113 Inspirational & Empowering Quotes From Speeches For A Successful Life

Last Updated on February 14, 2024

“Life Is What Happens To Us While We Are Making Other Plans.” – Allen Saunders

From time immemorial, humans have relied on inspiration and empowerment to achieve success in their lives. Get experience, knowledge and motivation through inspirational quotes from speeches.

Whether it is through reading books, listening to music, or watching movies, we seek sources of motivation that help us overcome obstacles and achieve our goals. 

One of the most powerful sources of inspiration and empowerment is through listening to speeches that are meant to inspire and motivate us to achieve greatness.

Inspirational and empowering speeches can come in many different forms. 

They can be given by successful entrepreneurs, politicians, artists, athletes, or anyone who has achieved great things in their life. 

These speeches are designed to inspire and motivate us to pursue our goals, overcome obstacles, and achieve success in our own lives.

One of the greatest benefits of listening to inspirational and empowering speeches is that they can help us break through mental barriers and limiting beliefs that hold us back. 

When we hear stories of other people who have faced similar challenges and overcome them, it can help us to believe that we can do the same. 

Hearing powerful messages of resilience, determination, and success can help us shift our mindset from one of doubt and fear to one of confidence and possibility.

Another benefit of listening to inspirational and empowering speeches is that they can provide us with practical advice and guidance for achieving our goals. 

Successful people often share their strategies, insights, and tips for success, which can be invaluable for anyone who is looking to achieve greatness in their own life. 

Whether it is advice on how to develop a growth mindset, how to build resilience, or how to overcome failure, inspirational and empowering speeches can provide us with the tools we need to achieve our goals.

Overall, listening to inspirational and empowering speeches can be a powerful tool for achieving success in our lives. 

By providing us with motivation, inspiration, and practical advice, these speeches can help us break through mental barriers and limiting beliefs, and achieve our goals. 

Whether you are an entrepreneur, athlete, artist, or anyone who is looking to achieve greatness in your own life, listening to inspirational and empowering speeches can help you realize your full potential and live the life of your dreams.

Inspirational & Motivational Quotes  

1. “Fairytales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairytales tell children that dragons can be killed.” – G K Chesterton

2. “People tell you the world looks a certain way. Parents tell you how to think. Schools tell you how to think. TV. Religion. And then at a certain point, if you’re lucky, you realize you can make up your own mind. Nobody sets the rules but you. You can design your own life.” – Carrie Ann Moss

3. “We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action. Fear is nature’s way of warning us to get busy.” – Dr. Henry Link

4. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem

5. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler

6. “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” – Allen Saunders

7. “The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” – Hasidic Proverb

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8. “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” – Helen Keller

9. “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot ― it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” – Maya Angelou

10. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

11. “You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.” – Unknown

12. “Some women choose to follow men, and some choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.” – Lady Gaga

13. “Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

14. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman

15. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” – Dale Carnegie

16. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

17. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair

18. “You are who you are meant to be. Dance as if no one’s watching. Love as if it’s all you know. Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” – James Dean

19. “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth.” – William W. Purkey

20. “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” – Brian Tracy

21. “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius

22. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle

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23. “Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow.” – Mahatma Gandhi

24. “You do not find the happy life. You make it.” – Camilla Eyring Kimball

25. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz

26. “What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” – Don Zimmer

27. “Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln

28. “Fake it until you make it! Act as if you had all the confidence you require until it becomes your reality.” – Brian Tracy

29. “It is only when we take chances, when our lives improve. The initial and the most difficult risk that we need to take is to become honest.” – Walter Anderson

30. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

Fairy Tale Inspirational Quotes           

31. “With a smile and a song, life is just like a bright sunny day. Your cares fade away.” – Snow White

32. “When we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now…” – Hans Christian Andersen, The Snow Queen

33. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible then treat possibilities as probabilities.” – Charles Dickens

34. “It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” – Alice, Alice In Wonderland

35. “Just because it’s what’s done doesn’t mean it’s what should be done!” – Cinderella

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36. “I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

37. “Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine.” – Snow White

38. “If you dream a thing more than once, it’s sure to come true.” – Sleeping Beauty

39. “Laughter is timeless, imagination had no age, and dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney

40. “My heart has wings and I can fly. I’ll touch every star in the sky. So this is the miracle I’ve been dreaming of.” – Snow White

Quotes To Overcome Distress Situations      

41. “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi

42. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

43. “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” – Vince Lombardi

44. “There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking.” – Brian Tracy

45. “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean

46. “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” – Malala Yousafzai

47. “Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.” – Deep Roy

48. “Develop an ‘attitude of gratitude.’ Say thank you to everyone you meet for everything you do.” – Brian Tracy

49. “When one door closes, sometimes we need to turn the knob to open another…” – J.A. Tran

50. “We become what we think about.” – Earl Nightingale

51. “Leaders never use the word failure. They look upon setbacks as learning experiences.” – Brian Tracy

52. “The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

53. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller

54. “Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today.” – Will Rogers

55. “Leaders set high standards. Refuse to tolerate mediocrity or poor performance.” – Brian Tracy

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Inspirational Quotes To Boost Self-Confidence         

56. “Belief creates the actual fact.” – William James

57. “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau

58. “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe

59. “Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.” – Henry David Thoreau

60. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings

61. “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James

62. “There is no remedy for love but to love more.” – Henry David Thoreau

63. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela

64. “If you can change your mind, you can change your life.” – William James

65. “Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

66. “As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.” – Henry David Thoreau

67. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James

68. “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” – Zig Ziglar

69. “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

70. “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James

Inspirational Life Quotes To Succeed

71. “Everything that you are going through is preparing you for what you’ve asked for.” – Unknown

72. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

73. “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” – James Cameron

74. “Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness and bad days give you experience.” – Unknown

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75. “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl

76. “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” – Oscar Wilde

77. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – T. Roosevelt

78. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

79. “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” – Gerard Way

80. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

81. “Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein

82. “It’s not about how hard you can hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” – Rocky Balboa, Rocky

83. “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

84. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

85. “We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action.” – Dr. Henry Link

86. “There is no elevator to success — you have to take the stairs.” – Anonymous

87. “You only live once, but if you do it right once is enough.” – Mae West

88. “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

89. “If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs

90. “It will never matter what others think of you. It will ALWAYS matter what YOU think of you.” – Fearless Soul

91. “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs / Rob Siltanen

More Powerful Quotes           

92. “The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.” – Henry Ford

93. “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton

94. “Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel

95. “Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

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96. “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.” – Jeff Bezos

97. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein

98. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

99. “Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.” – Ellen DeGeneres

100. “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” – Nelson Mandela

101. “Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them.” – Vaibhav Shah

102. “Courage is grace under pressure.” – Ernest Hemingway

103. “The difference between winning and losing is most often not quitting.” – Walt Disney

104. “It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

105. “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” – Christopher Reeve

106. “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” – David Brinkley

107. “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

108. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller

109. “Success? I don’t know what that word means. I’m happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody’s eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace. That’s a good day for me.” – Denzel Washington

110. “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” –  Warren Buffett

111. “Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.” – Albert Einstein

112. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

113. “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life — think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” – Swami Vivekananda    

How Can Reading Inspirational & Empowering Quotes From Speeches Help You?

Reading inspiring and empowering speeches can help you in a number of ways, including:

1. Motivation: Inspiring speeches can help to motivate you and keep you focused on your goals. They can remind you of the importance of perseverance, hard work, and dedication, and provide you with the inspiration you need to keep going when you encounter obstacles or setbacks.
2. Inspiration: Empowering speeches can inspire you to think outside the box and pursue your dreams with passion and purpose. They can help you to see the world in a new light, and inspire you to believe in your own potential and ability to achieve great things.
3. Perspective: Reading speeches from successful people can provide you with valuable perspective on what it takes to achieve success. They can offer insight into the mindset, habits, and strategies of successful people, and help you to understand what it takes to achieve your goals.
4. Practical Advice: Inspiring speeches often offer practical advice and guidance for achieving success. They may provide you with strategies for overcoming challenges, developing resilience, or building a growth mindset. By implementing these strategies into your own life, you can increase your chances of achieving success.
5. Emotional Well-being: Reading inspiring speeches can also have a positive impact on your emotional well-being. They can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and negative self-talk, and promote feelings of positivity and self-confidence.

Next Steps

Implementing inspiring and empowering speeches into your daily life is relatively easy and can be done in a variety of ways, including:

1. Reading: You can start by reading inspiring speeches in books, articles, or online. You can also subscribe to newsletters or blogs that share inspiring and motivational content.
2. Listening: Another way to incorporate inspiring speeches into your daily routine is by listening to podcasts, TED talks, or audio recordings of speeches. You can listen to them during your commute, while you exercise, or while you do household chores.
3. Watching: You can also watch videos of inspiring speeches on YouTube or other video-sharing platforms. You can watch them during your lunch break or as a part of your evening routine.
4. Journaling: After you read, listen, or watch an inspiring speech, take a few minutes to journal your thoughts and reflections on the speech. This can help you to internalize the message of the speech and apply it to your own life.
5. Discussion: You can also share inspiring speeches with friends, family, or colleagues and discuss the messages and insights that you gained from them. This can help you to deepen your understanding of the speech and gain new perspectives on how to apply it to your life.
6. Action: Finally, the most important step in implementing inspiring speeches into your daily life is to take action. Identify one or two key takeaways from the speech and commit to applying them to your life in a tangible way. This might involve setting a new goal, adopting a new habit, or changing the way you approach a challenge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Are Inspiring Speeches Important?

Inspiring speeches are important because they can motivate and inspire people to take action, pursue their dreams, and overcome obstacles. 

They can provide valuable insight and guidance from successful individuals, and help people to see things from a different perspective. 

They can also promote positive emotions, reduce stress and anxiety, and boost self-confidence.

What Are Some Examples Of Inspiring Speeches?

There are many examples of inspiring speeches from throughout history, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech, and Steve Jobs’ commencement address at Stanford University. 

Other examples include Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globes speech, J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Address, and Brene Brown’s TED Talk on vulnerability.

How Can I Find Inspiring Speeches?

Inspiring speeches can be found in a variety of places, including books, articles, podcasts, videos, and online resources. 

Some good places to start include TED Talks, the Toastmasters International website, and the YouTube channels of prominent speakers and thought leaders. 

You can also search for inspiring speeches on websites such as BrainyQuote and Goodreads, or join online communities focused on personal development and motivation. 

Finally, many libraries and bookstores have dedicated sections for books on personal development and motivational speeches.

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