Inspirational Quotes

"Because I don't play guitar any more, African harmonies and rhythms have been an inspiration to me. I love the raw origin of the sound. It complements my voice and words naturally"

Cat Stevens, Musician

"Bill Gates has always been a mentor and inspiration for me even before I knew him. Just growing up, I admired how Microsoft was mission-focused"

Mark Zuckerberg, Businessman

"I travel the garden of music, thru inspiration. It's a large, very large garden, seen?"

Peter Tosh, Musician

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club"

Jack London, Novelist

"Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile"

Jim Carrey, Comedian

"Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning"

Igor Stravinsky, Composer

"Human requirements are the inspiration for art"

Stephen Gardiner, Architect

"But I did not find any positive inspiration in my studies until I approached my nineteenth year"

Georg Brandes, Critic

"Inspiration is the key to everything"

Olivia Wilde, Actress

"Inspiration comes from all different places"

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Producer

"Inspiration is a farce that poets have invented to give themselves importance"

Jean Anouilh, Playwright

"Through the inspiration of Vaclav's words, the courage of his dissidence and the integrity of his leadership, Czechoslovakia successfully transitioned from an authoritarian state to a free democracy at the heart of Europe"

Michael D. Higgins, Politician

"I hope that at the end of the seven years, people will say that I have been of some inspirational value to them at home in terms of inclusiveness and abroad, I look forward to representing Ireland"

Michael D. Higgins, Politician

"If you can't find your inspiration by walking around the block one time, go around two blocks-but never three"

Robert Motherwell, Artist

"Though I may deny poets their monopoly on inspiration, I still place them in a select group of Fortune's darlings"

Wislawa Szymborska, Poet

"The only character I ever remember actually creating in a flash of inspiration was George Liquor. God planted that in my head in an instant"

John Kricfalusi, Artist

"I just hope that our fans are people who are inspired by music, and just use our music as a background or inspiration for whatever it is they do"

Maynard James Keenan, Musician

"Any composer who is gloriously conscious that he is a composer must believe that he receives his inspiration from a source higher than himself"

John Philip Sousa, Musician

"Dreams are not without meaning wherever thay may come from-from fantasy, from the elements, or from other inspiration"

Paracelsus, Scientist

"Enthusiasm is the inspiration of everything great. Without it no man is to be feared, and with it none despised"

Christian Nestell Bovee, Author

"I am involved with politics today because of the inspiration I received from Ronald Reagan"

Michael K. Simpson, Politician

"Sometimes just getting out of the house and doing something you haven't done in a long time (or never done!) can open up the doors to musical inspiration"

Ken Hill, Playwright

"A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all"

Rita Mae Brown, Writer

"Inspiration in Science may have to do with ideas, but not in Art. In art it is in the senses that are instinctively responsive to the medium of expression"

Arthur Erickson, Architect

"Inspiration is enough to give expression to the tone in singing, especially when the song is without words"

Franz Liszt, Composer

"I get my inspiration from everyone when I need it and how I need it"

Picabo Street, Athlete

"My mother taught me about the power of inspiration and courage, and she did it with a strength and a passion that I wish could be bottled"

Carly Fiorina, Businessman

"Because of my Buddhist practice, I'm never lacking for inspiration"

Duncan Sheik, Musician

"In English, the sounds and melodies I created were an inspiration to me, and words came to me as I explored the sounds, and from there I was able expand on the meaning"

Utada Hikaru, Musician

"Books are challenging and inspirational to me"

Amy Sedaris, Actress

"What Romantic terminology called genius or talent or inspiration is nothing other than finding the right road empirically, following one's nose, taking shortcuts"

Italo Calvino, Journalist

"When I started studying tenor saxophone as a kid in Belfast, I did so with a guy named George Cassidy, who was also a big inspiration"

Van Morrison, Musician

"I long to speak out the intense inspiration that comes to me from the lives of strong women"

Ruth Benedict, Scientist

"Actually, I feel music becoming more and more important. It's a big source of inspiration. With what's going on in the world, we feel almost desperate. Music also brings you peace"

Cecilia Bartoli, Musician

"Don't make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it's crucial to make a living, that shouldn't be your inspiration. Do it for yourself"

Billy Joel, Musician

"I would say that the surest measure of a man's or a woman's maturity is the harmony, style, joy, and dignity he creates in his marriage, and the pleasure and inspiration he provides for his spouse"

Benjamin Spock, Scientist

"In life you need either inspiration or desperation"

Tony Robbins, Author

"I look at the dancers and I get the inspiration for the work from them"

Graeme Murphy, Dancer

"We need affordable space travel to inspire our youth, to let them know that they can experience their dreams, can set significant goals and be in a position to lead all of us to future progress in exploration, discovery and fun. Thanks to the X Prize for the inspiration"

Burt Rutan, Scientist

"For hundreds of years people have talked about artists having inspiration, but often, some persons would say, write us a symphony or write us a song, on commission. The artists would come up with a masterpiece without waiting to have their muse inspire them"

Tom Glazer, Musician

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