101 Short Inspirational Quotes to Boost Motivation

Having a couple of short inspirational quotes at hand can be greatly rewarding. No matter if you’re feeling stuck in life and try to get unstuck or if you need something to boost your motivation, these fantastic quotes will always get the job done. Getting a healthy dose of inspiration from some of the greatest minds that ever lived will lift your spirits and will encourage you to pursue your dreams. In the following, you can find our collection of short inspirational quotes that are remarkably motivating and inspiring.

The fantastic aspect about short inspirational quotes is that they combine the wisdom of some of the wisest men and women that have ever walked on this planet. Such a collection presents you the pearls of wisdom about inspiration that would normally be hidden within the pages of hundreds of books.

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

Unearthing all these fantastic and inspirational quotes would take a lifetime under normal circumstances. Luckily for you, diligent aides have already done all the searching and the number of inspirational quotes they found is quite remarkable.

Enjoy the following collection of short inspirational quotes!

In fact, there are so many short inspirational quotes out there that it’s quite difficult to find the best ones. This is why this collection was created – to help you find the best of the best. The following separates the wheat from the chaff so that you won’t waste your time reading boring quotes.

101 Short Inspirational Quotes to Boost Motivation

All too often, we quickly forget what a valuable gift our lives are. We are often times so preoccupied with fighting the – often irrelevant – problems of everyday life that we entirely forget to appreciate the beauty that is already present in our lives. Even more so, the pursuit of ever more hinders us in experiencing gratitude for all the amazing and joyful aspects of our lives.

Reading a couple of short inspirational quotes can change that. These fantastic quotes will inspire you to dream big, to pursue your dreams, and to be grateful for every aspect of your life. They will also help you to develop a much more positive outlook on your life and will give you the confidence that you can be successful in whatever you’re trying to accomplish.

In short, having short inspirational quotes at hand will not only prove to be an important source of joy and happiness but will also provide courage during times of great difficulties and challenges.

Enjoy this collection of short inspirational quotes to live by.

1. Oscar Wilde on being yourself

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.“
Oscar Wilde

Why should you try to copy someone when you can be yourself? It’s always important to keep in mind that those who try to copy others will never fully accomplish their aim – they can never be the original.

2. George Bernard Shaw on finding yourself

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

Millions of people struggle to find their purpose in life. However, they forget that the purpose of one’s life is not something that others can bestow upon them. Similarly, it is unlikely that they will accidentally stumble across their life’s purpose. Instead, what it takes is to actively create the purpose of your life and by doing so to create yourself.

3. Audrey Hepburn on the things that are impossible

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!“
Audrey Hepburn

There are many things that are believed to be impossible until a courageous person comes along and proves everyone else wrong. These are the kind of people who do not listen to the naysayers that have not even tried. Instead, they are so convinced that they can succeed that they keep moving forward and begin to walk on paths no one else has ever gone before.

4. Eleanor Roosevelt on doing what is right

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.“
Eleanor Roosevelt

People will criticize you for going left, right, forward, and backward. And they will also criticize you when you don’t move. When you realize that you’ll be criticized no matter what you do, you develop the necessary courage it takes to do what you feel is right.

5. Herbert Bayard Swope on the formula for failure

“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.“
Herbert Bayard Swope

If you’re trying to please everyone around you, you will automatically limit your progress in life.

6. Albert Einstein on failing

“You never fail until you stop trying.“
Albert Einstein

There may be occasional failures on your path to success. But unless you allow these events to stop you from pursuing your goals, you will always keep moving forward until you succeed.

7. George Bernard Shaw on having courage

“You see things; you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were, and I say ‘Why not?“
George Bernard Shaw

When it comes to pursuing your dreams, attitude is all that matters. There will be many people who simply cannot understand what you are dreaming of. At the same time, there will be others who try to convince you that what you are dreaming of can never be realized. Don’t allow these people to stop you from working hard to see your dreams realized.

8. Martin Luther King Jr. on hatred

“Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.“
Martin Luther King Jr.

Fire can never be fought with fire – unless in rare situations that involve skilled firefighters.

9. Winston S. Churchill on success and failure

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.“
Winston S. Churchill

Never allow failures to stop you from pursuing your goals. Never allow initial successes to lure you into complacency. Instead, keep moving forward with the greatest determination.

10. John Milton on the way you think about life

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

It’s not so important what happens to you in life. All that matters is how you think about what happens and how you choose to respond to it. Really terrible and destructive things can happen to you. But if you don’t allow these events to discourage you, you will thrive.

11. Lance Armstrong on pain

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.“
Lance Armstrong

There are situations in life where the going gets really tough. When you’re confronted with such a situation, always remember that it’s of the greatest importance to keep moving forward. Never allow temporary pain to stop you. The pain may be quite irritating but the knowledge of having given up can become much more painful over the years.

12. Mark Twain on kindness

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.“
Mark Twain

13. Maya Angelou on changing what you don’t like

“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is to change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.“
Maya Angelou

Not everything that you don’t like can be changed. Whenever you are confronted with such a situation, try to find ways to think differently about it. How you think can make a great difference. Your thinking can help you to overcome the things that would normally drag you down. But it can also limit you from making progress in life.

14. Martin Luther King Jr. on seeing the stars

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.“
Martin Luther King Jr.

Life has shown countless times that challenges and setbacks can help to bring out the best in people. Always remember that your inner light shines brightest when you’re going through a difficult time.

15. George Eliot on being who you are meant to be

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

16. Dale Carnegie on what you have

“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

Isn’t it surprising that people who live similar lives think entirely different about their situation? There are many people who have everything they could ever wish for. Yet, not every one of them is happy and satisfied. At the same time, there are many who are able to live a fulfilled and meaningful life despite having not much. As you can see, happiness greatly depends on how you perceive your life and how you think about it.

17. Margaret Mead on changing the world

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.“
Margaret Mead

This short inspirational quote is remarkably encouraging. It helps us to understand that a small group of people can affect great changes in the world if only they are determined enough.

18. Robert Stevenson on how you judge every day

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.“
Robert Louis Stevenson

It’s a human tendency to seek instant gratification. However, by doing so we put more emphasis on reaping tasteful fruits than on making sure to plant the necessary seeds that will feed us in the future.

19. John F. Kennedy on the definition of crisis

“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.“
John F. Kennedy

With every negative thing that happens in your life, new opportunities are introduced. These opportunities may not always be visible at first but if you have the courage to move on, they will eventually present themselves to you.

20. Mahatma Gandhi on changing the world

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.“
Mahatma Gandhi

Nothing will ever be accomplished by those who seek to change the world without changing themselves first. Only by changing yourself and by being the change you want to see in the world, long-lasting changes can be affected.

21. Ralph Waldo Emerson on facing your fears

“Always do what you are afraid to do.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don’t run away from your fears. Instead, identify what you are afraid of and try to confront that fear. In almost all cases, you will see that your fear seemed much bigger than it actually is.

22. Eleanor Roosevelt on feeling inferior

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.“
Eleanor Roosevelt

23. Theodore Roosevelt on making the best of life

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

Never allow feelings of insignificance to stop you from making a positive impact in the world. Instead, use what you have to affect as much change as you possibly can.

24. Mahatma Gandhi on being ignored and ridiculed

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.“
Mahatma Gandhi

When you seek to make drastic changes, you will always be confronted with opposition. These people will try everything to stop you from realizing your vision. However, if you have to courage to continue the pursuit of your dreams, you will eventually succeed.

25. Oscar Wilde on the way you think

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.“
Oscar Wilde

Life is not always easy. Life is not always fair. For this reason, it is important not to allow the things that happen to you in life to discourage you. Instead, try to maintain your optimistic and positive outlook on life. Doing so will help you to keep going when challenging obstacles abound. It will also help you to move forward during exceptionally difficult times.

26. Mahatma Gandhi on the best way to live life

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.“
Mahatma Gandhi

27. Clive Barker on being happy

“Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.“
Clive Barker

28. Christopher Paolini on living in the present

“Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn’t exist and never shall. There is only now.“
Christopher Paolini

29. Helen Keller on happiness

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens.“
Helen Keller

30. Pablo Picasso on imagination

“Everything you can imagine is real.“
Pablo Picasso

31. Gautama Buddha on the secret of health

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.“
Gautama Buddha

32. Paulo Coelho on having a dream

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.“
Paulo Coelho

33. Dr. Seuss on treating others kindly

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.“
Dr. Seuss

34. Marianne Williamson on being liberated of fear

“As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.“
Marianne Williamson

35. John Lennon on happiness

“When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.“
John Lennon

36. Stephen Chbosky on love

“We accept the love we think we deserve.“
Stephen Chbosky

37. Eleanor Roosevelt on living life

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.“
Eleanor Roosevelt

38. Francis of Assisi on the darkness in the world

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.“
Francis of Assisi

39. William G.T. Shedd on safe harbors

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.“
William G.T. Shedd

40. Martin Luther King Jr. on moving forward

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.“
Martin Luther King Jr.

41. Maya Angelou on the things that happen to you

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.“
Maya Angelou

42. Dr. Seuss on steering life in the right direction

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.“
Dr. Seuss

43. Leonardo da Vinci on the beauty of flying

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.“
Leonardo da Vinci

44. Mahatma Gandhi on not giving up

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won.“
Mahatma Gandhi

45. Kalu Ndukwe Kalu on self-centeredness

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.“
Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

46. Walt Disney on doing what is impossible

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.“
Walt Disney

47. Rabindranath Tagore on cloudy days

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.“
Rabindranath Tagore

48. Jim Morrison on freedom

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are.“
Jim Morrison

49. Robert Fulghum on imagination and dreams

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts.“
Robert Fulghum

50. Abraham Lincoln on being good and kindhearted

“Whatever you are, be a good one.“
Abraham Lincoln

51. Mother Teresa on peacefulness

“Peace begins with a smile.“
Mother Teresa

52. Ralph Waldo Emerson on what is within

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson

53. Bil Keane on a precious gift

“Today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.“
Bil Keane

54. Maya Angelou on agony

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.“
Maya Angelou

55. Dalai Lama XIV on happiness

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.“
Dalai Lama XIV

56. Rumi on being born with wings

“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?“
Rumi

57. Oprah Winfrey on gaining wisdom

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.“
Oprah Winfrey

58. Rumi on being irritated by everything

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?“
Rumi

59. Martin Luther King Jr. on being silent about what matters

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.“
Martin Luther King Jr.

60. Lloyd Alexander on understanding reality

“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.“
Lloyd Alexander

61. Gordon B. Hinckley on becoming better

“Try a little harder to be a little better.“
Gordon B. Hinckley

62. Haruki Murakami on pain

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.“
Haruki Murakami

63. A.A. Milne on taking action

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.“
A.A. Milne

64. Alice Walker on giving up your power

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.“
Alice Walker

65. Voltaire on seeing things positively

“‎Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.“
Voltaire

66. Nicholas Sparks on doing what is right

“You’ve got to do what’s right for you, even if it hurts some people you love.“
Nicholas Sparks

67. L.M. Montgomery on tomorrow

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?“
L.M. Montgomery

68. Markus Zusak on overcoming your boundaries

“Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of.“
Markus Zusak

69. Thomas Szasz on excuses

“Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they make a good excuse.“
Thomas Szasz

70. Ralph Waldo Emerson on leaving a trail

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson

71. Arthur Schopenhauer on talent and genius

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.“
Arthur Schopenhauer

72. Abraham Lincoln on living life

“And in the end, it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.“
Abraham Lincoln

73. Bob Marley on freeing your mind

“None but ourselves can free our minds.“
Bob Marley

74. Paulo Coelho on important individuals

“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it.“
Paulo Coelho

75. Lilith Saintcrow on being strong

“Better to be strong than pretty and useless.“
Lilith Saintcrow

76. Ayn Rand on being frustrated

“Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won.“
Ayn Rand

77. Isaac Asimov on doing what is right

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.“
Isaac Asimov

78. Chico Xavier on starting over

“‎Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning… Anyone can start over and make a new ending.“
Chico Xavier

79. Alexandre Dumas on happiness and misery

“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more.“
Alexandre Dumas

80. Friedrich Nietzsche on life and music

“Without music, life would be a mistake.“
Friedrich Nietzsche

81. Will Rogers on being on the right track

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.“
Will Rogers

82. Haruki Murakami on trials and tribulations

“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.“
Haruki Murakami

83. Jonathan Swift on living life to the fullest

“May you live every day of your life.“
Jonathan Swift

84. Lois McMaster on reputation and honor

“Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.“
Lois McMaster Bujold

85. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on the desert

“’What makes the desert beautiful,’ said the little prince, ‘is that somewhere it hides a well…’“
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

86. Adrienne Rich on being a warrior

“There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors.“
Adrienne Rich

87. Paulo Coelho on being completely wrong

“Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.“
Paulo Coelho

88. Rick Riordan on living life in your own way

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.“
Rick Riordan

89. Eckhart Tolle on the power of the past

“The past has no power over the present moment.“
Eckhart Tolle

90. Charles M. Schulz on trying new things

“What’s the good of living if you don’t try a few things?“
Charles M. Schulz

91. Sarah Dessen on hiding

“Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that’s what makes you strong.“
Sarah Dessen

92. George Eliot on making life easier for everyone

“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?“
George Eliot

93. Steve Maraboli on letting go

“Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.“
Steve Maraboli

94. Dalai Lama XIV on thinking you’re insignificant

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.“
Dalai Lama XIV

95. Kurt Cobain on being who you are

“I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.“
Kurt Cobain

96. Gustave Flaubert on reading

“Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.“
Gustave Flaubert

97. Maya Angelou on trusting people

“I don’t trust people who don’t love themselves and tell me, ‘I love you.’„
Maya Angelou

98. Martin Luther King Jr. on silence

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.“
Martin Luther King Jr.

99. Rick Riordan on following your heart

“Go on with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all.“
Rick Riordan

100. Paulo Coelho on achieving your dreams

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.“
Paulo Coelho

101. John Lennon on having dreams

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.“
John Lennon

I hope you enjoyed these short inspirational quotes.

Stay victorious!