What is success? Is it wealth, status, or freedom? Is it making an impact, achieving a personal goal, or finding happiness in your work? While the definition may be personal, the principles that guide us to success are often universal: hard work, perseverance, a positive mindset, and the courage to fail.
Throughout history, the world’s most accomplished people—entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and leaders—have shared their hard-earned wisdom about what it takes to succeed. Their words serve as both a compass and a catalyst, guiding us through challenges and inspiring us to push beyond our limits.
This definitive collection of 151 success quotes is your source of motivation and wisdom. Bookmark this page and return to it whenever you need a boost on your journey to achieving your dreams.
Part 1: The Foundation of Success: Mindset & Belief
Success begins in the mind. Before you can achieve anything great, you must first believe it’s possible.
- “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” — Henry Ford
- “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt
- “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis
- “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” — Roy T. Bennett
- “The mind is everything. What you think you become.” — Buddha
- “If you want to be successful, you must respect one rule: Never lie to yourself.” — Paulo Coelho
- “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” — Michael Jordan
- “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Success is not in what you have, but who you have become.” — Bo Bennett
- “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” — Zig Ziglar
- “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” — Maya Angelou
Part 2: The Engine of Achievement: Hard Work & Persistence
Dreams and goals require relentless effort. These quotes celebrate the power of hard work and the importance of never giving up.
- “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” — Pelé
- “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” — Vidal Sassoon
- “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson
- “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell
- “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill
- “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” — Samuel Goldwyn
- “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” — Jim Rohn
- “The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” — Joel Brown
- “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” — Walter Elliot
- “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” — Vince Lombardi
- “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” — Vince Lombardi
- “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
- “The pain of discipline weighs ounces, but the pain of regret weighs tons.” — Jim Rohn
- “The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.” — Charles Kingsleigh
- “Small, daily, seemingly insignificant improvements, when done consistently over time, yield staggering results.” — Robin S. Sharma
Part 3: Embracing Failure & Learning from Setbacks
Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a critical part of it. These quotes reframe setbacks as stepping stones.
- “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas A. Edison
- “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” — Henry Ford
- “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
- “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Confucius
- “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” — Stephen McCranie
- “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying anything new.” — Albert Einstein
- “Fail often so you can succeed sooner.” — Tom Kelley
- “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” — J.K. Rowling
- “Don’t fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” — Bruce Lee
- “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” — Elbert Hubbard
- “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” — Albert Einstein
- “Failure is a great teacher, and I think when you make mistakes and you recover from them and you treat them as valuable learning experiences, then you’ve got something to share.” — Steve Harvey
- “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” — Bill Gates
- “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone.” — Johnny Cash
- “The phoenix must burn to emerge.” — Janet Fitch
Part 4: Taking Action & Initiative
A dream without action remains just a dream. These quotes push you to start, to move, and to create your own opportunities.
- “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
- “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” — Napoleon Hill
- “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” — Zig Ziglar
- “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb
- “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” — Chris Grosser
- “Action is the foundational key to all success.” — Pablo Picasso
- “The distance between your dreams and reality is called action.” — Unknown
- “Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.” — Peter Marshall
- “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” — Conrad Hilton
- “The world rewards those who take responsibility for their own success.” — Curt Gerrish
- “If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” — Dale Carnegie
- “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain
- “Your ideas won’t change the world. Your execution of those ideas will.” — Unknown
- “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Peter Drucker
- “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited about what could go right.” — Tony Robbins
Part 5: Vision, Goals, and Planning
Success is rarely accidental. It’s the result of clear vision, defined goals, and a strategic plan.
- “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” — Napoleon Hill
- “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” — Yogi Berra
- “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” — Tony Robbins
- “The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” — Michelangelo
- “A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.” — Brian Tracy
- “All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.” — Orison Swett Marden
- “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” — J.C. Penney
- “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
- “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” — Jim Rohn
- “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.” — Greg S. Reid
- “The discipline you learn and the character you build from setting and achieving a goal can be more valuable than the achievement of the goal itself.” — Bo Bennett
- “Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive.” — Robert H. Schuller
- “An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding.” — Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- “Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal.” — Elbert Hubbard
- “The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals.” — Seth Godin
Part 6: Success in Business & Entrepreneurship
Specific wisdom for those on the path of building, leading, and innovating in the business world.
- “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” — Scott Belsky
- “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today.” — Nolan Bushnell
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” — Bill Gates
- “The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” — Peter Drucker
- “Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible.” — Cadet Maxim
- “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs
- “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.” — Steve Jobs
- “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” — Bill Gates
- “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” — Mark Zuckerberg
- “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” — Reid Hoffman
- “Success is not what you have, but who you are.” — Bo Bennett
- “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” — Ralph Nader
- “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” — Steve Jobs
- “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” — Socrates
- “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” — Jeff Bezos
Part 7: Short, Punchy, and Powerful Success Quotes
For when you need a quick, potent burst of motivation.
- “Just do it.” — Nike
- “Go the extra mile.”
- “No excuses.”
- “Make it happen.”
- “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” — Steve Jobs
- “Prove them wrong.”
- “Rise and grind.”
- “Dream big. Work hard.”
- “Stay the course.”
- “Keep going.”
- “Never settle.”
- “Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle.”
- “Your only limit is you.”
- “Create your own luck.”
- “Do the work.”
Part 8: Wisdom from Modern Icons
Insights from contemporary leaders, creators, and athletes who are defining success in the 21st century.
- “Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you.” — Mark Cuban
- “If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.” — Elon Musk
- “You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic.” — Stephen C. Hogan
- “Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” — Michelle Obama
- “The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” — Albert Einstein
- “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and by falling over.” — Richard Branson
- “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” — Babe Ruth
- “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart
- “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” — Bill Gates
- “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” — Dalai Lama
- “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
- “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” — Vidal Sassoon
- “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” — Bruce Lee
- “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” — John D. Rockefeller
Part 9: The Final Push: Quotes for When the Journey Gets Tough
For those moments when you feel like giving up, let these words be your fuel.
- “When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.”
- “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” — Thomas Paine
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
- “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
- “The comeback is always stronger than the setback.”
- “Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you’re done.”
- “Pressure makes diamonds.” — George S. Patton
- “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” — African Proverb
- “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.” — Bob Marley
- “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” — Robert H. Schuller
- “The fire for your dream cannot be burned out by the rain of adversity.”
- “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “Courage is grace under pressure.” — Ernest Hemingway
- “The darkest hour has only sixty minutes.” — Morris Mandel
- “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Part 10: Defining True Success
A final collection of quotes that challenge us to define success on our own terms, beyond just wealth and accolades.
- “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Albert Schweitzer
- “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” — Maya Angelou
- “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” — Arnold Toynbee
- “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children… to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society.” — Aristotle
- “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” — John Wooden
- “Measure success not by your position, but by the obstacles you’ve overcome.” — Booker T. Washington
- “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” — Vince Lombardi
- “Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” — Dale Carnegie
- “The real success is the person who invented himself.” — Al Goldstein
- “Success is not just about what you accomplish in your life; it’s about what you inspire others to do.” — Unknown
- “A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at them.” — David Brinkley
- “The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do.” — Thomas Edison
- “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
- “The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” — Joel Brown
- “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” — Arthur Ashe
How to Use These Success Quotes for Maximum Impact
- Create a Success Mindset Playlist: Write down 5-10 quotes that resonate most with you and your current goals. Read them first thing every morning to set your intention for the day.
- Use Them as Journaling Prompts: Pick one quote each day and write for 5-10 minutes about what it means to you and how you can apply its wisdom to your current challenges or goals.
- Share for Accountability: Share a powerful quote with a mentor, coach, or accountability partner and discuss how you can both embody its message.
- Visual Reminders: Turn your favorite quote into a phone wallpaper, a screensaver, or a framed print for your office. Constant visual reinforcement helps rewire your thinking.
- The 5-Second Rule: When faced with a moment of doubt or procrastination, recall a short, powerful quote (like “Just do it” or “Make it happen”), count down 5-4-3-2-1, and take immediate physical action.
Conclusion: Your Success is Waiting
Success is not a distant destination reserved for a lucky few. It is a path—a series of choices, actions, and mindsets that you can start walking today. These 151 quotes are your companions on that journey, offering wisdom, courage, and perspective when you need it most.
Remember, the common thread running through all these voices is that success is an inside job. It begins with your beliefs, is fueled by your actions, and is sustained by your resilience. Let these words be the spark that ignites your ambition and the steady hand that guides you to the life you are capable of achieving.
Now, the most important step is yours to take.
Which of these success quotes motivates you the most? What does success mean to you? Share your thoughts and your own favorite quote in the comments below!