Quotes are inspiring because they have so much wisdom packed into a phrase. They’re like small reminders from mentors of all walks of life. They can lift you up, guide you, and motivate you. A good quote can be worth a lifetime of wisdom! Here are 19 insightful quotes from people who have influenced and shaped our world:

1. “If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.”

– Maya Angelou (Civil Rights activist)

2. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr. (Civil Rights movement leader)

3. “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”

– Malala Yousafzai (Pakistani activist)

4. “Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong.”

– Theodore Roosevelt (26th President US)

5. “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.”

– Dalai Lama (14th Dalai Lama)

6. “It also helps to consolidate a person’s character, because as it happens both in life and in a chess game we have to make decisions constantly. In chess there is no luck and no excuses: everything is in your hands.”

– Vladimir Kramnik (Former World Chess champion)

7. “When we face our problems, they disappear. So learn from failure and let success be the silent incentive.”

– Carlos Slim (Business magnate)

8. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

– George Bernard Shaw (Irish playwright)

9. “When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.”

– Viktor E. Frankl (Holocaust survivor)

10. “Worrying gets you nowhere. If you turn up worrying about how you’re going to perform, you’ve already lost. Train hard, turn up, run your best and the rest will take care of itself.”

– Usain Bolt (Fastest man on Earth)

11. “The most reliable way to predict the future is to create it.”

– Abraham Lincoln (16th President US)

12. “Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off. But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.”

– Amelia Earhart (Aviation pioneer)

13. “Anticipating problems and figuring out how to solve them is actually the opposite of worrying: it’s productive.”

– Chris Hadfield (First Canadian astronaut to walk in space)

14. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”

– Henry Ford (Founder of the Ford Motor Company)

15. “Rely on the ordinary virtues that intelligent, balanced human beings have relied on for centuries: common sense, thrift, realistic expectations, patience, and perseverance.”

– John C. Bogle (Founder of the Vanguard Group)

16. “Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step.”

– Muhammad Ali (Professional boxer)

17. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.”

– Barack Obama (44th President US)

18. “The thing that hasn’t changed, and I don’t think will ever change, is that the operative word in music is “play.” You have to have a playfulness about it. As the world shifts, it’s starting to understand more and more that to have a playfulness about any and everything is actually the way of having a better life, or being more creative, or being more productive.”

– Hans Zimmer (Film score composer)

19. “The biggest mistake, in general, I’ve made, is to put too much of a weighting on someone’s talent and not enough on their personality. And I’ve made that mistake several times. I think it actually matters whether somebody has a good heart, it really does. I’ve made the mistake of thinking that it’s sometimes just about the brain.”

– Elon Musk (Founder of Tesla)

 

BONUS!

20. “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.”

– Thomas Jefferson (3rd President US)

21. “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”

– John Muir (Environmentalist)

 

All quotes found at www.azquotes.com, which I consider is one of the best sources for quotes online.