If you think your existence is worthless, these 35 It’s a Wonderful Life quotes are for you!
It’s a Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey, who sacrifices a lot to do good deeds. Even if it means slowly getting farther away from his dreams, he never thinks twice about prioritizing and helping others. But, remember, while serving others, we also need to work on our own lives and goals.
Because of George’s sacrifices and unending problems, he felt empty. He came to a point where he thought his existence didn’t have any purpose. This sad thought made him consider taking his own life.
Thankfully, he was visited by an angel who showed him what the world would be like if he’d never been born. After realizing how he touches many people’s lives, George again embraces his life. He learns that positively impacting others is already a dream come true.
Indeed, this movie makes us realize that God always has a purpose in giving us life. So, we should not waste it despite any trials. Keep reading if you want to be inspired and learn that your life is meaningful!
And don’t forget to check out these A Christmas Story quotes and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation quotes.
Best It’s a Wonderful Life Quotes
1. “You see George, you really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?” – Clarence
2. “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.” – Clarence
3. “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” – Clarence
4. Zuzu Bailey: “Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
George Bailey: “That’s right, that’s right. Attaboy, Clarence.”
5. George Bailey: “Look, who are you? Who are you really?”
Clarence: “I told you, George. I’m your guardian angel.”
George Bailey: “Yeah, well what else are you? Are you a hypnotist?”
Clarence: “No, of course not.”
George Bailey: “Then why am I seeing all these strange things?”
Clarence: “Don’t you understand, George? It’s because you were never born.”
George Bailey: “Well, if I was never born, who am I?”
Clarence: “You’re nobody. You have no identity.”
George Bailey: “What do you mean no identity? My name is George Bailey!”
Clarence: “There is no George Bailey. You have no papers, no cards, no driver’s license, no 4-F card, no insurance policy. They’re not there either.”
George Bailey: “What?”
Clarence: “Zuzu’s petals. You’ve been given a great gift, George. A chance to see what the world would be like without you.”
6. “Just a minute, just a minute. Now, hold on, Mr. Potter. You’re right when you say my father was no businessman. I know that. Why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante Building and Loan, I’ll never know. But neither you nor anyone else can say anything against his character because his whole life was. Why, in the 25 years since he and his brother, Uncle Billy, started this thing, he never once thought of himself. Isn’t that right, Uncle Billy? He didn’t save enough money to send Harry away to college, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter, and what’s wrong with that? Why, here, you’re all businessmen here. Doesn’t it make them better citizens? Doesn’t it make them better customers? You said, what’d you say a minute ago? They had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. Wait? Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they’re so old and broken down that they—do you know how long it takes a working man to save $5,000? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn’t think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle. Well in my book, my father died a much richer man than you’ll ever be.” – George Bailey
7. “A toast to my big brother George. The richest man in town.” – Harry Bailey
8. Senior Angel: “A man down on Earth needs our help.”
Clarence: “Splendid. Is he sick?”
Senior Angel: “No, worse. He’s discouraged. At exactly 10:45 PM Earth time, that man will be thinking seriously about throwing away God’s greatest gift.”
9. George Bailey: “What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary.”
Mary Hatch: “I’ll take it. Then what?”
George Bailey: “Well, then you can swallow it, and it’ll all dissolve, see? And the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair. Am I talking too much?”
10. George Bailey: “I couldn’t face being cooped up for the rest of my life in a shabby little office. Oh, I’m sorry Pop, I didn’t mean that, but it’s this business of nickels and dimes and spending all your life trying to figure out how to save three cents on a length of pipe. I’d go crazy. I want to do something big and something important.”
Pa Bailey: “You know George, I feel that in a small way we are doing something important. It’s deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace, and we’re helping him get those things in our shabby little office.”
George Bailey: “I know, Dad. I wish I felt, but I’ve been hoarding pennies like a miser in order to. Most of my friends have already finished college. I just feel like if I don’t get away, I’d bust.”
Pa Bailey: “Yes, yes. You’re right, son.”
George Bailey: “You see what I mean, don’t you, Pa?”
Pa Bailey: “This town is no place for any man unless he’s willing to crawl to Potter. You’ve got talent, son. You get yourself an education. Then, get out of here.”
George Bailey: “Pa, do you want a shock? I think you’re a great guy.”
It’s a Wonderful Life Quotes to Keep In Your Heart
11. “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.” – Pa Bailey
12. Mary Hatch: “Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for.”
George Bailey: “You’re wonderful.”
13. “I know what I’m gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and next year, and the year after that.” – George Bailey
14. George Bailey: “This is a very interesting situation!”
Mary Hatch: “Please give me my robe.”
George Bailey: “A man doesn’t get in a situation like this every day.”
15. “Look, we’re still in business! We’ve still got two bucks left!” – George Bailey
16. “Is this the ear you can’t hear on? George Bailey, I’ll love you ’til the day I die.” – Mary Hatch
17. “Dear Father in Heaven, I’m not a praying man, but if you’re up there and you can hear me, show me the way, show me the way.” – George Bailey
18. George Bailey: “Well, you look about the kind of angel I’d get. Sort of a fallen angel, aren’t you? What happened to your wings?”
Clarence: “I haven’t won my wings, yet. That’s why I’m called an Angel Second Class. I have to earn them. And you’ll help me, will you?”
George Bailey: “Sure, sure. How?”
Clarence: “By letting me help you.”
George Bailey: “I know one way you can help me. You don’t happen to have 8,000 bucks on you?”
Clarence: “No, we don’t use money in Heaven.”
George Bailey: “Oh yeah, that’s right. I keep forgetting. Comes in pretty handy down here, bub!”
19. Zuzu Bailey: “I’m not sleepy. I want to look at my flower.”
George Bailey: “I know, I know. But you just go to sleep, and then you can dream about it, and it’ll be a whole garden.”
Zuzu Bailey: “It will?”
George Bailey: “Uh huh.”
20. “You sit around here, and you spin your little webs, and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn’t, Mr. Potter. In the whole vast configuration of things, I’d say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider!” – George Bailey
21. “Peter Bailey was not a businessman. That’s what killed him. Oh, I don’t mean any disrespect to him, God rest his soul. He was a man of high ideals, so-called. But ideals without common sense can ruin this town.” – Henry F. Potter
22. Clarence: “So, you still think that killing yourself would make everyone feel happier, eh?”
George Bailey: “Oh, I don’t know. I guess you’re right. I supposed it would have been better if I’d never been born at all.”
Clarence: “What did you say?”
George Bailey: “I said I wished I was never born!”
Clarence: “Oh, you mustn’t say things like that. Oh, now wait a minute. That’s an idea now, isn’t it? What do you think? Ahh, that will do it. Alright, George, you’ve got your wish—you’ve never been born.”
23. “Look at you. You used to be so cocky. You were going to go out and conquer the world. You once called me ‘a warped, frustrated, old man!’ What are you but a warped, frustrated young man? A miserable little clerk crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help. No securities, no stocks, no bonds, nothin’ but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. You’re worth more dead than alive! Why don’t you go to the riffraff you love so much and ask them to let you have $8,000? You know why? Because they’d run you out of town on a rail. But I’ll tell you what I’m going to do for you, George. Since the state examiner is still here, as a stockholder of the Building and Loan, I’m going to swear out a warrant for your arrest. Misappropriation of funds, manipulation, malfeasance. Alright, George, go ahead! You can’t hide in a little town like this!” – Henry F. Potter
It’s a Wonderful Life Quotes That You Should Read Today
24. Ma Bailey: “Why she lights up like a firefly whenever you are around. Besides, Sam Wainwright is off in New York, and you’re here in Bedford Falls.”
George Bailey: “And all’s fair in love and war, right?”
Ma Bailey: “Well, I don’t know about war.”
25. “Help me, Clarence! Get me back! Get me back, I don’t care what happens to me! Get me back to my wife and kids! Help me, Clarence, please! Please! I wanna live again. I wanna live again. Please, God, let me live again.” – George Bailey
26. “You call this a happy family? Why do we have to have all these kids?” – George Bailey
27. “George, I am an old man and most people hate me. But I don’t like them either, so that makes it all even.” – Henry F. Potter
28. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing marrying this two-headed brother of mine?” – George Bailey
Short It’s a Wonderful Life Quotes for You to Bear in Mind
29. “You look a little older without your clothes on.” – George Bailey
30. “I’m a rich tourist today. How about driving me home in style?” – George Bailey
31. “What do you think I am, a dictionary?” – George Bailey
More It’s a Wonderful Life Quotes That Will Warm Your Soul
32. Man on Porch: “Why don’t you kiss her instead of talking her to death?”
George Bailey: “You want me to kiss her, huh?”
Man on Porch: “Ah, youth is wasted on the wrong people.”
33. Mr. Emil Gower: “I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, dear Father.”
Giuseppe Martini: “Joseph, Jesus, and Mary. Help my friend, Mr. Bailey.”
Ma Bailey: “Help my son, George, tonight.”
Bert: “He never thinks about himself, God; that’s why he’s in trouble.”
Ernie Bishop: “George is a good guy. Give him a break, God.”
Mary Hatch: “I love him, dear Lord. Watch over him tonight.”
Janie Bailey: “Please, God, something’s the matter with Daddy.”
Zuzu Bailey: “Please bring Daddy back.”
34. Clarence: “Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine.”
George Bailey: “That’s a lie! Harry Bailey went to war! He got the Congressional Medal of Honor! He saved the lives of every man on that transport!”
Clarence: “Every man on that transport died. Harry wasn’t there to save them, because you weren’t there to save Harry.”
35. Bert: “Isn’t there any romance in you?”
Ernie Bishop: “Sure, I had it. But I got rid of it.”
Did This Collection Help You Value Your Life Even More?
In It’s a Wonderful Life, there are a lot of things that would have been different without George’s existence. However, he still thinks his life is worthless because of his struggles and pain. Like George, we often fail to realize that every second we have in the world matters.
We should not wait for an angel to come over before we realize our life’s importance. Remember, God makes no mistakes in giving us our lives; He has a purpose for every soul. So, you must always view your life as a beautiful gift!
Don’t ever let pain win and take your life away from you. If you are at the peak of giving up, think about all the good things you have done and give yourself credit for them.
Always value your existence no matter how hard it is to keep going. Remember, life is not measured in achievements, salaries, or anything material. It’s about how you live, impact others, and spread compassion.
Despite any struggle and challenge, know that your life is extraordinary! You have a purpose, and the world wouldn’t be the same without you.
