These 220 short quotes will motivate you to keep going and provide you with the energy to brighten your day.
Life is too hectic, and everything moves too quickly. If you need to recharge fast, short quotes are probably the best way to go.
Short quotes are like your favorite espresso shots in the morning. They will energize and awaken your inner spirit, allowing you to start your day on the right foot. Here are some insightful quotes from famous and successful people to help you get through your week.
See the complete list below.
And make sure to check out these moving on quotes and quotes that encourage.
Best Short Quotes
1. “Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S Eliot
2. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West
3. “Keep calm and carry on.” – Winston Churchill
4. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
5. “Never regret anything that made you smile.” – Mark Twain
6. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll
7. “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” – Dalai Lama
8. “Happiness is a state of activity.” – Aristotle
9. “Get busy living or get busy dying.” – Stephen King
10. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
11. “Change the world by being yourself.” – Amy Poehler
12. “You do not find the happy life. You make it.” – Camilla Eyring Kimball
13. “Dream big and dare to fail.” – Norman Vaughan
14. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
15. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius
Famous Short Quotes
16. “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
17. “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!’” – Audrey Hepburn
18. “Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” – Jim Rohn
19. “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein
20. “Aspire to inspire before we expire.” – Anonymous
21. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
22. “What we think, we become.” – Buddha
23. “Die with memories, not dreams.” – Anonymous
24. “Whatever you do, do it well.” – Walt Disney
25. “Love for all, hatred for none.” – Khalifatul Masih III
26. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
27. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
28. “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” – Helen Keller
29. “Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln
30. “Make each day your masterpiece.” – John Wooden
Short Inspirational Quotes to Rejuvenate Your Day
31. “Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso
32. “Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett
33. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into place.” – Lucille Ball
34. “Impossible is for the unwilling.” – John Keats
35. “Determine your priorities and focus on them.” – Eileen McDargh
36. “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” – Christopher Reeve
37. “Tough times never last but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller
38. “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
39. “Life changes very quickly, in a very positive way, if you let it.” – Lindsey Vonn
40. “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” – Helen Keller
41. “Have enough courage to start and enough heart to finish.” – Jessica N. S. Yourko
42. “Stay foolish to stay sane.” – Maxime Lagacé
43. “Good things happen to those who hustle.” – Anaïs Nin
44. “The fastest road to meaning and success: choose one thing and go all-in.” – Maxime Lagacé
45. “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton
Amazing Short Quotes About Confidence to Make You Feel Better
46. “You are your best thing.” – Toni Morrison
47. “He who is brave is free.” – Seneca
48. “Every man dies. Not every man lives.” – William Wallace
49. “Prove them wrong.” – Anonymous
50. “If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
51. “We grow fearless when we do the things we fear.” – Robin Sharma
52. “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
53. “Take the risk or lose the chance.” – Anonymous
54. “All limitations are self-imposed.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
55. “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” – Truman Capote
56. “One day the people that don’t even believe in you will tell everyone how they met you.” – Johnny Depp
57. “No pressure, no diamonds.” – Thomas Carlyle
58. “Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.” – Winston Churchill
59. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
60. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin
Short Quotes to Motivate You to Never Give Up
61. “No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” – Demi Lovato
62. “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” – W. Clement Stone
63. “He who has a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any ‘how.’” – Friedrich Nietzsche
64. “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” – Robert H. Schiuller
65. “We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.” – Helen Keller
66. “There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.” – Augustine of Hippo
67. “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth
68. “Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.” – Hafez
69. “When nothing goes right, go left.” – Anonymous
70. “Go forth on your path, as it exists only through your walking.” – Augustine of Hippo
71. “You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” – Michael Phelps
72. “When you cease to dream you cease to live.” – Malcolm Forbes
73. “Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the errors that counts.” – Nikki Giovanni
74. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
75. “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” – Carol Burnett
Powerful Short Quotes That Will Change Your Life
76. “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain
77. “Limit your ‘always’ and your ‘nevers.’” – Amy Poehler
78. “You can’t be hesitant about who you are.” – Viola Davis
79. “I’d rather be optimistic and a fool, than pessimistic and right.” – Anonymous
80. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein
81. “Don’t tell people your plans. Show them your results.” – Anonymous
82. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem
83. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
84. “The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” – Buddha
85. “The most wasted of days is one without laughter.” – E.E. Cummings
86. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton
87. “The person who tries to do everything, ultimately accomplishes nothing.” – Robin Sharma
88. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison
89. “I’m starting to think this world is just a place for us to learn that we need each other more than we want to admit.” – Richelle E. Goodrich
90. “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary
Short Quotes That’ll Encourage You to Work Hard and Persevere to Succeed in Life
91. “Success is a journey, not a destination.” – Ben Sweetland
92. “Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” – Henry David Thoreau
93. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill
94. “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” – Steve Martin
95. “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” – Napoleon Hill
96. “Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” – James Dean
97. “There is no substitute for hard work.” – Thomas Edison
98. “Life is fragile. We’re not guaranteed a tomorrow so give it everything you’ve got.” – Tim Cook
99. “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.“ – Lance Armstrong
100. “Persistence guarantees that results are inevitable.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
101. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive.” – Maya Angelou
102. “To be the best, you must be able to handle the worst.” – Wilson Kanadi
103. “If it matters to you, you’ll find a way.” – Charlie Gilkey
104. “You never fail until you stop trying.” – Albert Einstein
105. “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
Short but Meaningful Quotes to Make Someone Smile
106. “Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” – John Barrymore
107. “You are enough just as you are.” – Meghan Markle
108. “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain
109. “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius
110. “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you.” – Dr. Seuss
111. “Some days you just have to create your own sunshine.” – Anonymous
112. “Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.” – Isaac Asimov
113. “Give light and people will find the way.” – Ella Baker
114. “Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
115. “Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” – Albert Schweitzer
116. “To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” – Dr. Seuss
117. “Life doesn’t require that we be the best, only that we try our best.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
118. “I could agree with you but then we’d both be wrong.” – Harvey Specter
119. “Miracles happen every day, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.” – Jon Bon Jovi
120. “Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan
Thought-Provoking Short Quotes About Self-Worth and Reflection
121. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
122. “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss
123. “When you finally learn your self-worth—you stop giving others discounts.” – Anonymous
124. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
125. “Always remember that you are unique—just like everybody else.” – Anonymous
126. “You can if you think you can.” – George Reeves
127. “I was built this way for a reason, so I’m going to use it.” – Simone Biles
128. “All emotion is involuntary when genuine.” – Mark Twain
129. “Self-esteem means knowing you are the dream.” – Oprah Winfrey
130. “Think and wonder, wonder and think.” – Dr. Seuss
131. “Be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
132. “What consumes your mind controls your life.” – Anonymous
133. “Don’t you know your imperfections are a blessing?” – Kendrick Lamar
134. “I have standards I don’t plan on lowering for anybody, including myself.” – Zendaya
135. “If you prioritize yourself, you are going to save yourself.” – Gabrielle Union
Short Quotes That’ll Make You Think About the Importance of Time and Life
136. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci
137. “Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.” – Seneca
138. “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
139. “In order to write about life first you must live it.” – Ernest Hemingway
140. “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” – Leo Burnett
141. “The trouble is you think you have time.” – Buddha
142. “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius
143. “The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
144. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
145. “Don’t wait, the time will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill
146. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler
147. “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
148. “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.” – Soren Kierkegaard
Short Quotes That Delve Into Happiness and Kindness
149. “Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” – J.M. Barrie
150. “There is no way to happiness—happiness is the way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
151. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” – Maya Angelou
152. “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” – Henri J.M. Nouwen
153. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of others.” – Charles Dickens
154. “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama
155. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
156. “We have a responsibility to help those around us and help others in need.” – Virginia Williams
157. “No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank
158. “No greater gift there is, than a generous heart.” – Yoda
159. “Take time to do what makes your soul happy.” – Anonymous
160. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens.” – Helen Keller
161. “Sadness flies away on the wings of time.” – Jean de La Fontaine
Short Quotes to Help You Stop Worrying and Instead Be More Grateful for Life
162. “We need much less than we think we need.” – Maya Angelou
163. “A jug fills drop by drop.” – Buddha
164. “Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe.” – Mark Twain
165. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
166. “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
167. “Life is as easy or as hard as you think it is.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie
168. “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin
169. “Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.” – André Gide
170. “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?” – Steven Wright
Short Quotes About Love
171. “Hate comes from intimidation, love comes from appreciation.” – Tyga
172. “You’ve got to learn to leave the table when love’s no longer being served.” – Nina Simone
173. “Where there is love there is life.” – Mahatma Gandhi
174. “Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Short Quotes on Avoiding Hate and Trouble
175. “Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument.” – Desmond Tutu
176. “When anger rises, think of the consequences.” – Confucius
177. “Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.” – Maya Angelou
178. “Never let your emotions overpower your intelligence.” – Drake
179. “The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.” – Dalai Lama
Wise Short Quotes to Guide You in Starting a New Beginning
180. “The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.” – Henry Ford
181. “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” – Soren Kierkegaard
182. “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” – Ralph Emerson
183. “Yesterday you said tomorrow. Just do it.” – Nike
184. “No great thing is created suddenly.” – Epictetus
185. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton
186. “The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” – Bruce Lee
187. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
188. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
189. “The only thing that can grow is the thing you give energy to.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
190. “Every noble work is at first impossible.” – Thomas Carlyle
191. “The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.” – Elbert Hubbard
192. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
193. “Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today.” – Tim Fargo
Short Quotes to Make Your Day a Little Bit Brighter
194. “No guts, no story.” – Chris Brady
195. “You get what you give.” – Jennifer Lopez
196. “Live your dreams.” – Les Brown
197. “Begin anywhere.” – John Cage
198. “Keep going. Be all in.” – Bryan Hutchinson
199. “Everything takes time to grow.” – Anonymous
200. “Leave no stone unturned.” – Euripides
201. “Oh, the things you can find, if you don’t stay behind.” – Dr. Seuss
202. “I don’t need it to be easy, I need it to be worth it.” – Lil Wayne
203. “Reality is wrong, dreams are for real.” – Tupac
204. “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” – Rumi
205. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
206. “The healthiest response to life is joy.” – Deepak Chopra
207. “Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.” – John Heywood
208. “The greatest pleasure of life is love.” – Euripides
More Uplifting Short Quotes You’ll Love
209. “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
210. “No one is perfect—that’s why pencils have erasers.” – Anonymous
211. “The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down.” – Anonymous
212. “Once you start, it gets easier from there.” – Anonymous
213. “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
214. “Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible to do.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton
215. “When in doubt, throw doubt out and have a little faith.” – E.A. Bucchianeri
216. “Dream big, stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the journey.” – Urijah Faber
217. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
218. “Things will always work out.” – Anonymous
219. “Always make room for more kindness in your life.” – Anonymous
220. “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” – Dolly Parton
How Do You Stay Energized Throughout the Week?
We face different challenges every day, and not every time do we have someone to turn to for assistance. It’s a good thing we have short quotes from famous and successful people who have already walked this path.
Finding inspiration from a successful person is only a halfway solution to what they already have. Always remember that though reading through other peoples’ thoughts and experiences can help, it’s not enough to just keep it in your mind. You have to act too.
Even if you’re pressed for time, a minute spent reading through these short quotes will give you a productive and satisfying day. It might even inspire you to do better in whatever challenge you’ll be facing—may it be a meeting, a presentation, or just a simple gathering with friends and colleagues. Allow these short quotes to give you the energy to face whatever’s coming your way!
Which of these short quotes resonated with you the most? Do you have any other quotes you’d like to add? Please, let us know in the thread below!
