quotes to live by
Quotes to Live By
Words can be saviors at times. They can guide you in a new direction of hope. This is a collection of beautiful quotes to live by. These thought capsules contain the quintessence of inspiration and profound wisdom. Read to recharge yourself!
Sometimes you come across words that stir something inside you, creating a resonance to such a degree, that it seems like they were written just for you. Thoughts arising from the depth of experience are marked by simplicity and amazing clarity.
In the depths of despair, such words of wisdom give you hope, and a new perspective of life. A single sentence can encapsulate an entire philosophy of life, within it.
These inspirational quotes to live by are the essence of wisdom and in my opinion, the real education the world has to offer. For all you sometimes need is one thought to transform your life.
Fire and hunger are inborn. To believe in the fire within is our religion. To give it shape and meaning is our purpose. Listen to your inner genius; those who do, often end up changing the world. Never stop dreaming. Never give up on yourself. Stretch limits, question dogmas and break out of your self-imposed prison. Create. Disrupt. Evolve.
Here are some quotes from fellow worshipers of the fire. Take as much as you can. Believe. All the rest will follow.
![]()
![]()
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 important, 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
![]()
No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. - Yoda (From Star Wars)
![]()
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
![]()
Almost everything: all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure. These things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. - Steve Jobs
![]()
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But, it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that! - Rocky Balboa
![]()
Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love. - Rumi
![]()
Learn to love what you've been taught to fear. - Felix Baumgartner
![]()
There is a candle in your heart,
ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul,
ready to be filled.
You feel it, don't you? - Rumi
![]()
Life is a tragedy for those who feel but a comedy for those who think. - Horace Walpole
![]()
Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
![]()
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self, so therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility. - Kahlil Gibran
![]()
You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth."
― William W. Purkey
![]()
Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected. - Steve Jobs
![]()
Be so good they can't ignore you. - Steve Martin
![]()
When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You'll know it's there, so you're going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through. - Steve Jobs
![]()
A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same. - Elbert Hubbard
![]()
The only way to have a friend is to be one. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
![]()
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. - Rumi
![]()
To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous. ― Elizabeth Gilbert
![]()
It is a risk to love. What if it doesn't work out? Ah, but what if it does? - Peter McWilliams
All it takes to change your life is one thought, one idea that you believe passionately in. These are quotes to live by and the living part can never be emphasized too strongly. A thought believed in, but not acted upon is just a whole lot of wasted opportunity to forge a better life. If you want something really badly, you'll do what it takes. If not, you won't. It's as simple as that. If I may have succeeded in a small measure, in igniting a spark, through this collection of thoughts, I would consider my job well done. Carpe Diem!
Inspirational Quotes to Live By
If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. - Bruce Lee
Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me ... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me. - Steve Jobs
It is not in the nature of man, nor of any living entity, to start out by giving up, by spitting in one's own face and damning existence; that requires a process of corruption whose rapidity differs from man to man. Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lose it. Then all of these vanish in the vast swamp of their elders who tell them persistently that maturity consists of abandoning one's mind; security, of abandoning one's values; practicality, of losing self-esteem. Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing that the fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man's nature and of life's potential. -Ayn Rand (Preface to Fountainhead)
Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are. - Muhammad Ali
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. - Mark Twain
If you don't follow through on your dreams, you might as well be a vegetable. - Burt Munro
What the mind can conceive, it can achieve. - Napoleon Hill
First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win. - Mahatma Gandhi
Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one. - Bruce Lee
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crown less again shall be king. - J.R.R Tolkien
My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength. - Michael Jordan
Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. -Richard Bach
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. -Confucius
All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them. -Walt Disney
Life Quotes to Live By
There is no greater teacher than life itself. Thankfully, there is no perfect way of living a life. That's the beauty of it. Universe gives us a free hand in deciding how we want to shape our lives and create our own meaning. Here's a collection of thoughts that reveal what zen masters call the marrow of life.
Don't wait. The time will never be just right. - Napoleon Hill
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
A man can be destroyed but not defeated. - Ernest Hemingway
I shall pass through this life but once. Any good therefore that I can do, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it. For I shall never pass this way again. - Etienne de Grellet
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. - Maria Robinson
Live out of your imagination, not your history. - Stephen Covey
You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. - Steve Jobs
It's not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. - Theodor Roosevelt
Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, and justice; and to give thyself relief from all other thoughts. And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to thee. - Marcus Aurelius
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of conflict and controversy. - Martin Luther King Jr.
You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. - Christopher Columbus
In three words I can sum up what I've learned about life: It goes on. - Robert Frost
It's not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult. - Seneca
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. - Albert Einstein
A temptation resisted is a true measure of character. - Pappilon
Remember, if you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns! - Allison Gappa Bottke
Whoso must be a man, must be a non-conformist. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. - Thomas Edison
If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it. - Toni Morrison
Don't fight a fact, deal with it. - Hugh Prather
Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. - Mary Anne Radmacher
They can because they think they can. - Virgil
You don't get to choose how you are going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you are going to live. Now. - Joan Baez
The burned hand teaches best. - J.R.R.Tolkien
There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go. - Richard Bach
Don't let what you can't do stop you from what you can do. - John Wooden
We must be the change we want to see. - Mahatma Gandhi
Workplace Quotes to Live By
A large portion of our lives is spent in making a mark in our chosen profession. The kind of work we do, largely defines who we are. To be able to align what you love, with what you do for a living is THE DREAM for most. You can have that, if you are willing to give all that it takes. To be able to be in the zone - that feeling of complete involvement in purely doing what you love, is the secret of happiness. Here are some gems of thought from people who believe in excellence to be the only way.
It isn't what you do, but how you do it. - John Wooden
Simplify. Remove steps. Remove options. Remove instructions. Remove clutter. - Gabor Cselle
The best way to predict the future is to create it. - Peter Drucker
That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. - Steve Jobs
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. - Peter Drucker
Take what's useful, discard what is not. - Bruce Lee
Play is the highest form of research. - Albert Einstein
Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. - Peter Drucker
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. - Bruce Lee
Logic gets you from A to B, imagination gets you anywhere. - Albert Einstein
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. - Carl Sagan
Theory and practice sometimes clash. And when that happens, theory loses. Every single time. - Linus Torvalds
Don't worry about what anybody else is going to do. The best way to predict the future is to invent it. - Alan Kay
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. - Steve Jobs
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein
Those that can, do. Those that can't, complain. - Linus Torvalds
You must unlearn what you have learned. - Yoda
Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it. - Mark Zuckerberg
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been. - Wayne Gretzky
Friendship Quotes to Live By
How dreary life would be without friends. The laughter, the bonding and the great conversations are what keep us going. To have a true friend, whom you can completely confide in, is a priceless treasure, our greatest blessing. While nothing can clearly define it, here are some quotes that come really close.
What is a friend? I will tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with him. He seems to ask of you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. He does not want you to be better or worse. When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you. He understands those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meanness and absurdities and, in opening them up to him, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of his loyalty. He understands. You do not have to be careful. You can abuse him, neglect him, tolerate him. Best of all, you can keep still with him. It makes no matter. He likes you. He is like fire that purges to the bone. He understands. You can weep with him, sin with him, laugh with him, pray with him. Through it all - and underneath - he sees, knows and loves you. A friend? What is a friend? Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself.
- C. Raymond Beran
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. - Anais Nin
What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. - Aristotle
A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. - Walter Winchell
Don't walk in front of me because I may not follow. Don't walk behind me because I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend. - Albert Camus
We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is a last drop that makes it run over; so in series of kindnesses, there is a last one that makes the heart run over. - James Boswell
Be careful how you judge people, most of all friends. You don't sum up a man's life in one moment. - Al Pacino (in "City Hall")
Relationship Quotes to Live By
The fabric of life is held together by the bonds we forge with our friends and family. Every relationship is a conversation, a give and take, which sustains and nurtures us. There can be no general rules about steering a good relationship as each is unique in its own way, just as the people involved in it. Here are some words of experience from people who have been there and lived all that.
To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life. - Elizabeth Gilbert
Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable. - Bruce Lee
In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices. ― Elizabeth Gilbert
Those who enter into marriage, must be fully prepared to establish their marriage, as the first priority in their lives. - James. E. Faust
People always fall in love with the most perfect aspects of each other's personalities. Who wouldn't? Anybody can love the most wonderful parts of another person. But that's not the clever trick. The really clever trick is this: Can you accept the flaws? Can you look at your partner's faults honestly and say, 'I can work around that. I can make something out of it.'? Because the good stuff is always going to be there, and it's always going to pretty and sparkly, but the crap underneath can ruin you. ― Elizabeth Gilbert
Don't take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. - Don Miguel Ruiz (Excerpt from 'The Four Agreements')
Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike. - J.K. Rowling
A happy marriage is the union of two forgivers. - Ruth Bell Graham
You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever....connections are made with the heart, not the tongue.
- C. JoyBell C.
When we're incomplete, we're always searching for somebody to complete us. When, after a few years or a few months of a relationship, we find that we're still unfulfilled, we blame our partners and take up with somebody more promising. This can go on and on--series polygamy--until we admit that while a partner can add sweet dimensions to our lives, we, each of us, are responsible for our own fulfillment. Nobody else can provide it for us, and to believe otherwise is to delude ourselves dangerously and to program for eventual failure every relationship we enter. - Tom Robbins