Hope is a vigorous principle; it is furnished with light and heat to advise and execute; it sets the head and heart to work, and animates a man to do his utmost. And thus, by perpetually pushing and assurance, it puts a difficulty out of countenance, and makes a seeming impossibility give way.
—Jeremy Collier (1650–1726) Anglican Church Historian, Clergyman
I happened on the idea of fitting an engine to a bicycle simply because I did not want to ride crowded trains and buses.
—Soichiro Honda (1906–91) Japanese Inventor
The peril of the hour moved the British to tremendous exertions, just as always in a moment of extreme danger things can be done which had previously been thought impossible. Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas.
—Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) German Soldier
What all men are really after is some form, or perhaps only some formula, of peace.
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) Polish-born British Novelist
What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
—John Lubbock (1834–1913) English Politician, Biologist
Hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible.
—William Sloane Coffin (1924–2006) American Presbyterian Clergyman, Peace Activist
Instruction does much, but encouragement does everything.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Poverty, frost, famine, rain, disease, are the beadles and guardsmen that hold us to common sense.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
We can do whatever we wish to do provided our wish is strong enough. But the tremendous effort needed – one doesn’t always want to make it – does one? … But what else can be done? What’s the alternative? What do you want most to do? That’s what I have to keep asking myself, in the face of difficulties.
—Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand-born British Author
Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition… I have no other so great as that of being truely esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Anxiety and conscience are a powerful pair of dynamos. Between them, they have ensured that I shall work hard, but they cannot ensure that one shall work at anything worthwhile.
—Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) British Historian
People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street, folks will say, “There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived”.
—Ted Williams (1918–2002) American Sportsperson
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Motivation is the fuel necessary to keep the human engine running.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
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 (b.1933) Maltese-British Psychologist, Writer
To have a grievance is to have a purpose in life.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Acting was a way out at first. A way out of not knowing what to do, a way of focusing ambitions. And the ambition wasn’t for fame. The ambition was to do an interesting job.
—Harrison Ford (b.1942) American Actor
There is nothing that fear and hope does not permit men to do.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
Each individual should work for himself. People will not sacrifice themselves for the company. They come to work at the company to enjoy themselves.
—Soichiro Honda (1906–91) Japanese Inventor
I’m slowly becoming a convert to the principle that you can’t motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them. The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles.
—Scott Adams (b.1957) American Cartoonist
Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.
—Donald Trump (b.1946) American Businessperson, Head of State
A team that has character doesn’t need stimulation.
—Tom Landry (1924–2000) American Sportsperson
Too great a preoccupation with motives (especially one’s own motive) is liable to lead to too little concern for consequences.
—Katharine Whitehorn (b.1928) English Journalist, Writer, Columnist
I’ve always felt that a manager has achieved a great deal when he’s able to motivate one other person. When it comes to making the place run, motivation is everything. You might be able to 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 (1924–2019) American Businessperson
One of the reasons it has seemed so difficult for a person to change his habits, his personality, or his way of life, has been that heretofore nearly all efforts at change have been directed to the circumference of the self, so to speak, rather than to the center.
—Maxwell Maltz (1899–1975) American Surgeon, Motivational Writer
To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Two purposes in human nature rule. Self-love to urge, and reason to restrain.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
You cannot raise a man up by calling him down.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
I am not sending messages with my feet. All I ever wanted was not to come up empty. I did it for the dough and the old applause.
—Fred Astaire (1899–1987) American Actor, Dancer, Singer
The light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed, the shadow of shadows on the deed alone.
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Irish Poet, Dramatist
Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities.
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973) Irish Novelist, Short-story Writer
We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Hunger, love, vanity, and fear. There are four great motives of human action.
—William Graham Sumner (1840–1910) American Polymath, Academic, Historian, Sociologist, Anthropologist