60 Achievement Quotes to Lead You to a Successful Life

Let these achievement quotes be your guide toward your future accomplishments in life!

We all want to have achievements in life. Every day, we strive for excellence and improvement. In fact, ever since we were young, we were shaped and honed to always push for the best possible results—being at the top of the class, being promoted, and more.

The road to these achievements will be hard, but giving up should never be our option. Our sense of success and achievement is an essential and significant factor that affects our well-being over time.

After all, a strong sense of purpose and persistence leads a person to perform better. With that, it’s clear that we must have a good mindset when we are trying to achieve something.

As we move through life, we must always have an optimistic mindset. So, read through these achievement quotes we’ve compiled. Find the boost you need to stay positive and overcome future difficulties with great effort and skill!

Learn more about achievement below.

And don’t forget to check out these courage quotes and resilience quotes.

Best Achievement Quotes

1. “Achieving big goals requires you to become a bigger person. You must develop new habits, abilities, skills, and attitudes. You must stretch yourself, and in so doing, you will be forever stretched.” – Vic Johnson

2. “With your entire focus on your goal, you will reach levels of achievement that you never thought possible.” – Catherine Pulsifer

3. “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho

4. “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy

5. “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money. It lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Famous Quotes About Achievement

6. “If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission.” – Nemuru

7. “When you learn from others how they achieved their goals quickly, it can speed up your own results enormously.” – Mike Pettigrew

8. “Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.” – Napoleon Hill

9. “The important thing is to find your true source of inspiration, and remain focused on achieving your goals.” – Sara Wellington

10. “There can be no real achievement without any struggle!” – Avijeet Das

Also read: Famous Quotes, Positive Quotes

Inspiring Achievement Quotes to Guide You in Life

11. “When you set your mind to achieve something, you must allow yourself the opportunity to get it done.” – Tasha Hoggatt

12. “You can’t hit a target unless you are aiming for it, and you can’t achieve a goal without having it.” – Shawn Doyle

13. “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate, and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” – Paulo Coelho

14. “You are the greatest achievement of your own life.” – Sarah Rees Brennan

15. “In fact, stories of people of achievement often show that obstacles and struggles are the stepping stones to success.” – Michal Stawicki

16. “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Achievement Quotes to Help You Attain Great Success

17. “Great achievement often happens when our backs are up against the wall. Pressure can actually enhance your performance.” – Robin Sharma

18. “High achievers and top performers certainly aren’t average, but they definitely aren’t superhuman—even if you currently see them that way.” – David Fairweather

19. “The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become.” – Harold Taylor

20. “If you say, ‘I have 100% confidence that I will achieve my goal,’ you will find a solution, you will take massive action, you will overcome any obstacles, and after achieving a goal will say, ‘I was right when I said that I can achieve my goal!’” – Andrii Sedniev

21. “Every achievement, from the Nobel Prize to the Oscars, begins with ‘What if,’ consciously or unconsciously.” – Mark Batterson

22. “Any great achievement is preceded by many difficulties, and many lessons; great achievements are not possible without them.” – Brian Tracy

23. “Small, daily, seemingly insignificant improvements and innovations lead to staggering achievements over time.” – Robin Sharma

24. “Big achievements come one small advantage at a time, one step at a time, one day at a time.” – Jim Rohn

Also read: Success Quotes, Encouraging Quotes

Short Achievement Quotes to Lead You to Self-Development

25. “No great achievement is possible without persistent work.” – Bertrand Russell

26. “There are no boundaries on my abilities and achievements.” – Shruti Soni

27. “Where victims see adversity, extreme achievers see opportunity.” – Robin Sharma

28. “The greatest achievement is to outperform yourself.” – Denis Waitley

29. “Don’t mistake activity with achievement.” – John Wooden

30. “Comfort is the enemy of achievement.” – Farrah Gray

31. “The truth is that teamwork is at the heart of great achievement.” – John C. Maxwell

32. “The greatest human achievements have never been for profit.” – H.P. Lovecraft

33. “The starting point of all achievement is desire.” – Napoleon Hill

Also read: Short Quotes, Accomplishment Quotes

Achievement Quotes for Those With Big Dreams and Goals

34. “People who achieve their goals do so with passion, planning, persistence, and purpose.” – Lynda Field

35. “The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams, and your willingness to work hard for them.” – Michelle Obama

36. “Achievement is not about ‘doing something.’ Rather, it’s about ‘being someone.’” – Craig D. Lounsbrough

37. “Faith, hope, love, and insight are the highest achievements of human effort. They are found—given by experience.” – Carl Jung

38. “The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself, and to be worthy of your own approval.” – Denis Waitley

39. “Always ask, ‘Why?’ The more reasons you have to pursue a goal, the better you’ll likely do in terms of achieving it.” – Michael S. Dobson

40. “A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements.” – Orison Swett Marden

41. “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul, a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.” – James Allen Read

Also read: Effort Quotes

Wise Achievement Quotes to Live By

42. “Don’t let others tell you what you can’t do. Don’t let the limitations of others limit your vision. If you can remove your self-doubt and believe in yourself, you can achieve what you never thought possible.” – Roy T. Bennett

43. “Cherish your visions, and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” – Napoleon Hill

44. “Every time you encounter an impressive achievement, ask, ‘What did it take to make that happen?’ Scratch the surface on any significant accomplishment—you will find grit.” – Paul G. Stoltz

Positive Achievement Quotes That’ll Give You Something to Think About

45. “I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life, I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it.” – Michael Jordan

46. “Achievement, in the long run, is that which serves the betterment of those around us through sharing, giving, encouragement, and compassion.” – Byron Pulsifer

47. “Death comes to all, but great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

48. “Don’t mistake movement for achievement. It’s easy to get faked out by being busy. The question is, busy doing what?” – Jim Rohn

49. “Great achievement requires personal force, determined spirit, and self-confidence.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

50. “In order to achieve anything, we must have an understanding of its opposite.” – Rudy Scarfalloto

51. “If you believe that achievement ends with retirement, you will slowly fade away. First of all, keeping the mind active is one way to prolong your life, and to enjoy life to its fullest for as long as possible.” – Byron Pulsifer

52. “There is no shortcut to achievement. Life requires thorough preparation—veneer isn’t worth anything.” – George Washington Carver

Achievement Quotes That’ll Make You Trust Yourself More

53. “Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” – Golda Meir

54. “People have a tremendous capacity for outstanding achievement. There are also many extraordinary capacities that allow them to become high achievers.” – Steve Brunkhorst

55. “The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible.” – Mary Baker Eddy

Other Achievement Quotes That You Will Enjoy

56. “Achieving a goal is a very proactive step in someone’s life, and if you don’t have the proper attitude and determination, it may not work out as well as you had hoped for.” – Sharlene Snow

57. “If your desire is pale and flabby, your achievements will also take on that hue and consistency.” – Dale Carnegie

58. “Every achievement is a servitude. It compels us to higher achievement.” – Albert Camus

59. “Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this.” – Stephen Hawking

60. “The easiest way to set goals is to answer the following questions, ‘What is it I want to achieve? When do I want to achieve it? Where am I today, and what action do I need to take to achieve my goal?’” – Catherine Pulsifer

Did These Achievement Quotes Make You Realize How Far You’ve Come in Life?

As humans, we get a great sense of accomplishment when we achieve something. But, because of the hardships we face, we think of giving up before we actually meet success.

We must remember that achievements require struggle, failure, and painful effort, too. This mindset of giving up and letting go will never be the answer and solution. If we don’t move forward with great determination and resolve, we will never step foot on the platform of our ultimate goals.

Whenever you get overwhelmed, look at the next step in front of you. Know that even if your main goal is still far away, the level you are at now is already a big achievement on its own.

You’ll feel tired; you might even be on the edge of giving up and letting go of all hope. But, remember that beyond all the hardships lie your biggest and grandest dreams.

With that, we hope this list of the best achievement quotes was able to help you get a grasp of the kind of mindset you need to reach your goals. Slow progress is still progress; what is important is that you’re always moving forward.

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Karen Danao

Hi, I’m Karen, a content curator and writer for Quote Ambition; I’m also a marketing and advertising professional. Beyond the keyboard and the screen, I’m someone who’s out to enjoy every bit that life has to offer!

Poetry, philosophy, history, and movies are all topics I love writing about! However, my true passion is in traveling, photography, and finding common ground to which everyone from different cultures can relate.

With the many places I’ve been to, I found that love, inspiration, and happiness are some things that bring people together. No matter how different we are on the outside, I’m a true believer that our emotions don’t lie; if you dig deep into our psyche, we’re all the same inside.

This belief was further amplified when I joined Quote Ambition. Through the quotes I’ve read, collected, organized, and written about, I found that humans are resilient, creative, and compassionate.

We take from each others’ hearts and courage, and it’s through our individual experiences that we learn how to rise above our challenges and pain. In so many ways, Quote Ambition is a platform that allows people from all over the world to gain the inspiration they need anytime, anywhere!

You can find me on MuckRack and LinkedIn.