(Photo:Â BETSY FARRELL//GETTY IMAGES)
Finding motivation and inspiration to power through life's daily obstacles can be tough — especially when tragedy or conflict make it difficult to maintain an optimistic outlook. The stress in your career, amid relationships and everyday hassles can quickly take a toll on your mental health. Pausing for a moment to look to inspiring leaders, both within your own circle and the world at large, can help keep the flame of positivity burning bright within your life (at any age!).
Our list of the very best inspirational quotes can help; these short, powerful and often funny metaphors, written excerpts and snippets of historical speeches can provide a much-needed spark of motivation. Hearing from these celebrated personalities and notable thought pioneers can kick off progress on brand-new goals, get you through recent personal tragedies or empower you to take charge of your relationships.
Below, you'll find our collection of quotes from beloved figures — powerhouse actors, musicians, authors and more — who have experienced a lot of ups and downs, but still managed to derive some insight through it all. From Michelle Obama to Lindsey Vonn, C.S Lewis to Eleanor Roosevelt, these positive affirmations will uplift you and prepare you for what lies ahead.
"If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way." —Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." —William James, American philosopher and psychologist
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." —Mahatma Ghandi
"Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them." —Madam C.J. Walker, American entrepreneur and activist
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." —Thomas Edison
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity." —Amelia Earhart
"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." —Michael Altshuler, American author and motivational speaker
"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." —Jimmy Dean
"You get what you give." —Jennifer Lopez
"It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change." —Queen Elizabeth II
"If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today." —Mikhail Gorbachev
"In the long run, you make your own luck — good, bad, or indifferent." —Loretta Lynn
"If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it." —Muhammad Ali
"Believe you can and you're halfway there." —Theodore Roosevelt
"Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination" —Mae Jemison, American engineer
"We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained." —Marie Curie, French physicist and chemist
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." —Steve Jobs
"I scorched the earth with my talent and I let my light shine." André Leon Talley, American fashion journalist
"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible!'" —Audrey Hepburn
"Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye." —Helen Keller
"Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes." —Eleanor Roosevelt
"It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent." —Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State
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