Life Quotes: 310 Inspiring Sayings About Living Well

Life quotes are short, memorable sayings that capture wisdom about love, time, change, courage, and happiness. Philosophers, poets, scientists, and leaders have shaped them over centuries. Read them for perspective, share them to encourage others, or use them as daily reminders that a good life is built one choice at a time.

This collection brings together 310 of the best, sorted by theme, with a line of background on every speaker or source. Where credit is disputed, we say so. Use them for captions, cards, toasts, journals, or a quiet reset on a hard Monday.

Why Are Life Quotes Important?

A good quote does the work of a whole speech in one breath. It gives you language for something you already felt but could not say. Ancient teachers knew this: the Stoics, including Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, wrote short, repeatable maxims on purpose, so readers could carry them into a bad afternoon.

Quotes also help you borrow perspective. When you read what Viktor Frankl wrote after surviving the Nazi camps, your own stress shrinks to the right size. That is not magic. It is the same reason people reread favorite poems.

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How Do You Use Life Quotes in Everyday Life?

• Pick one a week. Write it on a sticky note and put it where you will see it.
• Journal on it. Ask yourself where the quote is true in your life right now.
• Share it. A single line in a text or card often says more than a long message.
• Check the source. If a quote seems too perfect, search for the original wording. Many “Einstein” and “Twain” lines are not theirs.

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Famous Life Quotes That Have Stood the Test of Time

These are the lines people quote at graduations, funerals, and weddings. Most have been repeated for decades or centuries. If you want the best quotes about life that nearly everyone recognizes, start here.

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1. “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”  Allen Saunders Context: Cartoonist whose line ran in Reader’s Digest in 1957; John Lennon later made it famous in “Beautiful Boy.”

2. “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”  Robert Frost Context: American poet and four-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

3. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”  Albert Einstein Context: From a 1930 letter to his son Eduard, written when Einstein was 51.

4. “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  Socrates Context: Greek philosopher, speaking at his trial as recorded in Plato’s Apology.

5. “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”  Søren Kierkegaard Context: Danish philosopher, from his journals; often called the father of Existentialism.

6. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”  Helen Keller Context: Author and activist who was deaf and blind from infancy; from her 1940 book Let Us Have Faith.

7. “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”  Oscar Wilde Context: Irish playwright, from his 1891 essay “The Soul of Man Under Socialism.”

8. “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”  William Ernest Henley Context: English poet; closing line of “Invictus” (1875), written while he recovered from surgery.

9. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt Context: U.S. First Lady and diplomat; from her 1960 book You Learn by Living.

10. “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”  James Baldwin Context: American novelist and essayist, from “As Much Truth as One Can Bear” (1962).

11. “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”  Charles Swindoll Context: American pastor and author; this line is a staple of resilience talks.

12. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”  Steve Jobs Context: Apple co-founder, from his 2005 Stanford commencement address.

13. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”  Steve Jobs Context: Same 2005 Stanford speech, delivered a year after his cancer diagnosis.

14. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”  Mae West Context: Actress and playwright; widely attributed to her.

15. “Where there is love there is life.”  Mahatma Gandhi Context: Leader of India’s independence movement; a short, widely shared line of his.

16. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”  Anaïs Nin Context: French-born American diarist whose multi-volume diaries shaped modern confessional writing.

17. “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”  Joseph Campbell Context: Mythologist and author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

18. “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”  Marcus Aurelius Context: Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher; from his private notebook, Meditations (translations vary).

19. “Man is condemned to be free.”  Jean-Paul Sartre Context: French philosopher; from Existentialism Is a Humanism (1946). He meant that we cannot escape responsibility for our choices.

20. “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”  Bertrand Russell Context: British philosopher and Nobel laureate in Literature; from “What I Believe” (1925).

21. “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”  Virginia Woolf Context: English modernist novelist, from A Room of One’s Own (1929).

22. “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”  Robert Frost Context: Closing lines of “The Road Not Taken” (1916), a poem often misread as pure praise of nonconformity.

23. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  Franklin D. Roosevelt Context: U.S. president, from his first inaugural address in 1933, during the Great Depression.

24. “Not all those who wander are lost.”  J.R.R. Tolkien Context: From The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), a line from a poem about Aragorn.

25. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”  J.R.R. Tolkien Context: Spoken by the wizard Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring.

26. “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”  Louisa May Alcott Context: American author, from Little Women (1868).

27. “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”  Henry David Thoreau Context: Transcendentalist writer, from Walden (1854).

28. “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”  Henry David Thoreau Context: From Walden; the common paraphrase “live the life you’ve imagined” is a shortened version.

29. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  Will Durant Context: American historian summarizing Aristotle’s ethics in The Story of Philosophy (1926); often wrongly credited to Aristotle himself.

30. “Life is trying things to see if they work.”  Ray Bradbury Context: Author of Fahrenheit 451, who wrote nearly every day of his adult life.

31. “Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can on it.”  Danny Kaye Context: American entertainer and UNICEF ambassador; a widely cited line of his.

32. “Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.”  Hans Christian Andersen Context: Danish author of “The Little Mermaid” and “The Ugly Duckling.”

33. “Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved.”  D. H. Lawrence Context: English novelist and poet, known for Sons and Lovers.

34. “I exist as I am, that is enough.”  Walt Whitman Context: American poet, from “Song of Myself” in Leaves of Grass.

35. “That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”  Emily Dickinson Context: American poet who published fewer than a dozen poems in her lifetime; from a poem about the preciousness of passing things.

36. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”  William Shakespeare Context: From As You Like It (c. 1599), spoken by the melancholy Jaques.

37. “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”  William Shakespeare Context: From Hamlet, spoken by Ophelia in her madness.

38. “Today you are You, that is truer than true.”  Dr. Seuss Context: From Happy Birthday to You! (1959) by Theodor Geisel.

39. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”  Charles Dickens Context: English novelist, from Our Mutual Friend (1865).

40. “Chance favors only the prepared mind.”  Louis Pasteur Context: French chemist and microbiologist, from an 1854 lecture.

Short Life Quotes for Captions and Quick Inspiration

Short life quotes are perfect for captions, phone wallpapers, and cards. Each of these lands in under 15 words, and most come from thinkers who wrote for a living and knew how to cut.

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41. “Know thyself.”  Ancient Greek maxim Context: Inscribed at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

42. “Carpe diem.”  Horace Context: Roman poet, from his Odes (23 BCE); the Latin means “seize the day.”

43. “While there’s life, there’s hope.”  Cicero Context: Roman statesman; the line appears in a letter to his friend Atticus.

44. “Hope is the thing with feathers.”  Emily Dickinson Context: Opening line of one of her best-loved poems.

45. “This too shall pass.”  Persian adage Context: An old proverb of the Persian Sufi tradition about the passing nature of joy and pain.

46. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”  Japanese proverb Context: A saying tied to the Daruma doll, a symbol of resilience.

47. “Everything flows.”  Heraclitus Context: Greek philosopher; this is the shortest summary of his idea that all things are in motion.

48. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.”  Aristotle Context: Greek philosopher, from the Nicomachean Ethics.

49. “I think, therefore I am.”  René Descartes Context: French philosopher; his bedrock claim of certainty, from 1637.

50. “Less is more.”  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Context: German-American architect who made the phrase a design motto; poet Robert Browning used it earlier.

51. “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”  Seneca Context: Roman Stoic, from his Letters to Lucilius.

52. “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”  Marcus Aurelius Context: From Meditations, Book 10.

53. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  Lao Tzu Context: Ancient Chinese sage, from the Tao Te Ching, chapter 64.

54. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Ian Maclaren Context: Pen name of Scottish minister John Watson; often wrongly credited to Plato.

55. “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”  Steve Jobs Context: The farewell slogan on the back cover of the Whole Earth Catalog, quoted in his 2005 Stanford speech.

56. “The only way out is through.”  Robert Frost Context: From his poem “A Servant to Servants” (1914).

57. “I can resist everything except temptation.”  Oscar Wilde Context: From Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892); a classic example of Wilde’s paradox humor.

58. “Every moment is a fresh beginning.”  T. S. Eliot Context: Nobel Prize-winning poet; from his play The Family Reunion.

59. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”  William James Context: American psychologist and philosopher, often called the father of American psychology.

60. “Variety is the spice of life.”  William Cowper Context: English poet, from The Task (1785).

61. “What you seek is seeking you.”  Rumi Context: 13th-century Persian poet; this popular line comes from modern English translations.

62. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”  Maya Angelou Context: American poet and memoirist, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

63. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”  Maya Angelou Context: A line she repeated in interviews and talks, including with Oprah Winfrey.

64. “Peace begins with a smile.”  Mother Teresa Context: Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1979).

65. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson Context: American essayist and leader of the Transcendentalist movement, from his essay “Circles.”

66. “Well done is better than well said.”  Benjamin Franklin Context: A proverb from Poor Richard’s Almanack, the yearly publication he printed.

67. “Lost time is never found again.”  Benjamin Franklin Context: Also from Poor Richard’s Almanack.

68. “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”  Seneca Context: From his Letters to Lucilius; he wrote them near the end of his life.

69. “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them.”  Epictetus Context: Former slave turned Stoic teacher, from the Enchiridion; the idea underlies modern cognitive therapy.

70. “What we think, we become.”  Buddha Context: Attributed; the idea echoes the opening verses of the Dhammapada.

71. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”  Aesop Context: Ancient Greek storyteller; the line comes from the fable of the lion and the mouse.

72. “Well begun is half done.”  Aristotle Context: An old Greek proverb Aristotle quotes in his Politics.

73. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”  Confucius Context: Attributed to the Chinese philosopher; widely shared in the form above.

74. “Learning never exhausts the mind.”  Leonardo da Vinci Context: Italian polymath; attributed to his notebooks.

75. “Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.”  Voltaire Context: French Enlightenment writer, from Candide (1759).

Inspirational Life Quotes to Keep You Moving

When motivation runs low, borrow some from people who kept going under real pressure. These inspirational life quotes come from activists, scientists, athletes, and artists. Where a line is only “widely attributed,” the context says so.

76. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”  Nelson Mandela Context: South African president and anti-apartheid leader; widely attributed to him.

77. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”  Nelson Mandela Context: From his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom (1994).

78. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”  Theodore Roosevelt Context: U.S. president, quoting a friend, Squire Bill Widener, in his 1913 Autobiography.

79. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.”  Maya Angelou Context: A line she used often when speaking about resilience.

80. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”  Martin Luther King Jr. Context: From Strength to Love (1963), a collection of his sermons.

81. “The time is always right to do what is right.”  Martin Luther King Jr. Context: From a 1965 speech at Oberlin College.

82. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”  Helen Keller Context: From her 1903 essay collection Optimism.

83. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”  Helen Keller Context: Widely attributed to her.

84. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”  Winston Churchill Context: British prime minister, from a 1925 speech.

85. “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Context: German writer and statesman, from Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship.

86. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”  Oprah Winfrey Context: Media executive and philanthropist; a theme she returns to often.

87. “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”  Oprah Winfrey Context: Widely attributed to her.

88. “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”  Walt Disney Context: Animator and studio founder; widely attributed.

89. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”  Eleanor Roosevelt Context: Widely attributed to the former First Lady.

90. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men.”  Muhammad Ali Context: Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion.

91. “Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”  Michelle Obama Context: Former First Lady and author of Becoming; widely attributed.

92. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”  Amelia Earhart Context: First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic (1932).

93. “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”  Amelia Earhart Context: From a 1928 letter, written soon after her first Atlantic flight as a passenger.

94. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.”  Rosa Parks Context: Civil rights activist whose 1955 bus protest helped launch the Montgomery boycott.

95. “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance.”  Marie Curie Context: Two-time Nobel Prize winner; quoted in her daughter Eve’s biography.

96. “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”  Thomas Edison Context: American inventor with more than 1,000 U.S. patents.

97. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.”  Thomas Edison Context: Widely attributed to him.

98. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”  Vince Lombardi Context: Legendary Green Bay Packers coach; widely attributed.

99. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”  Babe Ruth Context: Baseball great; widely attributed.

100. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”  Michael Jordan Context: From a 1997 Nike commercial.

101. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  Wayne Gretzky Context: NHL’s all-time leading scorer.

102. “The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals.”  Jesse Owens Context: Four-time gold medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

103. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”  Arthur Ashe Context: Tennis champion and the first Black man to win Wimbledon (1975).

104. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”  Frederick Douglass Context: Abolitionist and writer, from an 1857 speech on West India Emancipation.

105. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer.”  Harriet Tubman Context: Conductor on the Underground Railroad; widely attributed.

106. “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”  Anne Frank Context: From her diary, written while hiding in Amsterdam in 1944.

107. “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”  Anne Frank Context: From her diary entry of July 15, 1944.

108. “Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”  Gloria Steinem Context: American feminist journalist and activist.

109. “Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity.”  Mae Jemison Context: First Black woman in space (1992).

110. “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”  Malala Yousafzai Context: Youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate; from her 2013 address to the United Nations.

111. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”  Jane Goodall Context: Primatologist who began studying chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960.

112. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”  Desmond Tutu Context: South African archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1984).

113. “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.'”  Viktor Frankl Context: Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor; from Man’s Search for Meaning, quoting Nietzsche.

114. “Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going.”  Rainer Maria Rilke Context: Austrian-Bohemian poet, from The Book of Hours.

115. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”  Theodore Roosevelt Context: Widely attributed to him; no confirmed original source.

Deep Quotes About Life, Meaning, Time, and Change

Deep quotes about life ask harder questions: what matters, what is fair, and what we do with the time we have. The first group looks at meaning. The second looks at time and change, a theme that runs from Ancient Greece to Stoicism to modern poetry.

Quotes on Meaning and Philosophy

116. “Without music, life would be a mistake.”  Friedrich Nietzsche Context: German philosopher, from Twilight of the Idols (1888).

117. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”  Friedrich Nietzsche Context: From Twilight of the Idols; Nietzsche meant it as a hard-won observation, not a promise.

118. “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.”  Albert Camus Context: French-Algerian philosopher and Nobel laureate, from the essay “Return to Tipasa.”

119. “The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.”  Albert Camus Context: From The Myth of Sisyphus (1942); it ends with “one must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

120. “The beginning is the most important part of the work.”  Plato Context: Greek philosopher, from The Republic.

121. “Courage is knowing what not to fear.”  Plato Context: A paraphrase of the argument in his dialogue Laches.

122. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”  Aristotle Context: A short form of his idea in the Metaphysics about how parts form wholes.

123. “Hope is a waking dream.”  Aristotle Context: Attributed to him by the ancient biographer Diogenes Laërtius.

124. “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.”  Epicurus Context: Greek philosopher of simple pleasure; from the Vatican Sayings.

125. “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.”  Seneca Context: From On the Shortness of Life, written around 49 CE.

126. “While we are postponing, life speeds by.”  Seneca Context: From the first of his Letters to Lucilius.

127. “Our life is what our thoughts make it.”  Marcus Aurelius Context: From Meditations, in an older English translation.

128. “No man is free who is not master of himself.”  Epictetus Context: Stoic teacher who was born a slave; this line comes from his fragments.

129. “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”  Lao Tzu Context: From the Tao Te Ching, chapter 33.

130. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”  Lao Tzu Context: Widely attributed to him.

131. “Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.”  Zhuangzi Context: Chinese Daoist thinker of the 4th century BCE; the wording comes from English translation.

132. “Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.”  Dhammapada Context: Early Buddhist text of 423 verses; this is verse 100.

133. “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love.”  Rumi Context: 13th-century Persian poet, in the popular Coleman Barks translations.

134. “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”  Kahlil Gibran Context: Lebanese-American poet, from The Prophet (1923).

135. “Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”  Kahlil Gibran Context: Widely attributed to him.

136. “Live the questions now.”  Rainer Maria Rilke Context: From Letters to a Young Poet; he advises patience with unanswered questions.

137. “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”  Søren Kierkegaard Context: From The Concept of Anxiety (1844).

138. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”  Viktor Frankl Context: From Man’s Search for Meaning (1946).

139. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedomsto choose one’s attitude.”  Viktor Frankl Context: The central claim of Man’s Search for Meaning, drawn from his time in four concentration camps.

140. “I know that I know nothing.”  Socrates Context: A common paraphrase of Plato’s account of Socratic humility in the Apology.

141. “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”  Voltaire Context: Widely attributed to the French writer.

142. “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”  Henry David Thoreau Context: From Walden (1854), in the chapter on economy.

143. “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”  Henry David Thoreau Context: From his journal; he spent two years in a cabin at Walden Pond.

144. “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson Context: From his essay “Works and Days.”

145. “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself.”  Walt Whitman Context: From “Song of Myself”; he adds, “I am large, I contain multitudes.”

Quotes About Life, Time, and Change

146. “If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.”  Lao Tzu Context: From the Tao Te Ching in a modern translation.

147. “Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current.”  Marcus Aurelius Context: From Meditations, Book 4.

148. “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”  Seneca Context: Attributed to the Roman Stoic.

149. “It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”  Seneca Context: From his Letters; the original is about the cost of ambition.

150. “Time, the devourer of all things.”  Ovid Context: Roman poet, from the Metamorphoses (8 CE).

151. “Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”  Benjamin Franklin Context: From Poor Richard’s Almanack.

152. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fearnot absence of fear.”  Mark Twain Context: From Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894).

153. “Nothing endures but change.”  Heraclitus Context: Greek philosopher known as “the weeping philosopher”; recorded by Diogenes Laërtius.

154. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1 Context: Hebrew Bible book of wisdom, traditionally linked to King Solomon.

155. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”  Ecclesiastes 9:10 Context: The same book; written as advice on living well in a short life.

156. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  Psalm 90:12 Context: A psalm attributed to Moses.

157. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”  Dr. Seuss Context: Theodor Geisel, author of The Cat in the Hat.

158. “Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future.”  T. S. Eliot Context: Opening of “Burnt Norton,” the first of the Four Quartets.

159. “The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started.”  T. S. Eliot Context: From “Little Gidding,” the last of the Four Quartets.

160. “Smile, breathe and go slowly.”  Thich Nhat Hanh Context: Vietnamese Zen master and peace activist.

161. “The present moment is the only moment available to us.”  Thich Nhat Hanh Context: A core teaching of his mindfulness practice.

162. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”  Marcel Proust Context: French novelist; this is a standard English rendering of a passage in In Search of Lost Time.

163. “The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”  Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Context: American physician and writer, from The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (1858).

164. “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”  Ralph Ellison Context: American novelist, from Invisible Man (1952).

165. “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”  Ernest Hemingway Context: From A Farewell to Arms (1929).

166. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”  F. Scott Fitzgerald Context: Final line of The Great Gatsby (1925).

167. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”  Anne Lamott Context: American author and speaker on faith and writing.

168. “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”  Leo Tolstoy Context: Russian novelist, from War and Peace.

169. “If you want to be happy, be.”  Leo Tolstoy Context: Widely attributed to him.

170. “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”  Pablo Neruda Context: Chilean poet and Nobel laureate; widely attributed.

Positive Life Quotes About Happiness and Gratitude

If you want positive life quotes to start the morning, read these. They focus on gratitude, kindness, and small joys, and a number of them come from people who faced serious hardship.

171. “Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.”  Dalai Lama Context: Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1989).

172. “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”  Dalai Lama Context: One of his best-known short teachings.

173. “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.”  Helen Keller Context: Widely attributed to her.

174. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart.”  Helen Keller Context: Widely attributed to her.

175. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”  Maya Angelou Context: From her book Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993).

176. “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.”  Maya Angelou Context: Widely attributed to her.

177. “Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”  Voltaire Context: French Enlightenment writer.

178. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”  Cicero Context: Roman statesman, from his speech Pro Plancio (54 BCE).

179. “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”  Melody Beattie Context: American author of Codependent No More; the line is widely attributed to her.

180. “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”  Epictetus Context: Stoic teacher and former slave, from his Fragments.

181. “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”  Thornton Wilder Context: American playwright, from The Skin of Our Teeth (1942).

182. “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.”  G. K. Chesterton Context: English writer, from Tremendous Trifles (1909).

183. “Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”  G. K. Chesterton Context: Widely attributed to him.

184. “Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.”  Albert Schweitzer Context: Physician and Nobel Peace Prize winner; the line is widely attributed to him.

185. “Spread love everywhere you go.”  Mother Teresa Context: She continues, “Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

186. “Happiness, not in another place but this place, not for another hour but this hour.”  Walt Whitman Context: From “Song of the Open Road” in Leaves of Grass.

187. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”  Aristotle Context: Widely attributed to him; his word for it is eudaimonia, or “flourishing.”

188. “Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.”  Eleanor Roosevelt Context: Widely attributed to the former First Lady.

189. “Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune.”  Benjamin Franklin Context: From his writings; he links comfort and cheer to small daily habits.

190. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  William Arthur Ward Context: American author known for short motivational sayings.

191. “Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.”  Zig Ziglar Context: American motivational speaker and author.

192. “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”  Norman Vincent Peale Context: Author of The Power of Positive Thinking (1952).

193. “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”  Roald Dahl Context: From The Twits (1980).

194. “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”  A. A. Milne Context: Creator of Winnie-the-Pooh; widely attributed to Pooh.

195. “The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”  Joseph Addison Context: English essayist; often credited to him though earlier versions exist.

196. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.”  Oprah Winfrey Context: Widely attributed to her.

197. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”  Dolly Parton Context: Country singer-songwriter and philanthropist.

198. “Love the life you live. Live the life you love.”  Bob Marley Context: Jamaican reggae musician; widely attributed to him.

199. “There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.”  Jane Austen Context: From Emma (1815).

200. “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!”  Jane Austen Context: Spoken by Caroline Bingley in Pride and Prejudice (1813).

201. “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”  L. M. Montgomery Context: Canadian author, from Anne of Green Gables (1908).

202. “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”  Mark Twain Context: Widely attributed to him.

203. “The most sophisticated people I know, inside they are all children.”  Jim Henson Context: Creator of the Muppets; widely attributed.

204. “Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.”  Louisa May Alcott Context: From her diary and quoted in biographies.

205. “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”  Confucius Context: Widely attributed to the Chinese philosopher.

Life Lessons Quotes on Mistakes, Courage, and Growth

Life lessons quotes tend to be practical. They cover failing, trying again, and doing the unglamorous work. If you only read one section on a rough week, read this one.

206. “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”  Maya Angelou Context: Said on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997.

207. “Nothing will work unless you do.”  Maya Angelou Context: A line from her speeches and poems on discipline.

208. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  Thomas Edison Context: Attributed to the inventor, speaking about his long search for a working light-bulb filament.

209. “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”  Samuel Beckett Context: Irish playwright, from Worstward Ho (1983).

210. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”  Oliver Goldsmith Context: Irish writer, from The Citizen of the World (1760); often credited to Confucius.

211. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”  Albert Einstein Context: Widely attributed to him; no firm original source has been found.

212. “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”  John Wooden Context: UCLA basketball coach who won 10 NCAA titles in 12 years.

213. “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”  John Wooden Context: From his coaching philosophy.

214. “Be water, my friend.”  Bruce Lee Context: Martial artist, from a 1971 episode of the TV show Longstreet.

215. “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”  Mark Twain Context: Often cited from his notebooks.

216. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  Benjamin Franklin Context: Franklin wrote this in 1735 in a letter urging Philadelphia to guard against fire.

217. “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”  Benjamin Franklin Context: From Poor Richard’s Almanack.

218. “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”  Seneca Context: Roman Stoic, from his Letters.

219. “Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.”  Epictetus Context: Widely attributed to him; consistent with his Discourses.

220. “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”  Epictetus Context: From the Discourses, recorded by his student Arrian.

221. “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”  Marcus Aurelius Context: From Meditations, Book 5; a core idea of modern Stoicism.

222. “If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.”  Marcus Aurelius Context: From Meditations, Book 12.

223. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”  Confucius Context: Widely attributed to him.

224. “He who learns but does not think is lost.”  Confucius Context: From the Analects, 2.15; the line continues “he who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”

225. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”  Lao Tzu Context: From the Tao Te Ching, chapter 27.

226. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”  Warren Buffett Context: Investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

227. “The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”  Warren Buffett Context: Widely attributed to him.

228. “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”  Peter Drucker Context: Management writer, often called the father of modern management.

229. “Begin with the end in mind.”  Stephen R. Covey Context: Habit 2 in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989).

230. “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”  Stephen R. Covey Context: Widely attributed to the author of The 7 Habits.

231. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”  Dale Carnegie Context: Author of How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936).

232. “Develop an interest in life as you see it.”  Dale Carnegie Context: Widely attributed to him.

233. “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”  Henry Ford Context: Founder of Ford Motor Company; widely attributed.

234. “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”  Henry Ford Context: Widely attributed to him.

235. “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”  Eleanor Roosevelt Context: Widely attributed to her.

236. “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”  Theodore Roosevelt Context: From his 1910 speech “Citizenship in a Republic,” given at the Sorbonne in Paris.

237. “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.”  Theodore Roosevelt Context: From a 1903 speech.

238. “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.”  Abraham Lincoln Context: From an 1855 letter to a young man seeking to become a lawyer.

239. “I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.”  Abraham Lincoln Context: Widely attributed to him.

240. “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”  Frederick Douglass Context: Widely attributed to the abolitionist.

241. “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”  Booker T. Washington Context: From his autobiography Up From Slavery (1901).

242. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all.”  J. K. Rowling Context: From her 2008 Harvard commencement speech.

243. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”  J. K. Rowling Context: From the same 2008 Harvard speech.

244. “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”  Steve Jobs Context: From his 2005 Stanford commencement speech.

245. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”  Steve Jobs Context: From the same 2005 speech, about his dropping out of college and taking a calligraphy class.

Life and Love Quotes

Love is the topic nearly every writer returns to. These life and love quotes cover romance, friendship, and the gentler idea that a life is measured by who we care for.

246. “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”  Aristotle Context: Attributed to him by the ancient biographer Diogenes Laërtius.

247. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”  Lao Tzu Context: Widely attributed to the Chinese sage; the wording is modern.

248. “Love is the bridge between you and everything.”  Rumi Context: Widely attributed to the Persian poet.

249. “Let there be spaces in your togetherness.”  Kahlil Gibran Context: From The Prophet (1923), in the chapter on marriage.

250. “Love one another, but make not a bond of love.”  Kahlil Gibran Context: From the same chapter of The Prophet.

251. “The course of true love never did run smooth.”  William Shakespeare Context: From A Midsummer Night’s Dream, spoken by Lysander.

252. “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.”  William Shakespeare Context: From A Midsummer Night’s Dream, spoken by Helena.

253. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.”  Jane Austen Context: From Captain Wentworth’s letter in Persuasion (1817).

254. “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”  Emily Brontë Context: From Wuthering Heights (1847), spoken by Catherine Earnshaw.

255. “The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.”  Victor Hugo Context: French novelist, from Les Misérables (1862).

256. “To love another person is to see the face of God.”  Victor Hugo Context: Often quoted from the stage musical of Les Misérables; it paraphrases Hugo’s novel.

257. “Love recognizes no barriers.”  Maya Angelou Context: From her poem “Touched by an Angel.”

258. “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”  Martin Luther King Jr. Context: From Strength to Love (1963).

259. “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”  Martin Luther King Jr. Context: From Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967).

260. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”  Mother Teresa Context: Widely attributed to her.

261. “Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.”  Erich Fromm Context: German-American psychologist, from The Art of Loving (1956).

262. “Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says: ‘I need you because I love you.'”  Erich Fromm Context: From The Art of Loving.

263. “To love at all is to be vulnerable.”  C. S. Lewis Context: From The Four Loves (1960).

264. “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too?'”  C. S. Lewis Context: From The Four Loves.

265. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson Context: From his essay “Friendship” (1841).

266. “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”  Oscar Wilde Context: From An Ideal Husband (1895).

267. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”  Elizabeth Barrett Browning Context: Opening line of Sonnet 43, from Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850).

268. “I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”  Charles Dickens Context: From Great Expectations (1861), spoken by Pip about Estella.

269. “Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Context: French aviator and author, from Wind, Sand and Stars (1939); the wording is a common translation.

270. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Context: From The Little Prince (1943), spoken by the fox.

If you love meaningful words about romance and togetherness, our Travel Quotes for Couples can also inspire you with beautiful thoughts for shared journeys and unforgettable moments together.

Funny Life Quotes

A little humor makes everything easier. These funny life quotes mostly rely on irony, understatement, and the deadpan reversal. Many come from writers who made a living out of puncturing pomp.

271. “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”  Oscar Wilde Context: Irish playwright; a classic Wilde reversal.

272. “I have nothing to declare except my genius.”  Oscar Wilde Context: Said to have been his remark to customs officers in New York, 1882.

273. “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”  Mark Twain Context: His 1897 reply to a newspaper rumor of his death; the usual wording differs slightly.

274. “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as you please.”  Mark Twain Context: Reported from a 1899 interview with Rudyard Kipling.

275. “I find television very educational. Every time someone turns it on, I go into the other room and read a book.”  Groucho Marx Context: Comedian and star of the Marx Brothers films.

276. “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”  Groucho Marx Context: A well-known Groucho line, a good example of misdirection.

277. “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”  Woody Allen Context: From his 1975 book Without Feathers.

278. “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”  Woody Allen Context: Reported from a 1977 interview.

279. “Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”  Satchel Paige Context: Hall of Fame pitcher who played professionally into his late 50s.

280. “I don’t care what is written about me so long as it isn’t true.”  Dorothy Parker Context: American poet and critic of the Algonquin Round Table.

281. “The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”  Dorothy Parker Context: Widely attributed to her.

282. “Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.”  Erma Bombeck Context: American humorist who wrote a newspaper column about family life.

283. “Housework, if you do it right, will kill you.”  Erma Bombeck Context: Another of her column one-liners.

284. “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”  Will Rogers Context: American humorist and cowboy entertainer of the 1920s and 1930s.

285. “Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”  Will Rogers Context: Widely attributed to him.

286. “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.”  Mae West Context: Actress known for her sharp one-liners.

287. “The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.”  Lily Tomlin Context: American comedian and actor.

288. “Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.”  George Carlin Context: American stand-up comedian; a wordplay pun.

289. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”  Yogi Berra Context: Baseball catcher famous for his “Yogi-isms.”

290. “It ain’t over till it’s over.”  Yogi Berra Context: A remark he made during the 1973 National League pennant race.

291. “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.”  Douglas Adams Context: From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979).

292. “It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it’s called Life.”  Terry Pratchett Context: English fantasy author; from The Last Continent.

293. “I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.”  Winston Churchill Context: Widely attributed to the wartime prime minister.

294. “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”  Benjamin Franklin Context: From an 1789 letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy.

295. “A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age.”  Robert Frost Context: Widely attributed to the poet.

Blessings for Life: Words to Wish Someone Well

Blessings are quotes with a purpose: they send good wishes forward. The first two are traditional. The other thirteen are original lines you can use in cards, toasts, or gifts.

296. “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back.”  Traditional Irish blessing Context: A well-known Irish blessing, often printed on cards for travelers and newlyweds.

297. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you.”  Numbers 6:24–25 Context: The Priestly Blessing from the Hebrew Bible, used in Jewish and Christian worship for thousands of years.

298. “May your mornings begin with gratitude and your evenings end in peace.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. Use it for housewarmings or a new job.

299. “May you have the courage to start again, as often as life asks.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. A good fit for graduates or anyone starting over.

300. “May your path be lit by good people and your own good judgment.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. Works well in a graduation card.

301. “May your table always be full and your friendships fuller.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. Ideal for a housewarming or a toast.

302. “May you find joy in ordinary days and strength in the hard ones.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. A steady note for birthdays.

303. “May your heart stay soft and your spine stay strong.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. Good for friends facing change.

304. “May every mistake you make teach you something worth knowing.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. Written for a new graduate or a first job.

305. “May you be given enough time to do what matters most.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. A fit for milestone birthdays.

306. “May your home be a place where laughter lives.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. Ideal for new homes and weddings.

307. “May you meet each new season of life with open hands.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. For retirements or major transitions.

308. “May kindness find you when you need it and flow through you when others do.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. A fit for a sympathy card or a thank-you note.

309. “May you walk lightly, forgive freely, and love without keeping score.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. Suited to weddings and anniversaries.

310. “May you wake each day curious about what life will show you.”  [Brand Name] Editorial Context: Original blessing. A cheerful pick for a baby shower or new year card.

Final Thoughts on Life Quotes

The best life quotes give you language for something you already feel and a nudge toward who you want to be. Whether you picked a famous line, a short caption, or a blessing for someone you love, we hope you found at least one you can carry.

Bookmark this page, share your favorite with someone who needs it, and tell us in the comments which quote you will start your week with. For more reading, explore our inspirational quotes, love quotes, and birthday wishes.

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