how we can do it, too.

    Somewhere along the way, perhaps when twenty thousand Ford workers lost their jobs in one day, or when it became clear that soft drink companies were losing all their growth to upstarts, the factory advantage began to fade.

    The reason why the “school-job-suffer-retire” model worked for so long was because it was safe, it was comfortable. Human beings like to feel safe. It feels good to know that you will get a check once every couple weeks. It feels safe to know that you can walk into the office every morning and the lights will turn on and the computer will turn on. The peace of mind in trading your hours for dollars seems worth it when you have to put food on a table and a roof over someone’s head. But, guess what, that model isn’t really proving to be so safe after all.

    The recent tanking of the economy has really shaken things up. People are losing their jobs at rapid rates, unemployment is way up. Ethics have been violated, corruption runs rampant, and people don’t feel safe anymore. We want to take matters into our own hands. We want to create the lives of our dreams and be completely independent. We are doing it every day.

    In unstable times, growth comes from leaders who create change and engage their organizations, instead of from mangers who push their employees to do more for less.

    Now, more than ever, each of us has an opportunity obligation to become a leader, to create change, and to make a positive difference. The ever-evolving world of social media and the Web—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Google—give us instant access to an unthinkable quantity of information and resources. When we learn how to leverage those resources we can become unstoppable. When we teach others to leverage those resources our tribes can become unstoppable. It is a great time to be a leader, and it is also the right time.

    Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. This scarcity makes leadership valuable. It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail. If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.

    Change = pain. If there is anything that I have learned over the past three years, it is this. Human beings are creatures of habit. When asked why things are done a certain way, most people will always respond the same way: “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it.” It is safe, it is comfortable. Our profits may be plummeting, our staff may be miserable, our customers may be disgusted—but this is the way we’ve always done it! Don’t try to mess with our traditions! Right? Wrong!

    Success takes dedication, hard work, persistence, and change. Dedication, hard work, and persistence can be painful. Some people are cut out for it and some people aren’t. The people that are, are the leaders. Being a leader is not comfortable and it’s not supposed to be. Being a leader takes character.

    Believe it or not, anyone can do it. “No one is born charismatic. It’s a choice, not a gift” (Tribes).

    Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late.

    The time for change is now, my friends. If not now, when? There has never been a time where the need for positive change was more urgent. If you do not realize that this moment is all you have, then you do not have anything. This is it. After this moment, nothing is promised—not tomorrow, not next week, not your 81st birthday. You have this moment and you alone get to decide what you do with it. Yes, you can surf Facebook for a few more hours and stalk out your ex-boyfriend’s life for awhile more. You can also sit on the couch with a six-pack and watch The Jersey Shore marathon on MTV. …But if you asked me, I’d tell you that you’ve got more important things to do. Whether you’ve been waiting to pitch a great idea to your boss, waiting to take a proactive approach to your health, or waiting to embark on that 6 month “vagablogging” journey; stop waiting!

    There is really nothing in your way. There are no problems and no obstacles. Any anxiety that you might have stems from your past or your future; but your past and your future are not real! The only thing that is real is this moment, right now. The past and the future are in your head. No matter what you think is standing in your way, you can find a way around it. If you can’t get on the next flight to Melbourne (to start your career as a kangaroo-catcher) then sit down and figure out how you are going to make it happen. Right now.

    I’m frequently asked about getting credit. People want to know how to be sure they get credit for an idea, especially when they have a boss who wants to steal it. Or they want to know how to be sure to give me credit for an idea in a book or a blog post of their own.

    Real leaders don’t care.

    If it’s about your mission, about spreading faith, about seeing something happen, not only do you not care about credit, you actually want other people to take credit.

    There’s no record of Martin Luther King, Jr., or Gandhi whining about credit. Credit isn’t the point. Change is.

    Stop worrying about the obstacles and start taking action. Stop worrying about who is going to get credit and start making a difference.

    ————————————————————————

    What I loved most about Tribes is that it left me feeling like anything and everything is possible. The book is full of stories about ordinary people who did (and do) extraordinary things every single day. These people don’t let fear stop them. They become leaders and they create & inspire change. Every person is capable of this. You are capable of this! What do you want to do? Are you ready to become a leader? I say yes. Yes you are!

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  16. There is only love; there is nothing else. —Dena Botbyl

    Thats my fav Quote
    i like all urs quotes
    Keep posting and Thanks for Sharing

    Reply

  20. 1. “You might not have been my first love but you were the love that made all the other love irrelevant”.
    2. “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you”.
    3. “I din’t leave because I stopped loving you I left because the longer I stayed the less i loved myself”.

    Quotes to motivate you by Rupi Kaur.

    Reply

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