There’s scarcely any happiness, passion or success without struggle. Life is a constant climb, but the journey is rewarding and the view is great. It’s just a matter of pushing forward when the going gets tough.
Here are nine power quotes and some additional tips to help inspire you when you need it most.
1. Growth and Change
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ?Anaïs Nin
Discontent is the principal necessity of positive growth, but only if you do something constructive with it. Without deviation from what you’ve been doing, progress is not possible. Don’t be someone who goes through greater lengths to avoid change than you do to obtain what you desire. You must define and embrace the necessary changes that move you forward.
Your life will begin to improve when you define precisely what ‘improve’ means to you. The agonies and frustrations will start to ease only when you have something real and positive to replace them with. Be specific. Happiness is not a goal, it’s the result of a life well lived. The question is: How do you want to live going forward?
To effectively move away from an unfavorable situation, you must decide exactly where you wish to go. Create a formidable intention for yourself, and feed that intention with the passion and energy that’s in your desire for change. Go beyond your discontent for what is, and instead focus on imagining and creating the best of what’s possible. Clearly know where you wish to go, and then take the first real step that gets you there. Read 1,000 Little Things.
2. Problems and Opportunities
“What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.” ?J. Sidlow Baxter
Truth be told, you have to create more opportunities than you are handed in this world, and you have to design them with your own blood, sweat and tears. The effort, however, is well worth it.
There’s no shortage of problems waiting to be addressed. When you see problems piled on top of problems, and when there seems to be no end to the work that must be done in order to resolve them, what are you really seeing? You’re looking at a mountain of opportunity. You’re looking at a situation in which you can truly make a difference. You’re looking at an environment where you can reach great heights by raising the stakes and pulling the reality of what’s possible along with you.
When you look at a problem, but see opportunity instead, you become a powerful source that transforms grief into greatness.
3. Hard Work and Achievement
“It shouldn’t be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It’s the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something’s difficult to come by, you’ll do that much more to make sure it’s even harder – or impossible – to lose.” ?Sarah Dessen
There is no shortcut to a great achievement. There is no substitute for doing the work. Meditate on this every day: “I will do the work.” As Einstein once said, “Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work.” You must run to be a runner. You must write to be a writer. You must actively work on a business venture to learn how to run a successful business.
By all means, find ways to be more efficient in your work. But make no mistake that it takes diligent effort to build something worthwhile. There are certainly some success stories out there about people who excelled rather quickly, but you will usually find they had put in years of related work long before anyone was paying attention to their seemingly rapid success. In other words, their current state of achievement is simply all those years of work coming together flawlessly in the present.
Put in the required effort. Plan your work every morning, and then diligently work your plan every day. Read Do the Work.
4. Focus
Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” ?Paulo Coelho
Lack of focus, not lack of ability, is the most common problem that holds people back from their potential. We all have strengths and difficulties, and we all have the same twenty-four hour days and seven-day weeks to work with. If you find it difficult to deal with where you are, or how life is treating you, it’s time to change your focus.
Start focusing on what you want going forward. Set a specific goal, keep your routine centered on it, and you’ll find the strength to move steadily in a positive direction. When you focus on the right thing, even the difficult steps will seem easier. The burdens of the moment become much more bearable when you connect with the purpose behind them.
Your time, energy, and resources will get used no matter how well you focus them. By choosing to focus properly, you get the highest return for the efforts you invest in your life.
5. Positive Thinking
“Our thoughts about what we are and what we can be precisely determine what we can be.” ?Anthony Robbins
The reality you live through daily is a process of your thinking. You are essentially who you design yourself to be – most of what you experience is the direct result of your own creation. This reality cannot be changed without first changing your thinking.
Yes, there are lots of inherent events in life that occur completely independently of you – birth, death, loss, sickness, aging, and unexpected changes of all kinds – but these life events do not have to cause ongoing confusion and suffering. They happen, you experience a little stress, you adjust, and you move forward. The problem occurs when you don’t adjust and move forward, when your mind clings to these events in a negative light and intensifies their significance into perpetuity. If your mind does this, of course, it completely overlooks the subtle feelings of excitement, adventure, love, and joy that come from the essence of overcoming a new challenge.
Bottom line: 99% of the time the discontent and frustration you feel is entirely your own creation. If you dwell on the positive thoughts and possibilities at least as much as you dwell on negative thoughts and painful emotions, life’s challenges help you improve your reality. Read Learned Optimism.
6. Mistakes
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” ?Mahatma Gandhi
No matter what you’re going to make mistakes; it’s an unavoidable truth. But the good news is, if you follow your heart and intuition, the mistakes you make will be steps in the right direction. Just because you fail once at something doesn’t mean you’re going to fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on and believe in yourself. Keep your head held high, your chin up, and above all, SMILE, because the most beautiful part of it all is that there’s so much left to smile about.
Life is what you make it. It’s a wild rollercoaster. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. And then just when you think it can’t get any better, it does. Every day is a beautiful mystery. Let go of yesterday’s mistakes and enjoy the mystery as it unfolds today.
7. Acceptance
“For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.” ?Henry W. Longfellow
What you must realize is that you don’t really need more time; you just need to appreciate life in the current time. It’s a beautiful and bitter way of thinking all at once. If you don’t have what you want now, you don’t have what you want, but you still have a lot. Be thankful for what is; and also be thankful for what has not yet come to you, for that means there are still many possibilities available to you.
Find peace in the thought that you can’t ever have it all or know it all. You are always just a fraction of the whole. For if you weren’t, there would be nothing more to experience. Value what you know, and also value the countless things you don’t yet understand. For in what you do not understand, there is the joy of growth.
Life will always be incomplete and a bit asymmetrical. Realize this and embrace it. Be happy and sad at the same time, be hungry and thankful at the same time, be nervous and excited at the same time, and be okay with it.
8. Confidence and Beliefs
“Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. We can’t always understand them, but we have to trust in them. I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith.” ?Lauren Kate
Believe in yourself through tough times. Believe in your capacity to succeed. Believe that your relationships are worth the effort. Believe that people make mistakes on their way to greatness. Believe that people can be foolish and intelligent, selfish and generous, and stressed and happy all at once. Believe that very few people hurt others on purpose. Believe that there are many roads to what’s right. Believe in your intuition, especially when you have to choose between two good paths. Believe that the answers are out there waiting. Believe that life will surprise you again and again. Believe that the journey is the destination. Believe that it’s all worth your while. Read 1,000 Little Things.
9. The Present Moment
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” ?Mother Teresa
Regardless of what’s happened in the past or what might happen in the future, it’s being here now that’s important. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t edit it; we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if it will ever come.
This moment – right now – is your life. Say yes to it. Don’t ignore it by pretending that you’re living in some other time and place. You aren’t – doing so is impossible. The only life you can live is the only life there is – the moment you are in right now. Ignoring this fact is reckless. Ignoring it is denying reality, and denying reality is rejecting the entire process of living.
Start paying attention to the present. Start paying attention to your life. Right now, say yes to the life you‘re living and notice how it starts to flow WITH you rather than against you.
Your turn…
What’s your favorite power quote that can provide a quick dose of inspiration when you need it most?
Photo by: R.O. Mania
Mary Cimiluca says
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing—-the last of the human freedoms–to choose one’s own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -Viktor Frankl, MD, PhD
Vincent Nguyen says
“We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
Beautiful.
Stacey says
I have a few:
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” ~ Lao Tzu
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
And especially this one, sometimes it is on repeat:
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Sarah Ladlow says
I love this quote & aspire to live by it everyday – “Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune.” -Jim Rohn
Gaurav says
My power quote at the moment as I am going through some really hard times is: “Everything in life worth Having is worth Fighting for!”
Gaurav says
@Stacey: That’s really nice one, I have added to my quote list: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Thanks Stacey 🙂
Quinn says
For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
Benjamin Button.
Bono says
Fear to be scared 🙂
koena says
I love this Marc and Angel. Thanks for the quotes and wisdom.
Jon says
Whatever you can dream, you can do.
BEGIN IT!
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Thank you two for your diligent work on this site .
It has helped me through some very difficult times.
Blessings,
Jon
Daniela says
i have one: Doing what you Like is freeedom, liking what you do is happiness.
Lori says
Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts ~Winston Churchill
Doug Parker says
As always thanks for inspiring my life.
One of my favorite quotes for difficult times is ” We thrive on challenge and adversity and perish on comfort and ease.” It may have originated with the Roman philosopher Livy.
All the best
Doug
Kathy says
“Be who you are and be that well” – St. Francis de Sales
Amandah says
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss
AmberM says
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and to be loved in return.”
I dont know who said it, but after coming across it years ago it just stuck with me…
Beth says
“This, too, shall pass.”
mitchypants says
Never, never, never give up.
Winston Churchill
John says
“If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.” ~ Dalai Lama
ntexas99 says
“You have more than you need.”
I try to repeat that one in my head whenever I am feeling stressed about finances, or fearful about how I will manage a situation, or any time I find myself doubting my ability
Cynthia says
I love all the articles I read in your website, they are truly inspirational. I recently promoted your article, 10 ways happy people choose, on my website.
Thank you for spreading this advice. We are given so many lessons & steps on how to become financially successful in our lives but we are not taught the most important lesson of life. Live in the present so you can build a road for the future that is based on awareness, positive attitude and happiness.
Moe says
Incredible piece guys, well done.
Moe says
Your big breakthrough will come when you recognize that all your inadequacies, all your limitations, and all your failings, are only temporary and artificial realities you cling to with your thoughts.
J.M. Westfall says
“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”
~and~
“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”
Both by James Allen
But after reading this, I found a new one:
“For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.” ?Henry W. Longfellow
GREAT post today… Thank you!
~jw
Julie says
Thanks for the post – it reminded me to find my favorite quote and read it again:
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” Rainer Maria Rilke
shonitra says
“…and I would love you exquisitely”. How can that not take you breath away and renew your spirit. Thank you, God, for speaking through an earthly vessel to stream down that daily message of love and inspiration.
Max Lagace says
Those are really inspiring quotes! Will include most of them on my site. Here’s two more to complete the list:
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” -Anais Nin
“The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself.” -Anais Nin
SARATH says
Every day in Africa ,a deer awakens knowing it has to outrun the fastest lion or be hunted to death…
Every day in Africa, a lion awakens knowing it has to outrun the slowest deer or be starved to death…
It doesn’t matter who you are… when the sun rises, start running and doing your very best.
Chantay says
The past is history, the future is a mystery this moment is a gift, that why it is called the present.
Anton says
“Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.” ~Bruce Lee
Khrab says
“Climb mountains not so that the world can see you, but so you can see the world.”
John Stasney says
I am most grateful, and most thankful for having been given a “second mother” in my life – Dorothy Baldwin Satten, Ph.D., T.E.P., an internationally known trainer in psychodrama, a life-changing method for personal and professional growth. In 2006, she wrote – “Real is Better than Perfect – Stories and sayings for self-healing.”
Here are some of my favorites from her book:
On Authenticity – If you don’t reveal yourself, people will invent you — and they’ll always get it wrong.
On Courage – Be true to who you really are, and for this great courage, ultimately, will come great reward.
On Risk and Success – To not risk anything is to risk everything.
On Wounding and Healing – When I was a child I found a beautiful Ponderosa pine in a clearing not far from the ranch house. It was tall and sturdy and I loved to wrap my arms around its thick trunk. When there was trouble in the house, I used to visit that tree and hold it tight. I would imagine that my roots went deep into the earth, that my branches stretched high into the sky, and that families of birds found shelter there. That tree was my place of refuge, where I felt safe, and I love it like a trusted friend. As an adult, I returned to visit that tree. To my horror, I found that it had been struck by lightning. Splayed in two, blackened and devoid of foliage, I was sure it was dead, and on that day, I wept. Several years later, I decided to visit that tree just one more time; I thought I would say goodbye. I walked solemnly to the clearing expecting to find it in a state of decay, disappearing back into the earth. But to my delight and amazement, in fact, there it stood: Where it had been split and blackened, hearty, green shoots now grew up and were nearly as tall as I! I recognized that the life story of that old friend was a powerful metaphor for my own life, and for our lives: Life, like lightning, splits open our hearts, testing us to our core. From the ashes of our pain and sorrow, new life and hope spring forth.
Magda says
Here my own quote in response to a question “What is my purpose”…
“To eliminate labels for the purpose eradicating prejudices, stereotypes and generalizations. We are meant to change from moment to moment and trying to package/define yourself or someone else goes against the natural evolution of the human experience.”
Thank you for all the awesome and inspiring power quotes!!
Alexia says
What I learned from Joel Osteen:
Be careful of the words you speak about yourself, especially what follows the “I am” statement. You are prophesizing your future… Why not pick something positive to go after “I am.” When you say “I am so tired” you are manifesting being tired. Think of all the things we say unconsciously and how it could be affecting us. It takes practice, but its well worth it.
Kim says
“Your attitude determines your altitude!” I have always lived by this and…
the next quote is something I believe with all my heart:
“Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do, except hear.”
Marc says
@Jon: I’m glad we could help. Thank you. =)
@Cynthia: You are absolutely right. We need to be the change we want to see in the world. Thanks for spreading the love.
@All: Reading new, inspiring quotes is a simple pleasure of mine that helps motivate me to take positive action in my life. I’m sure they have a similar effect on you as well. So thank you all for sharing your favorite power quotes this morning! Definitely some new ones here that I’ve never read before – maybe they’ll even be featured in an upcoming article. As always, we appreciate the inspiration and encouragement your comments provide.
PS: Keep the quotes coming… Can’t wait to read more. =)
jasmine says
“There are so many things in human living that we should regard not as traumatic learning, but as incomplete learning, unfinished learning.” Milton H. Erickson
Nicola says
I love quotes, and especially like anything from Jim Rohn. His work has made a huge change in my attitude towards my own destiny. Here’s one of Jim’s: “Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out.”
Thanks for the post, very thought provoking 🙂
Renee says
Not sure where I heard this, but it is so true: “If we don’t teach our children how to be alone, they will only learn how to be lonely.”
Ron says
I’ve been following your work for a couple of years now & found many of your articles to be both helpful & inspirational. Few however have been as interesting & enjoyable as has today’s. I would like to participate & offer the following to that end:
1. What the mind of man can conceive, so can he
achieve. -unknown-
2. Significant change within the life of a man will not
occur until the status quo is no longer tolerable,
not undesirable or uncomfortable, but intolerable
(The implications of this one are totally in tune
the theme of today’s post).-unknown-
Thank You for all that you do for so many who need to be inspired.
Ron.
Jo says
The thing that is really hard and really amazing is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.
What you allow is what will continue.
You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.
What is the secret to having it all? Knowing you already do.
Jill says
“Happiness is permanent. It is always there.
What comes and goes is unhappiness.
If you identify with what comes and goes, you will be unhappy.
If you identify with what is permanent and always there, you are happiness itself.”
~ Poonjaji
vernette says
You know I am always amazed (even when I know I should expect otherwise) when the Universe sends me exactly what I need, when I need it. This morning I was on my way to the office and I couldnt help thinking this…is not it. This cannot be it. And then I read:
” Your life will begin to improve when you define precisely what ‘improve’ means to you. The agonies and frustrations will start to ease only when you have something real and positive to replace them with. Be specific. Happiness is not a goal, it’s the result of a life well lived. The question is: How do you want to live going forward?”
Light bulb! Fireworks! Shooting Stars!
Thanks so much for sending me what I needed.
David Rapp says
God made the world round so that man could not see too far ahead.
D says
Awesome entry today!
Love reading everyone’s quotes.
“People create their own questions because they are afraid to look straight. All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don’t sit looking at it – walk.” Ayn Rand
Ludy says
A reminder that “God helps those who help themselves!”
Carmen says
“The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.”
kellbell says
“All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Julian of Norwich.
Tracy F. says
One of my best friends told me this a few years ago. It inspires me and keeps it real. “You can be right or you can be happy.” I so often win the battle but lose the war in an attempt to be “right”. What have I gained?
Tony@WeOnlyDoThisOnce says
Love the Baxter quotation, Marc. Perspective really has so much to do with the outcomes of any situation.