130 Historical Figures and Their Inspirational Quotes
Inspirational Quotes – We all need a little inspiration from time to time. Who better to look to than the figures who have shaped our world, overcome incredible challenges, and left lasting legacies? This compilation gathers nuggets of wisdom from 130 historical figures, each offering a unique perspective on life, success, perseverance, and the human spirit. Dive in and discover the words that resonate with you, igniting your own path to greatness.
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Historical Figures and Their Inspirational Quotes
Here are some inspirational quotes from historical figures, numbered for your convenience:
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.
2. William Shakespeare: “To be, or not to be, that is the question”.
3. Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”.
4. Friedrich Nietzsche: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”.
5. Francis Bacon: “Knowledge is power”.
6. Lao Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.
7. Nelson Mandela: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”.
8. Alfred Tennyson: “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”.
9. John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”.
10. Dalai Lama: “The purpose of our lives is to be happy”.
11. Albert Schweitzer: “Let us never forget that medicine is for people. It is not for profit, it is not for status, it is not for self”.
12. Sheryl Sandberg: “The Wright brothers didn’t have a wind tunnel to test their flying machines. They built a kite and got to work”.
13. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”.
14. Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be”.
15. Laura Ingalls Wilder: “It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong”.
16. Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right”.
17. Ayn Rand: “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me”.
18. Vince Lombardi: “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is”.
19. Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world”.
20. Theodore Roosevelt: “Believe you can, and you’re halfway there”.
21. Mother Teresa: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples”.
22. George Addair: “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear”.
23. John F. Kennedy: “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on”.
24. Confucius: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop”.
25. Oprah Winfrey: “You become what you believe”.
26. Ernest Hemingway: “Courage is grace under pressure”.
27. Albert Einstein: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle”.
28. Dan Millman: “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you”.
29. Katharine Hepburn: “Life is short and it is here to be lived”.
30. Mahatma Gandhi: “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty”.
31. John Lennon: “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”.
32. Kevin Kruse: “Life is about making an impact, not making an income”.
33. Napoleon Hill: “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”.
34. Christopher Columbus: “You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”.
35. Audrey Hepburn: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’”.
36. Steve Jobs: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do”.
37. Zig Ziglar: “If you can dream it, you can achieve it”.
38. Albert Einstein: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid”.
39. Sivananda Saraswati: “Thoughts are giant-powers. They are more powerful than electricity. They control your life, mould your character, and shape your destiny”.
40. Swami Satyananda Saraswati: “Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritance of the present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow”.
41. Osho: “If you love a flower, don’t pick it up. Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love. So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation”.
42. Buddha: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment”.
43. Plato: “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something”.
44. Mark Twain: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect”.
45. Chinese Proverb: “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it”.
46. Henry Ford: “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it”.
47. Henry Ford: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young”.
48. Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”.
49. Isaac Newton: “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being”.
50. Christian D. Larson: “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle”.
51. Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.
52. Amelia Earhart: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity”.
53. Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living”.
54. Walt Disney: “It’s fun to do the impossible”.
55. John Ruskin: “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort”.
56. Wayne Dyer: “You put your intention and your attention on what it is that you want to shift and change”.
57. Charles Dickens: “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else”.
58. Franklin D. Roosevelt: “To reach a port, we must sail—sail, not tie at anchor—sail, not drift”.
59. Rick Hanson: “Your brain is the most important organ in your body, and what happens in it determines what you think and feel, say and do”.
60. Norman Vincent Peale: “We tend to get what we expect”.
61. Helen Keller: “Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow”.
62. Charles Kettering: “No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm”.
63. Seneca: “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart”.
64. Richard Bach: “Bad things are not the worst thing that can happen to us. Nothing is the worst thing that can happen to us”.
65. George Bernard Shaw: “Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby”.
66. Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”.
67. Coco Chanel: “Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable”.
68. John Wooden: “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out”.
69. Jim Rohn: “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary”.
70. Albert Einstein: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning”.
71. Swami Vivekananda: “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life — think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success”.
72. Ellen DeGeneres: “Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others”.
73. Walt Disney: “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them”.
74. Winston Churchill: “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm”.
75. Warren Buffett: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”.
76. Stephen Covey: “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment”.
77. Thomas A. Edison: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”.
78. Gary Vaynerchuk: Kindness is the biggest strength in business and in life.
79. Ernest Hemingway: The old man and the sea is a story about the triumph of the human spirit.
80. Norman Vincent Peale: Change your thoughts and you change your world.
81. Benjamin Franklin: Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
82. Amelia Earhart: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity”
83. Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living”
84. Walt Disney: “It’s fun to do the impossible”
85. John Ruskin: “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort”
86. Wayne Dyer: “You put your intention and your attention on what it is that you want to shift and change”
87. Charles Dickens: “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else”
88. Rick Hanson: “Your brain is the most important organ in your body, and what happens in it determines what you think and feel, say and do”
89. Norman Vincent Peale: “We tend to get what we expect”
90. Helen Keller: “Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow”
91. Charles Kettering: “No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm”
92. Seneca: “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart”
93. Richard Bach: “Bad things are not the worst thing that can happen to us. Nothing is the worst thing that can happen to us”
94. George Bernard Shaw: “Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby”
95. Coco Chanel: “Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable”.
96. John Wooden: “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out”.
97. Jim Rohn: “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary”.
98. Albert Einstein: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning”.
99. Swami Vivekananda: “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life — think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success”.
100. Ellen DeGeneres: “Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others”.
101. Walt Disney: “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them”.
102. Winston Churchill: “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm”.
103. Warren Buffett: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”.
104. Stephen Covey: “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment”.
105. Thomas A. Edison: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”.
106. Jim Rohn: “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
107. Albert Einstein: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
108. Stephen Covey: “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.”
109. Thomas A. Edison: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
110. Zig Ziglar: “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
111. Audrey Hepburn: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible!””
112. Christopher Columbus: “You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
113. Napoleon Hill: “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
114. Kevin Kruse: “Life is about making an impact, not making an income.”
115. Mahatma Gandhi: “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
116. Katharine Hepburn: “Life is short and it is here to be lived.”
117. Ernest Hemingway: “Courage is grace under pressure.”
118. Oprah Winfrey: “You become what you believe.”
119. Confucius: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
120. Mother Teresa: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.”
121. Theodore Roosevelt: “Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.”
122. Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
123. Vince Lombardi: “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.”
124. Ayn Rand: “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”
125. Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
126. Laura Ingalls Wilder: “It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”
127. Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
128. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
129. Sheryl Sandberg: “The Wright brothers didn’t have a wind tunnel to test their flying machines. They built a kite and got to work.”
130. Albert Schweitzer: “Let us never forget that medicine is for people. It is not for profit, it is not for status, it is not for self.”
