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25 Inspirational Quotes That You Must Read:

1. He that will not reflect is a ruined man. –Asian Proverb

2. Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow. –Doug Firebaugh

3. Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. –Chinese Proverb

4. The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. –Robert Cushing

5. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. –Socrates

6. Go back a little to leap further. –John Clarke

7. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. –Theodore Roosevelt

8. I failed my way to success. –Thomas Edison

9. Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. –William Shakespeare

10. Failure teaches success. –Japanese Saying

11. Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. –Will Rogers

12. Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use. –Earl Nightingale

13. Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action. –Benjamin Disraeli

14. Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

15. It’s not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you. –Zig Ziglar

16. At least eighty percent of millionaires are self-made. That is, they started with nothing but ambition and energy, the same way most of us start. –Brian Tracy

17. When you get right down to the root of the meaning of the word “succeed,” you find that it simply means to follow through.” –F. W. Nichol

18. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. –Albert Einstein

19. The truth is you can acquire any quality you want by acting as though you already have it. –Joseph Murphy

20. You must get good at one of two things; planting in the spring or begging in the fall. –Jim Rohn

21. The searching-out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man. –Cicero

22. The only journey is the journey within. –Rainer Maria Rilke

23. Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do. –Menander

24. Collect as precious pearls the words of the wise and virtuous. –Abd-el-Kadar

25. If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old. –Lord Chesterfield

If you have an inspirational  life-changing quote that you want to share, please add it below.

  50 Lessons from Albert Einstein: 

1. A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.
2. It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.
3. Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.
4. If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
5. It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.
6. It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
7. A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.
8. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
9. Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
10. No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
11. Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
12. As far as I’m concerned, I prefer silent vice to ostentatious virtue.
13. I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
14. I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.
15. Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age.
16. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
17. Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
18. Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.
19. Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.
20. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
21. Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.
22. Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler.
23. Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.
24. In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
25. Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.
26. Force always attracts men of low morality.
27. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
28. He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.
29. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
30. I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.
31. I want to know all Gods thoughts; all the rest are just details.
32. If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.
33. If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
34. If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.
35. Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.
36. Imagination is more important than knowledge.
37. Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
38. Never lose a holy curiosity.
39. Isn’t it strange that I who have written only unpopular books should be such a popular fellow?
40. It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
41. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.
42. Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.
43. Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be.
44. Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
45. Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
46. Love is a better teacher than duty.
47. Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today’s events.
48. Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.
49. Information is not knowledge.
50. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

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“Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.

“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

- Quote from the Alice in Wonderland Movie

My brother called me the other day and asked me for some advice?  He was trying to decide between two job offers:

Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.

Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry, where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good).  The second job did not pay as well as the first job (initially), but the potential pay-off of the second job was much greater than the first job.

So which job should my brother take?  Well the answer is…it depends.

Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.

Begin with the End in Mind

I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose.  He said his purpose is to “teach,” but he wants to make a lot of money first.

I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose.

I then asked him which job best supports his end result of “teaching.”  He said the first job best supports his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach.

He continued on to say, but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life. I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money.

I cautioned him to think this process through carefully because things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!

You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well

It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well.  As they say, you can do anything, but not everything.

I recommended to my brother that he dedicate his time to achieving his life’s purpose, and I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supports that decision.

Tomorrow Never Comes

My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes.

Unless you decide right now to pursue your passions, they will probably never be fulfilled.  They will always be postponed until some nebulous time in the future.  You will eventually “miss out” in the one area where you could have had the greatest impact on the world.

You only live once, don’t go to your grave with one regret; don’t postpone your purpose.

The Money Will Come

My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money.  I told him not to be anxious about making money.  The fear of not making money is the quickest way not to make it.

You will always have greater money making potential when you’re doing what you love.

In conclusion, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the overall mission and goal of your life.  If you do, then you will be well on your way.

Thank you for reading, please be sure to pass this article along!

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The New Year is the perfect time to make changes in our lives. We can set new goals and try to improve our situations. Today let’s take a look at some common areas of self improvement people pursue as New Year’s resolutions and some ways you can make real changes in your own life.

Here are five potential paths to self improvement you could pursue in the New Year and some tips and examples to point you in the right direction.

1. Get a new job or a promotion.

Maybe you aren’t earning enough money. Perhaps you just don’t like your current employer or line of work. Here are some things to consider if this year feels like the right time for a change in your career.

• Consider going back to school if you want to change your entire career path.
• Focus on building confidence, either to ask for a raise or succeed in interviews.
• Express an interest in a new position at work — you may be looked over if no one knows you’re interested.

2. Start a business.

Maybe you’re just tired of the 9-to-5 grind as a whole and you’d like to start working for yourself in the New Year. Here are a few tips if you want to make that happen.

• Ideally, save to cover six months of expenses before quitting your current job.
• Visit your local SCORE chapter or another mentoring program for advice early on.
• Come up with a thorough business plan, especially if you’ll seek financing.

3. Improve your health.

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Self improvement is about more than financial changes. Your health is a major factor in living a happy life too. So why not work to become healthier in the New Year? Here are a few ways you can do that.

• If you’re a smoker, stop smoking even if it means taking things slowly.
• Start a new exercise regimen, even if it’s just a daily stroll to get you started.
• Look for ways to make your favorite recipes healthier, and carry those tactics into your everyday cooking without having to sacrifice flavor or go on a fad diet.

4. Improve your relationships.

Self improvement is as much about how you relate to others as what you do for yourself. So this year see if there are things you can do to improve your relationships in your daily life. For example, you might do one of the following.

• Start spending time with the kids in the evening, such as reading to them before bed.
• Get in touch with friends or family members you haven’t talked to in a while.
• Plan date nights with your spouse, where you’ll get a baby sitter once in a while to enjoy some time alone.

5. Cut down on stress.

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Stress can wear you down over time. It can affect your health and your mood. Some of the things we’ve already talked about might help you decrease stress as a side effect, but here are some things you can do to more directly address the problem.

• Write down your top three causes of negative stress, and vow to deal with them.
• Try a new relaxation technique — yoga, deep breathing, meditation, etc.
• If you’re trying to do too much, cut back on your commitments — it’s okay to say “no.”

Everyone’s self improvement will be different because we all have different areas of our lives that we feel could be better. What are yours? What can you do about them as you ease into the New Year? Share your own self-improvement tips and ideas in the comments below or tell us how you plan to improve your life in coming months.

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Have you ever wanted to learn a foreign language, perhaps for travel or even just the fun of it? Do you want your children to be multilingual to better equip them for the growing globalization of our communities? Do you need to learn a new language for business? No matter what your reason, there are many free language learning tools available online these days. Why not take advantage of them? There’s no risk and a lot to love.

To help you get started, here are five places to learn a language online for free.

1. BBC Languages

The BBC’s online language learning courses are some of the most well-known on the Web. You can learn French, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, and Chinese through audio and video courses. And there are several resources if you’re interested in other languages as well — from pronunciation help to quick vocabulary if you’ll soon travel and want a simple guide. Beginner foreign language courses last 12 weeks, although you can work at your own pace. You’ll even get a BBC certificate when you complete one of these 12 week courses.

2. Internet Polyglot

One of the best aspects of Internet Polyglot is that you can choose not only your target language but also your starting language. For example, you can study English-French, German-French, Farsi-French or one of countless other combinations for learning your target language. There are 32 starting languages featured, meaning you’re bound to find foreign language tools that work for you. These tools work through vocabulary lists and audio pronunciation guides.

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3. Livemocha

Livemocha offers both free and paid online language learning resources. You have to register on the site to access the courses. Not only can you work through a foreign language course, but you can also learn about the corresponding culture and interact with native speakers of the language you’re learning. Courses are available in over 30 languages. You get a free trial for the full courses, but they’re paid after that via either a monthly or yearly subscription. The vocabulary starter courses remain free.

4. OpenLearn Languages

These online language courses are available through The Open University. You can find courses here in several languages including English, French, Gaelic, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese. You can also find general language courses (such as the history of the English language).

5. Digital Dialects

If you learn better through a game-oriented approach, you might like Digital Dialects. There are 60 languages featured, and you can learn phrases, verb conjugation, and basic vocabulary through audio and quiz-style games. Note that audio clips aren’t available for all vocabulary lessons.

Do you have any other favorite online language learning resources? If you plan to try one of these sites for free language courses, which language do you want to learn and why? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.  –Charles Darwin

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. –Henry Ellis

Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.  –Anton Chekhov

A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life. –James Allen

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact. –William James

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

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. –Mark Twain

Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it. –Henry David Thoreau

Every man dies. Not every man really lives. –William Wallace

Everything has been figured out, except how to live. –Jean-Paul Sartre

Everything in life is luck. –Donald Trump

Fortunately analysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself still remains a very effective therapist. –Karen Horney

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. –Friedrich Nietzsche

Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t. — Richard Bach

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. –E. B. White

I do not regret one moment of my life. –Lillie Langtry

I have a simple philosophy: Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. Scratch where it itches. — Alice Roosevelt Longworth

I love life because what more is there. –Anthony Hopkins

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. –John Burroughs

I take care of my flowers and my cats. And enjoy food. And that’s living. –Ursula Andress

I think I’ve discovered the secret of life – you just hang around until you get used to it. –Charles M. Schulz

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

It is not length of life, but depth of life. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family. –Philip Green

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well. –Josh Billings

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh. –George Bernard Shaw

Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself. –Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor. –Sholom Aleichem

Life is a long lesson in humility. –James M. Barrie

Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act. –Truman Capote

Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not the sum of what we have been, but what we yearn to be. –Jose Ortega y Gasset

Life is anything that dies when you stomp on it. –Dave Barry

Life is but thought. –Sara Teasdale

Life is half spent before we know what it is. –George Herbert

Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time. –Miguel Angel Ruiz

Life is much shorter than I imagined it to be. –Abraham Cahan

Life is never easy for those who dream. –Robert James Waller

Life is something to do when you can’t get to sleep. –Fran Lebowitz

Life is wasted on the living. –Douglas Adams

Life itself still remains a very effective therapist. –Karen Horney

Life loves the liver of it. –Maya Angelou

Life must be lived as play. –Plato

Life well spent is long. –Leonardo da Vinci

Look, I don’t want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you’re alive you’ve got to flap your arms and legs, you’ve got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you’re not alive. –Mel Brooks

May you live all the days of your life. –Jonathan Swift

Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets. –Arthur Miller

My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can. –CaryGrant

My life is every moment of my life. It is not a culmination of the past. –Hugh Leonard

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself. –Harvey Fierstein

Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious. –Brendan Gill

Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued. –Socrates

Only a few things are really important. –Marie Dressler

People living deeply have no fear of death. –Anais Nin

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing. –Marcus Aurelius

The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line. –H. L. Mencken

The fear of life is the favorite disease of the 20th century. –William Lyon Phelps

The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. –William James

The main facts in human life are five: birth, food, sleep, love and death. –E. M. Forster

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. –Henry David Thoreau

The purpose of life is a life of purpose. –Robert Byrne

The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases. –Carl Jung

There is no wealth but life. –John Ruskin

There is only one difference between a long life and a good dinner: that, in the dinner, the sweets come last. –Robert Louis Stevenson

This life is worth living, we can say, since it is what we make it. –William James

To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. –Henry David Thoreau

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. –Emily Dickinson

Unbeing dead isn’t being alive. –E. E. Cummings

Unrest of spirit is a mark of life. –Karl A. Menninger

Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself. –George Bernard Shaw

Wars and elections are both too big and too small to matter in the long run. The daily work – that goes on, it adds up. –Barbara Kingsolver

We can’t plan life. All we can do is be available for it. –Lauryn Hill

We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion. –Max de Pree

What we play is life. –Louis Armstrong

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’. –Erma Bombeck

When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. — Mark Twain

While there’s life, there’s hope. — Marcus Tullius Cicero

Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies. — Erich Fromm

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. — Albert Camus

Your life is what your thoughts make it. — Marcus Aurelius

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

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. –Annie Dillard

If you will just start with the idea that this is a hard world, it will all be much simpler. –Louis D. Brandeis

Live every day as if it were your last, because one of these days, it will be. –Jeremy Schwartz

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. –Leonardo da Vinci

Don’t be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin. –Grace Hansen

As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death. –George Bernard Shaw

All men think all men mortal but themselves. –Edward Young

A person starts dying when they stop dreaming. –Brian Williams

After the first death, there is no other. –Dylan Thomas

Every man dies – Not every man really lives. –William Ross Wallace

One can survive everything nowadays, except death, and live down anything, except a good reputation. –Oscar Wilde

Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies. –Ann Landers

Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you plan to stop peddling. –Claude Pepper

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well. –Josh Billings

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

If you stop struggling, then you stop life. –HueyNewton

Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive, it isn’t. –Richard Bach

Lives, like money, are spent. What are you buying with yours? –Roy H. Williams

Life is just a chance to grow a soul. –A. Powell Davies

Our lives are like a candle in the wind. –Carl Sandburg

Life is the game that must be played. –Edwin Arlington Robinson

Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep. –Carl Sandburg

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. –Charles Schulz

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. –John Dewey

Thank you for reading, please pass along!

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Whether you just set a new budget for the New Year or you simply want to save some money, there are plenty of ways you can cut your living expenses on a regular basis. Today we’ll take a look at five examples of ways to cut your everyday living expenses, some of which are incredibly simple and others that might take a bit of getting used to (but which can give the greatest rewards).

Here are five ways you might be able to cut your living expenses.

1. Consider a new residence or take on a roommate.

This is one of the more difficult changes and not realistic for everyone. But if your expenses are significantly higher than your income for whatever reason, it might be time to move. A lower rent apartment or a smaller house might be the long-term solution you need. Or, if you have extra space you could consider taking on a roommate. If you have something like a separate in-law suite that isn’t being used you might even consider renting it out.

2. Trim your cable TV costs.

Many people overpay for cable television services. It’s possible you have a package with more channels than you actually watch. Consider downgrading to save money. Or just call your cable company and ask if they can make you a better deal. Many companies will, especially if you mention that you’re willing to cancel altogether (they don’t want you going to online TV) or that you’re willing to switch to a competitor. Or, just go ahead and make the switch to online TV. I’ve been doing that for several years and I’ve never missed cable. You can use paid services like the instant watch feature of Netflix. Or you can use free sites like Hulu or even television network sites. Other than live sporting events, there isn’t much you can’t find online or with DVDs and Blu-ray these days. And actually, even some sporting events might be available online with subscriptions. Want to save even more? Consider renting movies and TV series from your local library instead.

Little coupons can equal big savings. - Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

3. Shop the sales (and use coupons).

You don’t have to give up your favorite things all the time just to save money. Instead look for ways to save on the things you really want. For example, check sales circulars each weekend in your local newspaper. Or visit your favorite stores’ websites for online coupons and other discounts. Or clip coupons for things like groceries. Better yet try to coordinate your coupons with current sales to maximize your savings. Do you need to do this with everything? No. But if you make an effort you can save a good bit. When I started using coupons a few years ago, I was able to save around $20 every week on groceries and other necessities. That really adds up (and makes me wonder why I ever stopped!).

4. Organize swaps with friends and neighbors.

What’s better than saving a bit? How about getting things for free? You can do that by organizing swaps. What are swaps? They’re just what they sound like. You get together with other people — such as friends, family members, neighbors, or a community group — and exchange things. For example, you might exchange your gently used clothes. You get something that’s new to you and at no cost. You can also do food swaps. For example you and a neighbor might each cook two meals — each large enough to feed both of your families. Then you would swap half of everything you cooked, meaning you only had to cook two meals but you get a total of four. That lets you save by buying some groceries in bulk or based on sales and coupons you have, but still gives you variety.

5. Use shopping lists and carry cash.

Sometimes cutting your living expenses isn’t about changing what you buy. It’s about changing simple habits instead. For example, start using a shopping list when you go to the store. Go in, get the items on your list, and then leave. Don’t peruse every section or aisle in a store hoping to find ideas of what you want to buy. Know before you go. Another option is to carry cash rather than focusing on credit and debit cards. That forces you to keep your spending within a strict limit — the cash you have on hand. If you want something else you then have to go home to get your debit or credit card or get more cash, and that means you have to also spend time really thinking about that purchase to decide if it’s worthwhile.

Whether you want to save a lot of money or just a little bit each month, there are many things you can do to cut your living expenses. Look at your current spending habits as a starting place. Where do you spend too much? Where could you cut back? Everyone’s current budget is different, as are their goals. Decide what yours are and look for ways to make them happen. You’re bound to find at least one living expense you can decrease to get you on your way.

Below are 25 quotes that will change your life:

1. Govern thy life and thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one, and read the other. –Thomas Fuller

2. Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult. –Hypocrites

4. After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box. –Italian Proverb

5. Life is like a library owned by the author.  In it are a few books which he wrote himself, but most of them were written for him. –Harry Emerson Fosdick

6. We make our fortunes, and we call them fate. –Earl of Beaconsfield

7. There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult. –Rainer Maria Rilke

8. The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success. –Henry Ward Beecher

9. The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business–or almost anywhere else for that matter. –Lee Iacocca

10. A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. –Francis Bacon

11. Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. –Vince Lombardi

12. Failures do what is tension relieving, while winners do what is goal achieving. –Dennis Waitley

13. Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. –Brian Tracy

14. The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live on purpose. –Michel de Montaigne

15. Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right. –Aldous Huxley

16. If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else. –Yogi Berra

17. Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before. –Polybius

18. The virtue lies in the struggle, not in the prize. –Richard Monckton Milnes

19. To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift. –Franklin Roosevelt

20. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something. –Henry Ford

21. Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind. –Seneca

22. It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

23. In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia. –Author Unknown

24. You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one. –Henry D. Thoreau

25. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. –Eleanor Roosevelt

If you have a life-changing quote that you want to share, please add it below.

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Below are 25 of the most profound motivational quotes ever spoken:

1. The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up. –Paul Valery

2. The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has. The moment a young man ceases to dream or to bemoan his lack of opportunities and resolutely looks his conditions in the face, and resolves to change them, he lays the corner-stone of a solid and honorable success. –HamiltonWright Mabie

3. The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. –Socrates

4. The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. –Robert Cushing

5. The searching-out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man. –Cicero

6. Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. –Louis Pasteur

7. Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure. –Edward Eggleston

8. The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling. –Lucretius

9. He who would do some great thing in this short life, must apply himself to the work with such a concentration of his forces as to the idle spectators, who live only to amuse themselves, looks like insanity. –John Foster

10. Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance. –Samuel Johnson

11. Do not think that what is hard for thee to master is impossible for man; but if a thing is possible and proper to man, deem it attainable by thee. –Marcus Aurelius

12. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. –Confucius

13. The only journey is the journey within. –Rainer Maria Rilke

14. Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do. –Menander

15. Collect as precious pearls the words of the wise and virtuous. –Abd-el-Kadar

16. If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old. –Lord Chesterfield

17. If you have an hour, will you not improve that hour, instead of idling it away? –Lord Chesterfield

18. Follow your honest convictions, and stay strong. –William Thackeray

19. He that will not reflect is a ruined man. –Asian Proverb

20. Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow. –Doug Firebaugh

21. Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. –Chinese Proverb

22. God ever works with those who work with will. –Aeschylus

23. Insist on yourself. Never imitate. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

24. Your real influence is measured by your treatment of yourself.  –A. Bronson Alcott

25. Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

List your own profound quote below.

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Perhaps you know the old Taoist story of the farmer and his horse.

A farmer had only one horse, and one day the horse ran away. The neighbors came to condole with him over his terrible loss. The farmer said, “What makes you think it is such a loss?”

A month later, the horse came home, this time bringing with her two beautiful wild horses. The neighbors became excited at the farmer’s good fortune. Such lovely strong horses! The farmer said, “What makes you think this is good fortune?”

The farmer’s son was thrown from one of the wild horses and broke his leg. All the neighbors were very distressed. Such bad luck! The farmer said, “What makes you think it is bad?”

A war came, and every able-bodied man was conscripted and sent into battle. Only the farmer’s son, because he had a broken leg, remained. The neighbors congratulated the farmer. “What makes you think this is good?” said the farmer.

Look back at your own life and you will see how situations which were seen initially as negative can – and often do – lead to positive outcomes in the end. We are very bad at predicting the future, and cannot know how things will turn out. Situations are always neutral – they are never inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Whether they constitute what might be seen as ‘crisis’ or ‘opportunity’ is entirely a matter of how they are perceived and labeled.

In a sense, there is no such thing as a crisis. Losing one’s job could be the best thing that happens to a person. Surveys consistently show that most people (we’re talking more than 80%) dislike their job, but stick at it because it represents security. The risk of leaving and starting up something like a business is felt to be too great, but the risk of staying in an unfulfilling job and not becoming a successful business owner is not such a big consideration. Losing one’s job can turn this risk-perception on its head – it can make someone see things in a new way and hence can represent an excellent opportunity.

Examples of such turnarounds abound – a brief search of the Internet will reveal all kinds of similar stories in the lives of individuals, organizations, even countries. The key to all of these stories is in the way the situations were approached and how they became stepping stones on the way to mastery.

Learning is essentially about failure, and the path to mastery – whether in business, relationships, politics or any other area – is slow, stumbling and strewn with difficulties. But these difficulties are what make mastery possible. Only by learning to deal with them in a creative way can we grow and develop excellence. Some of these difficulties might be labeled as crises – we only learn by pushing through them, gently and persistently.

What is needed is a resilient mentality, a certain creativity and a willingness to see the potential in all situations, however negative they might seem on the surface. In short, a stubborn optimism will always serve you well.

The Chinese symbol for Yin and Yang is a lesson in how to approach any situation. The Yin and the Yang bleed into each other, continually become one another and, even in their zenith, contain a spot of the other. Every glory has, hidden within it, the seeds of decline, and every failure the seeds of the next success.

Mark Harrison is a freelance writer and educator. He writes for a number of self-improvement websites and is the author of several books. His writing covers a wide range of self-improvement topics, but especially focuses on increasing productivity while reducing workload, and managing change. Visit him at EffortlessAbundance.com