45 Motivational Quotes to Change Your Life

We all need a little motivation once in a while.  We all need to re-focus at one time or another.  I am a long-time fan of quotes or inspirational sayings that do just that and help me be more successful.  Here are some of my favorite quotes that have also been re-tweeted often by those on twitter. 

1. “One coach will impact more young people in a year than the average person does in a lifetime.” (Billy Graham)
2. "Champions never complain, they are too busy getting better." (John Wooden)
3. "I will prepare and someday my chance will come." (Abraham Lincoln)
4. "Don't complain about not getting a chance and then be unprepared when you finally do." (Joe Montana)
5. "It has to happen on the inside before it can happen on the outside." (Jon Gordon)
6. “Don't be a wheelbarrow ... only useful when pushed.” (Jamy Bechler)
7. "There is no such thing as a 'small thing'. How we do SMALL things is how we do ALL things." (Brian Cain)
8. "Don't focus on winning a championship. Focus on becoming a champion." (Jon Gordon)
9. "The culture you create permeates everything you touch." (Tony Dungy)
10. “If you want to make everyone happy don’t be a leader. Go Sell Ice Cream.” (Eric Geiger)

Quotes for Achieving Goals

 

The New Year of 2016 is quickly approaching.  The start of the new year will surely bring about numerous "New Year's Resolutions".  Resolutions are really just goals that we set for ourselves.  The following is a list of 25 of the best quotes about achieving goals.  I hope that some of these inspire you to achieve your goals for 2016.

1. "The way to get started is to quit talking and get doing." (Walt Disney)
2. "A dream is just a dream.  A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline." (Harvey Mackay)
3. "If we all did the things that we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." (Thomas Edison)
4.  “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” (Michael Jordan)
5. “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” (Karen Lamb)
6. “One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.” (Jack Penn)
7. “Winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try.” (Dennis DeYoung)
8. “A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement.” (Bo Bennett)
9. “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” (John Wooden)
10. “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” (Jim Rohn)
11. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” (Wayne Gretsky)
12. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” (Theodore Roosevelt)
13. “Your complaints, your drama, your victim mentality, your whining, your blaming, and all of your excuses have never gotten you even a single step closer to your goals or dreams. Let go of your nonsense. Let go of the delusion that you deserve better and go earn it!” (Steve Maraboli)
14. "If you don’t  make the time to work on creating the life that you want, you’re going to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want.” (Kevin Ngo)
15. “What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
16. "People with goals succeed because they know where they're going." (Earl Nightingale) 
    
17. "I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change." (Jim Rohn)
18. "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." (Thomas Jefferson)  
19. "An average person with average talent,ambition and education, can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society,if that person has clear,focused goals." (Brian Tracy)  
20. "Begin with the end in mind."  (Stephen Covey)  
21. "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goals." (Anonymous)  
22. The guy says,"When you work where I work,by the time you get home it's late.You've got to have a bite to eat,watch a little TV, relax,and get to bed. You can't sit up half the night planing, planing."And he's the same guy who's behind on his car payment. (Jim Rohn)  
23. "Do not let the future be held hostage by the past." (Neal A. Maxwell)  
24. "You can't hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can't catch fish unless you put your line in the water. You can't reach your goals if you don't try." (Kathy Seligman)  
25. “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.” (Zig Ziglar)
    
    Jamy Bechler is the executive director of U-Leadership and a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Speaker and Coach.  Contact him at CoachBechler@CoachBechler.com to find out how you or your team can be more successful.  Click here to signup for THE ENCOURAGING NEWSLETTER

My Favorite Quotes

In the last issue of THE ENCOURAGING LEADER, we highlighted some of the best books to help you become a better leader.  This issue’s theme centers around quotes.  We asked a number of leaders to write about their favorite quote and what it means to them. 

Just as I am obsessed with reading books, I love quotes.  The first motivational quote that I ever learned was “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal”.  When I was an aspiring junior high basketball player in Michigan, the state’s Mr. Basketball was a player out of Saginaw by the name of Mark Macon.  He went on to have a great career at Temple University.  I saw him featured on a CBS special.  In the segment, he mentioned that quote.  I wrote it out on a piece of paper and taped it to the wall next to my bed.  Every morning when I’d wake up, that was the first thing that I saw.    

That quote still resonates with me.  Through the years, I have worked with many athletes and that quote is still a go-to for me.  The Kentucky Derby was held last week.  Every time I think of horse racing, I am reminded of this quote.  Horses have blinders on that keep them from seeing what is beside them.  All they do is look straight ahead.  They focus on where they need to go.  We’d do well to remember this concept.  Why get caught up in drama, distractions, detours or disillusionment?  Set your eyes on the prize and focus on the goal.

See the entire newsletter of favorite quotes from top leaders across the nation. 

Jamy Bechler is the executive director of U-Leadership and a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Speaker and Coach.  Contact him at CoachBechler@CoachBechler.com to find out how you or your team can be more successful.  Click here to signup for THE ENCOURAGING NEWSLETTER