101 Inspiring Quotes of All Time, Part 1

by Celes |
Self-Improvement

This is part 1 of a 4-part series on the most inspiring quotes of all time.

Part 1: Quotes on Life, Purpose, Past/Present/Future, Dreams & Passion, Goals, Hard Work, Change, Truth & Honesty, Imagination & Creativity
Part 2: Quotes on Confidence & Personal Power, Courage & Fear, Obstacles, Failure & Success
Part 3: Quotes on Taking Action, Planning, Persistence, Time Management & Productivity, Wealth, Money & Finance, Happiness & Emotional Mastery, Love
Part 4: Quotes on Learning & Growth, Attitudes & Mindsets, Responsibility, Gratitude & Kindness, Friendship, Leadership, Helping Others, People & The World

“I am always doing things I can’t do. That is how I get to do them.” — Pablo Picasso

Lately I have been regularly posting inspiring quotes on my Facebook and Twitter. The thing I love about inspiring quotes is they pack so much wisdom in so few words. Some of them are really mind and heart opening — just reading them has the power to give you an eureka! moment. Based on the feedback I’ve been getting from others, it seems that they share the same sentiments too.

Since the quotes are so popular, I decided to put together over 400 of inspiring quotes so that all of you can benefit from these golden words of wisdom. These are quotes which have been meticulously hand-picked by me while surfing the net, reading books, or simply quotes I write when I get an epiphany moment. I have grouped the quotes into broad categories for easy reference.

For the quotes that resonate with you, make sure to put them around you through your environment so you are always reminded of them. Some places to put them include your notice board, your vision board, your life handbook, or even inserting them in photo frames and placing around your home/office.

This article is volume 1 in a series of 4 volumes. This volume features quotes on Life, Purpose, Past/Present/Future, Dreams & Passion, Goals, Hard Work, Change, Truth & Honesty, and Imagination & Creativity. Be sure to check out the other 3 volumes (linked at the bottom of the article) for more quotes in other categories. I present to you, the 101 most inspiring quotes of all time:

Quotes on Life

“The consequences of today are determined by the actions of the past. To change your future, alter your decisions today.” — Unknown
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein
“It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” — Alexander Graham Bell
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” — T. S. Eliot
“There’s no next time. It’s now or never.” — Celestine Chua
“For every effect there is a root cause. Find and address the root cause rather than try to fix the effect, as there is no end to the latter.” — Celestine Chua
“When you don’t get what you want, you suffer. If you get it, you suffer too since you can’t hold on to it forever.” — Peaceful Warrior, on the fallacy of attachment
“Every moment you get is a gift. Spend it on the things that matter. Don’t spend it by dwelling on unhappy things.” — Celestine Chua
“There are no ordinary moments. There is always something going on.” — Peaceful Warrior
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Everything around us is made up of energy. To attract positive things in your life, start by giving off positive energy.” — Celestine Chua
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” — Mark Twain
“Life is a gift. Never forget to enjoy and bask in every moment you are in.” — Celestine Chua
“The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced.” — Art Van Der Leeuw
“My life is my message.” — Gandhi
“If wrinkles must be written upon our brow, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.” — James A. Garfield
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” — Unknown
“In the beginning you will fall into the gaps in between thoughts – after practicing for years, you become the gap.” — J.Kleykamp (Regarding meditation)
“Don’t put off living to next week, next month, next year, or next decade. The only time you’re ever living is in this moment.” — Celestine Chua
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” — Jim Rohn

Quotes on Purpose

“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life… Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” — Viktor Frankl
“Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.” — Buddha
“One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests.” — John Stuart Mill
“Nothing is likely to help a person overcome or endure troubles than the consciousness of having a task in life.” — Viktor Frankl
“Make your life a mission — not an intermission.” — Unknown
“Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive, it isn’t.” — Richard Bach

Quotes on Past, Present and Future

“Don’t let the past steal your present.” — Cherralea Morgen
“One has to live in the present. Whatever is past is gone beyond recall; whatever is future remains beyond one’s reach, until it becomes present. Remembering the past and giving thought to the future are important, but only to the extent that they help one deal with the present.” — S.N. Goenka
“It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go.” — Bob Proctor
“We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” — Robin Sharma
“The more you take responsibility for your past and present, the more you are able to create the future you seek.” — Celestine Chua
“Be present — it is the only moment that matters.” — Peaceful Warrior
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” — B. Olatunji
“Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies.” — Ann Landers
“Holding on to anything is like holding on to your breath. You will suffocate. The only way to get anything in the physical universe is by letting go of it. Let go & it will be yours forever.” — Deepak Chopra
“Don’t put off living to next week, next month, next year or next decade. The only time you’re ever living is in this moment.” — Celestine Chua
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.” — Dale Carnegie
“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” — Doug Ivester
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” — Albert Einstein
“To create more positive results in your life, replace ‘if only’ with ‘next time’.” — Celestine Chua
“We think about all of our tomorrows, but we don’t know how many they are, so let’s start making the most of our Todays!.” — Ivana Trump
“The wise man must remember that while he is a descendant of the past, he is a parent of the future.” — Herbert Spencer
“What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now.” — Buddha
“Everyone faces challenges in life. It’s a matter of how you learn to overcome them and use them to your advantage.” — Celestine Chua

Quotes on Dreams and Passion

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot
“If what you’re doing is not your passion, you have nothing to lose.” — Celestine Chua
“At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable.” — Christopher Reeve
“Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” — Steve Jobs.
“Do what you love and the money will follow.” — Marsha Sinetar
“The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.” — Richard Bach
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.” — Howard Thurman
“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” — Henry David Thoreau
“No matter where you are in life right now, no matter who you are, no matter how old you are – it is never too late to be who you are meant to be.” — Esther & Jerry Hicks
“There’s nothing capricious in nature, and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.” — Belva Davis
“I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.” — Tony Robbins
“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.” — Les Brown
“Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.” — Niccolo Machiavelli
“No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big.” — Unknown
“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” — Doug Ivester
“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” — Pursuit of Happyness (Movie)
“History shows us that the people who end up changing the world – the great political, social, scientific, technological, artistic, even sports revolutionaries – are always nuts, until they are right, and then they are geniuses.” — John Eliot
“You will not do incredible things without an incredible dream.” — John Eliot
“Instead of thinking about what you are going to do when you retire, think about how you can do that now and make a living from it.” — Celestine Chua
“Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dreams.” — Unknown
“Everything you want should be yours: the type of work you want; the relationships you need; the social, mental, and aesthetic stimulation that will make you happy and fulfilled; the money you require for the lifestyle that is appropriate to you; and any requirement that you may (or may not) have for achievement or service to others. If you don’t aim for it all, you’ll never get it all. To aim for it requires that you know what you want.” — Richard Koch
“I am not my memories. I am my dreams.” — Terry Hostetler
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — Les Brown
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” — Albert Einstein
“Every second you spend thinking about someone else’s dreams you take time away from your own.” — Yogi Ramen
“What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” — Napoleon Hill
“20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain

Quotes on Goals

“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” — Arnold H. Glasgow
“When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.” — Greg Anderson
“The most important thing about goals is having one.” — Geoffry F. Abert
“The only reason we don’t have what we want in life is the reasons we create why we can’t have them.” — Tony Robbins
“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” — Bill Copeland
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” — Jim Rohn
“All things are created twice. There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.” — Stephen Covey
“You need a plan to build a house. To build a life, it is even more important to have a plan or goal.” — Zig Ziglar
“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” — Benjamin Mays
“People with clear, written goals accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them can ever imagine.” — Unknown
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” — Napoleon Hill

Quotes on Hard Work

“I don’t believe in luck. Luck = Leaving things to chance and the outside world. I believe in being harbingers of our fate, determining our path, taking action, and creating our own destiny in life. Your life is yours to create. Don’t ever let others do it for you.” — Celestine Chua
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.” — Gary Player
“Success is 99% attitude and 1% aptitude.” — Celestine Chua
“It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.” — Zig Ziglar

Quotes on Change

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” — Deepak Chopra
“Change is not pleasant, But change is constant. Only when we change and grow, We’ll see a world we never know.” — From Wisdom of The Orange Woodpecker
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude towards what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” — Sri Ram
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” — Jim Rohn

Quotes on Truth and Honesty

“The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said.” — Unknown
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” — Unknown

Quotes on Imagination and Creativity

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” — Albert Einstein
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” — Albert Einstein
“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” — Pablo Picasso
“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

Inspirational Quotes Series

This is part 1 of a 4-part series on the most inspiring quotes of all time.

Part 1: Quotes on Life, Purpose, Past/Present/Future, Dreams & Passion, Goals, Hard Work, Change, Truth & Honesty, Imagination & Creativity
Part 2: Quotes on Confidence & Personal Power, Courage & Fear, Obstacles, Failure & Success
Part 3: Quotes on Taking Action, Planning, Persistence, Time Management & Productivity, Wealth, Money & Finance, Happiness & Emotional Mastery, Love
Part 4: Quotes on Learning & Growth, Attitudes & Mindsets, Responsibility, Gratitude & Kindness, Friendship, Leadership, Helping Others, People & The World

This is part of the Inspiration & Motivation series. Check out the other articles in the series:

(Images: Guy rising, Dandelion, Girl in desert, Girl on beach, Balloons, Blue sky, Set goals, Girl and Boy, Plant)