60 Desire Quotes to Fuel Your Dreams & Passions in Life

Read these top 60 desire quotes and gain the motivation to pursue the things that will bring you satisfaction!

Desire is one of the most critical emotions human beings must understand. Without it, we would be unable to set goals or take action toward our dreams.

But, there are times when our desires—wants—are mistaken for our needs. Our desires trigger the same system in our brains whenever we need something.

So, to not get confused between the two, we must understand their differences better.

There are a couple of things you can think about to differentiate the two.

For example, you might want a delicious meal not because you’re hungry but because you enjoy eating good food. You might want to buy an expensive bag not because you need it but because you just want to own beautiful things.

These statements can help you understand that desires don’t always relate to necessity. Although that’s the case, desires are still the starting point of everything we want to achieve.

So, if you want to understand your desires, read through this list we’ve prepared. With 60 of the best quotes, we’re confident you’ll find some that you will be able to relate to!

Let’s start!

And don’t forget to check out these pleasure quotes and happiness quotes.

Best Desire Quotes

1. “It sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities but its own talents.” – Eric Hoffer

2. “To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.” – Federico García Lorca

3. “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just like as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.” – Napoleon Hill

4. “The intensity of your desire governs the power with which the force is directed.” – John McDonald

5. “Desire knows no boundary. It is simply the very nature of the universe itself. Desire is the very root of the universe.” – Darcy Lyon

6. “Desire, burning desire, is basic to achieving anything beyond the ordinary.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin

7. “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby

8. “There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.” – George Bernard Shaw

9. “We may become masters of desire, instead of being mastered by it.” – William Walker Atkinson

10. “If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world.” – C.S. Lewis

Famous Quotes About Desire

11. “The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing—desire.” – Willa Cather

12. “Ignore what a man desires, and you ignore the very source of his power.” – Walter Lippman

13. “When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.” – Napoleon Hill

14. “Ultimately, it is the desire, not the desired, that we love.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

15. “Desire, not a small desire—but a burning desire, is what makes the difference.” – Jeff Hutchens

16. “Desire is the starting point of all achievement. Not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” – Napoleon Hill

17. “Honor each and every desire you have. Cherish those desires in your heart.” – Deepak Chopra

18. “Desire! That’s the one secret of every man’s career. Not education. Not being born with hidden talents. Desire.” – Bobby Unser

Also read: Famous Quotes, Encouraging Quotes

Desire Quotes for Those Seeking Success

19. “A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.” – Henry Hazlitt

20. “A burning desire is the greatest motivator of every human action. The desire for success implants success consciousness which, in turn, creates a vigorous and ever-increasing habit of success.” – Paul J. Meyer

21. “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” – Robert Kiyosaki

22. “You can really have everything you want if you go after it, but you will have to want it. The desire for success must be so strong within you that it is the very breath of your life—your first thought when you awaken in the morning, your last thought when you go to bed at night.” – Charles E. Popplestone

23. “You’re going to need exactly that burning desire to win if you want to cross the finish line in the first place!” – Monroe Mann

Also read: Success Quotes

Positive Desire Quotes That’ll Strengthen Your Fighting Spirit

24. “Where there is no power, there is never any desire to do a thing; and where there is strong desire to do a thing, the power to do it is strong.” – Wallace D. Wattles

25. “All desire also aims at some goal; for the object of desire is the starting point of intellect concerned with action, and the last stage of our reasoning is the starting point of action.” – Aristotle 

26. “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal—a commitment to excellence that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti

Short Desire Quotes to Ponder On

27. “Desire is possibility seeking expression.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

28. “Desire will in due time externalize itself as concrete fact.” – Thomas Troward

29. “Somewhere in the journey to faith is the heart’s desire.” – Gary Comer

30. “Desire is where we seek to go beyond ourselves into a new realm.” – Peter

31. “Desire creates the power.” – Raymond Holliwell

32. “You are made in the image of what you desire.” – Thomas Merton

33. “One must desire something to be alive.” – Margaret Deland

34. “We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.” – Francois Rabelais

35. “Desire urges me on, while fear bridals me.” – Giordano Bruno

36. “Desire and hope will push us on toward the future.” – Michel de Montaigne

37. “What do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning.” – Charlie Chaplin

38. “What we insistently desire, over time, is what we become.” – Neal A. Maxwell

Also read: Short Quotes

Desire Quotes That’ll Make You Think Twice

39. “Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.” – William Blake

40. “I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire for something beyond the daily life.” – Virginia Woolf

41. “It is very common for us to desire most of what we are least qualified to obtain.” – Samuel Johnson

42. “If I desire to cease desiring, then I have not ceased all desire after all; I have merely replaced one species of desired by another.” – David Webster

43. “How helpless we are, like netted birds, when we are caught by desire!” – Belva Plain

44. “Plant the seed of desire in your mind, and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment.” – Robert Collier

Desire Quotes That’ll Boost Your Will to Win

45. “Out of need springs desire, and out of desire springs the energy and the will to win.” – Denis Waitley

46. “It is said that desire is a product of the will, but the converse is, in fact, true—will is a product of desire.” – Denis Diderot

47. “The desire to win is born in most of us. The will to win is a matter of training. The manner of winning is a matter of honor.” – Margaret Thatcher

Desire Quotes That Talk About Growth and Learning

48. “Always desire to learn something useful.” – Sophocles

49. “We always desire to learn, understand, and practice insights from other people.” – Neil Atkinson

50. “I have a tremendous desire to learn, and to grow, and to develop whatever I have that will make for any kind of improvement in me.” – Lawrence Welk

51. “The only real limitation on your abilities is the level of your desires. If you want it badly enough, there are no limits on what you can achieve.” – Brian Tracy

Desire Quotes That You Need to Read Today

52. “Never, never underestimate the power of desire. If you want to live badly enough, you can live. The great question, at least for me, was ‘How do I decide I want to live?’” – Marya Hornbacher

53. “We cannot exist without desire, but this does not mean that no-self is simply an alternative object of desire replacing the desire of a self for its own fulfillment.” – James W. Heisig

54. “You can have anything you want if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, and do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.” – Abraham Lincoln

55. “A desire arises in the mind. It is satisfied immediately; another comes in the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in mind. It is at this moment freed from all thought, love, or hate. Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves.” – Sivananda

56. “Everyone should desire prosperity in every area of their lives. It is normal for you to want more of life, more love, more peace of mind, and more of all that is good.” – Dr. Larry E. Gallamore

More Desire Quotes for Those Looking for Spiritual Enlightenment

57. “Whatever you really desire within your spiritualized mind and heart, that is what you will begin to create.” – Sandra Masters

58. “Desire is an insubstantial shadow. But turn desire inward, towards the spiritual treasure, then it yields substantial results.” – Sai Baba

59. “Your desire is your prayer. Picture the fulfillment of your desire now and feel its reality, and you will experience the joy of the answered.” – Joseph Murphy

60. “The more wild and incredible your desire, the more willing and prompt God is in fulfilling it if you will have it so.” – Coventry Patmore

Did This Collection Help You Become More in Tune With Your Desires?

When we have a strong desire for something, we will do whatever it takes to achieve it. This happens because desire is a powerful thing that compels us to take action in all aspects of our lives. But, can we achieve our goals only through recognizing our desires?

Your desire for something must be so strong that you will stop at nothing so you can achieve it. This means recognizing the need for effort and sacrifice. It will be challenging, but if your desire to succeed is strong enough, you must be willing to undergo these things.

Even with an intense desire to motivate you, nothing will ever come to fruition without hard work. So, remember to work tirelessly day in and day out, and always give 100% to everything you do.

Keep in mind that you must combine your intense desire with hard work and dedication to accomplish results. With that, we hope these desire quotes were able to provide some insights on how to quench your thirst for success in life. Remember that you should only do things that will make you feel happy and bring you closer to your goals!

Read Next:

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.