Motivational Quotes to Inspire and Empower You

"The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it"

Jordan Belfort, Author

"What everyone in the astronaut corps shares in common is not gender or ethnic background, but motivation, perseverance, and desire - the desire to participate in a voyage of discovery"

Ellen Ochoa, Astronaut

"Believe you can and you're halfway there"

Theodore Roosevelt, President

"One of the things I have tried to do with this book and with all of them really is avoid that simple, easy, reductionist view of motivation and to show we do things for a complex net of reasons, a real braid of reasons"

Russell Banks, Author

"People need motivation to do anything. I don't think human beings learn anything without desperation"

Jim Carrey, Comedian

"Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated"

Lou Holtz, Coach

"Motivation will almost always beat mere talent"

Norman Ralph Augustine, Author

"I think a lot of times it's not money that's the primary motivation factor; it's the passion for your job and the professional and personal satisfaction that you get out of doing what you do that motivates you"

Martin Yan, Celebrity

"One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity"

Edward de Bono, Psychologist

"Motivation aside, if people get better at these life skills, everyone benefits: The brain doesn't distinguish between being a more empathic manager and a more empathic father"

Daniel Goleman, Author

"Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it"

Dwight D. Eisenhower, President

"I think change is possible, but only for individuals who were never truly gay in the first place and who have a strong personal motivation to recover their heterosexuality"

Marilyn vos Savant, Author

"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around"

Jim Rohn, Businessman

"Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game"

Donald Trump, Businessman

"Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity"

Bo Bennett, Businessman

"Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people"

Lee Iacocca, Businessman

"Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be revolutionized by accepting the reality of higher human needs, including the impulse to self actualization and the love for the highest values"

Abraham Maslow, Psychologist

"People want a cop-out, listen I'm a realist and I talk about motivation, talk about all the things it takes to be greater or are important to win and people want to use excuses all the time"

Mike Ditka, Coach

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going"

Jim Ryun, Athlete

"Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn't paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing"

Lionel Messi, Athlete

"In the new economy, information, education, and motivation are everything"

William J. Clinton, President

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it"

Raymond Chandler, Writer

"I also like to look at the dynamic that takes place between religion and science because, in a way, both are asking the same questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? The methodologies are diametrically opposed, but their motivation is the same; the wellspring is the same in both cases"

J. Michael Straczynski, Producer

"I'd say the most memorable thing for me was my dedication and motivation in how I got so involved in boxing"

Alexis Arguello, Athlete

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily"

Zig Ziglar, Author

"I wonder sometimes if the motivation for writers ought to be contempt, not admiration"

Orson Scott Card, Writer

"I like to put on hardcore when I have to clean my apartment, which I hate to do, but it's motivational. I like old heavy metal when I'm outside working on my car. Music has definite functions for me"

Peter Steele, Musician

"Deficiency motivation doesn't work. It will lead to a life-long pursuit of try to fix me. Learn to appreciate what you have and where and who you are"

Wayne Dyer, Psychologist

"Even though worker capacity and motivation are destroyed when leaders choose power over productivity, it appears that bosses would rather be in control than have the organization work well"

Margaret J. Wheatley, Writer

"I don't think any collector knows his true motivation"

Robert Mapplethorpe, Photographer

"I have worked enough and I am happy to be touring the country speaking about living with MS to give people inspiration and motivation to help themselves"

Teri Garr, Actress

"In the same period, Polish literature also underwent some significant changes. From social-political literature, which had a great tradition and strong motivation to be that way, Polish literature changed its focus to a psychological rather than a social one"

Andrzej Wajda, Director

"My motivation for running for Senate was not for the stature of being a senator, but because I wanted to make a difference on issues I feel passionate about"

Herman Cain, Businessman

"All directors are storytellers, so the motivation was to tell the story I wanted to tell. That's what I love"

Spike Lee, Director

"I certainly understand that we're all trying to make a living, but I'm not thinking about that when I'm making it. And if that's your sole motivation, it's going to reflect that narcissistic greed, and you're going to hear it in the music"

Aimee Mann, Musician

"A single prop that does not look real to an audience can louse you up. The same is true of the smallest flaw in setting up the motivation in a story line"

Desi Arnaz, Actor

"If you must have motivation, think of your paycheck on Friday"

Noel Coward, Playwright

"And, I think, as a kid, I had a strong motivation to do something of my life. And, I think that's the strongest motivation I really got. And, that came obviously from my parents and my grandparents"

Philippe Perrin, Astronaut

"I'm not the type to pat myself on the back and all that, but somebody has to be lucky, right? When I got to Dallas, I was struggling - sleeping on the floor with six guys in a three-bedroom apartment. I used to drive around, look at the big houses, and imagine what it would be like to live there and use that as motivation"

Mark Cuban, Businessman

"In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it"

Jane Smiley, Writer

Page 1 of 3