The 220 Most Famous Quotes of All Time

Be inspired by these famous quotes that capture the words of the world’s greatest thinkers and leaders!

In life, we have many idols. They can be leaders, thinkers, CEOs, athletes, or others. We look up to them because, in their own ways, they were able to make significant contributions to the world—big or small.

Be inspired by these famous quotes from historical figures such as Shakespeare, Gandhi, Einstein, and many others! They all shared wisdom on various topics that will assist you in overcoming adversity in your life, so there’s no doubt you’ll learn a thing or two from them.

Check out the entire list below, and you won’t be sorry.

Let’s get started!

Most Famous Quotes of All Time

1. “It’s fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney

2. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

3. “The end doesn’t justify the means.” – Sergey Nechayev

4. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela

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

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

7. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu

8. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

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

10. “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein

11. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

12. “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa

13. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.” – Steve Jobs

14. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” – Paulo Coelho

15. “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” – Buddha

Famous Quotes That Will Inspire You

16. “Tough times never last but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller

17. “If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?” – Joe Namath

18. “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou

19. “Everything negative—pressure, challenges—is all an opportunity for me to rise.” – Kobe Bryant

20. “You’re not defined by your past; you’re prepared by it. You’re stronger, more experienced, and you have greater confidence.” – Joel Osteen

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

22. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha

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

24. “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

25. “Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.” – Celine Dion

26. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Also read: Inspirational Quotes, Encouraging Quotes

Famous Quotes About Life

27. “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” – John Lennon

28. “Life is too short for long-term grudges.” – Elon Musk

29. “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein

30. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

31. “Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius

32. “Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.” – Lillian Dickson

33. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” – Elbert Hubbard

34. “If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey

35. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller

36. “Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.” – Seneca

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

38. “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

39. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

40. “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” – Charles Swindoll

41. “There are three things you can do with your life: you can waste it, you can spend it, or you can invest it. The best use of your life is to invest it in something that will last longer than your time on Earth.” – Rick Warren

Also read: Quotes to Live By, Funny Quotes

Famous Quotes That Zoom in on Success

42. “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” – Estee Lauder

43. “The key to success is to develop a winning edge.” – Brian Tracy

44. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

45. “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton

46. “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell

47. “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs

48. “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee

49. “The secret of success is to do the common thing uncommonly well.” – John D. Rockefeller Jr.

50. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

51. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

52. “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn

53. “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale

54. “You’ll never achieve real success unless you like what you’re doing.” – Dale Carnegie

Famous Quotes on Love

55. “Where there is love there is life.” – Mahatma Gandhi

56. “The greatest pleasure of life is love.” – Euripides

57. “Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.” – Oscar Wilde

58. “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” – Alfred Lord Tennyson

59. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu

60. “I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter.” – Ellen DeGeneres

61. “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get—only with what you are expecting to give—which is everything.” – Katharine Hepburn

62. “In this life, we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa

63. “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” – Maya Angelou

64. “Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.” – Joan Crawford

65. “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.” – George Sand

66. “Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

67. “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” – Dr. Seuss

68. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” – Oprah Winfrey

69. “Love is something sent from heaven to worry the hell out of you.” – Dolly Parton

Quotes by Famous People

70. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey

71. “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” – John F. Kennedy

72. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

73. “You only pass through this life once, you don’t come back for an encore.” – Elvis Presley

74. “You could be the world’s best garbage man, the world’s best model; it doesn’t matter what you do if you’re the best.” – Muhammad Ali

75. “Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain.” – Henry Ford

76. “What counts can’t always be counted; what can be counted doesn’t always count.” – Albert Einstein

77. “Actions speak louder than words.” – Abraham Lincoln

78. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle

79. “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

80. “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost

81. “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

82. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” – Muhammad Ali

83. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

84. “When it is obvious that goals can’t be reached, don’t adjust the goals, but adjust the action steps.” – Confucius

Famous Quotes by Women That’ll Open Your Eyes to Reality

85. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel

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

87. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” – Margaret Wolfe Hungerford

88. “All things come to those who wait.” – Lady Mary Montgomerie Currie

89. “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J. K. Rowling

90. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’” – Audrey Hepburn

91. “When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life or the life of another.” – Helen Keller

92. “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” – Margaret Mead

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

94. “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.” – Sheryl Sandberg

95. “Life is very interesting—in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore

96. “Once you figure out who you are and what you love about yourself, I think it all kinda falls into place.” – Jennifer Aniston

Famous Quotes by Men You’ll Learn a Lot From

97. “A great man is always willing to be little.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

99. “The best portion of a good man’s life is his little nameless, unencumbered acts of kindness and of love.” – Wordsworth

100. “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.” – Confucius

Famous Short Quotes

101. “I think, therefore I am.” – René Descartes

102. “Honesty is the best policy.” – Edwin Sandys

103. “Great minds think alike.” – Carl Theodor von Unlanski

104. “All’s well that ends well.” – William Shakespeare

105. “Leave no stone unturned.” – Euripides

106. “I like criticism. It makes you strong.” – LeBron James

107. “The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill

108. “Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa

109. “A man is but what he knows.” – Sir Francis Bacon

110. “I came, I saw, I conquered.” – Julius Caesar

111. “Time is money.” – Benjamin Franklin

112. “Well done is better than well said.” – Benjamin Franklin

113. “Dream big and dare to fail.” – Norman Vaughan

114. “Do, or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

115. “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” – Coco Chanel

Famous Quotes to Help You Get Through the Day

116. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

117. “Get busy living or get busy dying.” – Stephen King

118. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

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

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

121. “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

122. “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

123. “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – Tony Robbins

124. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” – Joe Kennedy

125. “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” – Barack Obama

126. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk

127. “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

128. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” – Dr. Seuss

129. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston S. Churchill

130. “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” – John Wooden

Famous Quotes That Will Make You Think

131. “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain

132. “He who angers you conquers you.” – Elizabeth Kenny

133. “All good things must come to an end.” – Geoffrey Chaucer

134. “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” – Thomas Reid

135. “Bad things are not the worst thing that can happen to us. Nothing is the worst thing that can happen to us.” – Richard Bach

136. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

137. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle

138. “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare

139. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” – Plato

140. “Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” – Buddha

141. “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

142. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein

143. “Live for each second without hesitation.” – Elton John

144. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain

145. “Be nice to people on the way up, because you may meet them on the way down.” – Jimmy Durante

Famous Quotes About Failure and Challenges

146. “The key to success is failure.” – Michael Jordan

147. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison

148. “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” – Beverly Sills

149. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

150. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

151. “A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.” – B. F. Skinner

152. “I didn’t fail the test. I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.” – Benjamin Franklin

153. “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” – Bill Gates

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

155. “Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember, the only taste of success some people get is to take a bite out of you.” – Zig Ziglar

156. “You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

157. “The real test is not whether you avoid this failure because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” – Barack Obama

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

159. “Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” – Dalai Lama

160. “If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person.” – Bill Clinton

Famous Quotes to Help You Overcome Your Fears

161. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

162. “Our greatest fear should not be of failure—but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” – Francis Chan

163. “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” – Les Brown

164. “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” – Alexander the Great

165. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” – Rosa Parks

166. “The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.” – Frank Sinatra

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

168. “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth

Famous Quotes About Chances and Regrets

169. “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” – Voltaire

170. “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb

171. “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” – Wayne Gretzky

172. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

173. “When one door closes, another opens, but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

Famous Quotes on Kindness and Contentment

174. “The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” – Plato

175. “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama

176. “In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.” – Anne Frank

177. “Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.” – Marilyn Monroe

Famous Quotes to Remind You of the True Meaning of Happiness

178. “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” – Dalai Lama

179. “Happiness is a direction, not a place.” – Sydney J. Harris

180. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle

181. “Whoever is happy will make others happy too.” – Anne Frank

182. “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln

183. “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” – Victor Hugo

184. “I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.” – John Stuart Mill

185. “The healthiest response to life is joy.” – Deepak Chopra

186. “The secret of happiness, you see is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” – Socrates

187. “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa

188. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein

189. “Happiness doesn’t come from doing what we like to do but from liking what we have to do.” – Wilferd Peterson

190. “We begin, then, with the basic premise that the purpose of our life is to seek happiness. It is a vision of happiness as a real objective, one that we can take positive steps toward achieving.” – Dalai Lama

191. “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Famous Quotes From the Bible

192. “Throw all your anxiety onto Him, because He cares about you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

193. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him won’t perish but will have eternal life.” – John 3:16

194. “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” – Romans 3:23

195. “I can endure all these things through the power of the One who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

196. “The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He lets me rest in grassy meadows; He leads me to restful waters; He keeps me alive.” – Psalm 23

197. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23

198. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” – Jeremiah 29:11

199. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” – Matthew 28:19

200. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6

201. “He was pierced because of our rebellions and crushed because of our crimes. He bore the punishment that made us whole; by His wounds, we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5

202. “It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards people who try to find Him.” – Hebrews 11:6

203. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2

204. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

Famous Quotes That Highlight the Importance of Work and Time Management

205. “The early bird catches the worm.” – John Ray

206. “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” – Alexander Graham Bell

207. “Do not let making a living prevent you from making a life.” – John Wooden

208. “There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do—and I believe that.” – Derek Jeter

Famous Quotes About Children

209. “Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” – Lady Bird Johnson

210. “Children need models rather than critics.” – Joseph Joubert

211. “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” – Frederick Douglass

212. “Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.” – Rabindranath Tagore

213. “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” – Margaret Mead

214. “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela

215. “Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded.” – Jess Lair

216. “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” – Billy Graham

Famous Quotes on Education and Learning

217. “Educate the masses, elevate their standard of intelligence, and you will certainly have a successful nation.” – Alexander Graham Bell

218. “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” – Alexander the Great

219. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

220. “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.” – B. F. Skinner

Which of These Quotes Shifted Your Perspective?

These famous quotes are ideal for anyone seeking motivation and encouragement to keep going. Remember that life will never tire of putting us to the test, no exceptions. Even famous people failed many times in life, but they continued to strive for success.

They have gone through what we are going through now, so learning from them will make it easier for us to cope. We may approach life in different ways, but these encouraging quotes are an excellent place to start.

We hope this collection of the most famous quotes was able to inspire you to continue moving toward a happier and more fulfilled life! Don’t forget to share it with your loved ones to make their lives better.

Which of these famous quotes inspired you the most? Did we miss any of your favorite quotes? Please, leave them in the comments section below so we can include them for you!