50 Motivational Quotes about Success, Persistence, Excellence and More

 

This is a collection of 50 of the best motivating quotes on the topics of success, never giving up, taking action, patience, discouragement, criticism, excuses, self-doubt, procrastination and excellence.

I love to read motivational quotes when I am feeling discouraged or in need of a little uplifting. The wisdom in these quotations motivate and inspire me to keep going, both with painting and writing at this blog.

If you missed our previous quotations posts, you may view them here: Positive Thinking Quotes | Inspirational Art Quotes

 

50 Quotes to Motivate and Inspire

1. Success Quotes

   ”When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.” - Eric Thomas
   
   
2. “There’s a thin line between losing & winning. Losing breeds winners. The main recipe to success is through failures & hardships!” – Unknown
   
   
3. “As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.” Donald Trump
   
   
4. “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it!” Jonathan Winters
   
   
5. “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” Bill Gates
   
   
6. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” Vidal Sassoon
   
   
7. “Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” - Dr. Joyce Brothers
   
   
8. “I’ve missed more than 9000 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
   
   
9. “Get going. Move forward. Aim High. Plan a take-off. Don't just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won't happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you'll love it up here.” -  Donald J. Trump
   
   
10. “The road to success is always under construction” -  Lily Tomlin
    
    
    

11. Never giving up - Persistence Quotes

    
    
    
    
    “So many people can be responsible for your Success, but only you are responsible for your failure.” – Unknown
    
    

12. ‎”Anything is possible. You can be told that you have a 90-percent chance or a 50-percent chance or a 1-percent chance, but you have to believe, and you have to fight.” – Lance Armstrong

13. ‎”Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” - Charles F. Kettering

14. “Life is short, fragile and does not wait for anyone. There will NEVER be a perfect time to pursue your dreams & goals.”  - Unknown

15. “When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.” -  Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

16. “Remember that guy that gave up? Neither does no one else.”  - Unknown
    
    

17. Take Action

    “Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
    - Thomas Jefferson

18. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. ” - Walt Disney Company

19. “Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.” Baltasa

20. “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” Benjamin Franklin
    
    

21. Have Patience

    ”The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” …so remember: great achievements take time, there is no overnight success. – Leo Tolstoy

22. “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”
    Napoleon Hill

23. “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” - John Quincy Adams

24. “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” -  Aristotle

     

25. Handling Disappointment and Discouragement

    ”Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.”  - Unknown

26. Push through the pain, and conquer the obstacles. Regardless of what you think today, it wont matter 5 years from now. SO DON’T BE AFRAID!  - Unknown

27. “You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” – Walt Disney

28. “The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow.”  - Unknown

29. “Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.”  Abraham Lincoln
    
    

30. Handling Criticism

    ”If you can’t be criticized for it, it’s probably not remarkable. Are you devoting yourself to something devoid of criticism?” – Unknown
    

31. “The so called negative feedback is often love in disguise. Take full advantage!”  - Unknown
    

32. “Don’t always scrape & search for compliments. Criticism is what builds character & strength!”  - Unknown
    
    
    

33. Do not make excuses

    ”99% of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”  - Unknown

34. “Never make excuses. Your friends don't need them and your foes won't believe them.” -  John Wooden

35. “You will get what you want, when you stop making excuses on why you don’t have it.”  - Unknown
    
    

36. Handling Self-Doubt

    “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” -  Sylvia Plath

37. ”Waiting to develop courage is just another form of procrastination. The most successful people take action while they’re afraid!”  - Unknown

38. “The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” - Robert Hughes
    

39. “If you hear a voice within you say ‘You cannot paint’, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” -  Vincent van Gogh
    
    

40. Procrastination Quotes

    ”Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Bill Gates, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”  - Unknown

41. “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone” -  Pablo Picasso
    

42. “You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.” -  Henry Ford
    
    

43. “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
    
    

44. Excellence Quotes

    
     
    
    “If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” Thomas J Watson

45. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” Albert Einstein

46. “When you're following your inner voice, doors tend to eventually open for you, even if they mostly slam at first.” - Kelly Cutrone

47. “The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor.” - Vince Lombardi Jr.

48. “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” -  Martin Luther King, Jr.

49. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle

50. “Do your best, and be a little better than you are.” -  Gordon B. Hinckley
    

I hope this post has motivated and inspired you! If you have a favorite motivational quote not appearing in this quotes list, feel free to leave a comment including the quotation.

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