60 Greatest Short Inspirational Quotes | Best Quick Motivational Quotes

Best Short Motivational Quotes of All Time

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We all love a good inspirational quote, right? Yes, they can be a bit corny at times but don't judge yourself for being a motivational quote addict like me. You can never have too much motivation.

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

This post is loaded with my favorite short (under one sentence) inspirational quotes. Just some short positive quotes about things like living a happy life, finding life's meaning, creating a fresh beginning, doing noble work and taking accountability for our own actions.

I've included inspiring short quotes from well known people like Henry Ford, Martin Luther King Jr, Mark Twain and Winston Churchill. I've also included a couple of unknown motivational quotes have been added as well.

These are like word espresso for your day! Bookmark this article and refer to it whenever you need a productivity boost!

Without further ado... Here are the 60 best (very short) inspirational quotes of all time. Your future self will thank you for reading these short inspirational quotes...

1. “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

2. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

3. “It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly.” – Mabel Newcomber

4. “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it.” – Jonathan Winters

5. “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott

6. “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” – Ben Spock

7. “Compassion is language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

8. “The greatest act of faith some days is to simply get up and face another day.” – Amy Gatliff

9. "Whatever you are, be a good one." – Abraham Lincoln

10. “If the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.” – Norman Vincent Peale

11. “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning” – Meister Eckhart

12. “The really great man is the man who makes every man feel great.” – G. K. Chesterton

13. “The degree of responsibility you take for your life determines how much change you can create in it.” – Celestine Chua

14. “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.”  Hugh Downs

15. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C. S. Lewis

16. “If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas Edison

17. “Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

18. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton

19. “Most obstacles melt away when we make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” – Orison Swett Marden

20. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

21. “Begin anywhere.” – John Cage

22. “Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.” Edwin Markham

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

24. “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” – Ralph Emerson

25. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.“ – Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

26. “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway." – Eleanor Roosevelt

27. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.“ – Winston S. Churchill

28. “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.“ – John Milton

29. “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.“ – Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Jr Quotes

30. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.“ – Robert Louis Stevenson

31. “I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed." - Michael Jordan

32. "Stay hungry, stay foolish." - Steve Jobs

33. "The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning.” - Joseph Campbell

34. "You become what you believe, not what you think or what you want." - Oprah Winfrey

35. “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”- Steve Martin

36 “Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” - Joshua J. Marine

37. “If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with my name.” – Kendrick Lamar

38. "Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

39. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." – Lao Tzu

40. "The wisest mind has something yet to learn." – George Santanaya

41(A). "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." – James Dean

This quote is also often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi who said...

41B.  "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” - Mahatma Gandhi

42. "The only thing that can grow is the thing you give energy to." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

43. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you're willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” - Lou Holtz

44. “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” -Henry Ford 

45. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler

46. "Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." - Suzy Kassem

47. "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein

48. "What counts can't always be counted; what can be counted doesn't always count." - Albert Einstein

49. "If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things." – Albert Einstein

50. "Explore, Dream, Discover." – Mark Twain

51. "Never let your emotions overpower your intelligence." – Drake

52. "When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." –Helen Keller

53. "Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still." – Chinese Proverb

54. "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." – Chinese Proverb

55. "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud." – Maya Angelou

56. “Fall 7 times, stand up 8." - Japanese Proverb

57. "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.” - Steve Jobs

58. "If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." - Napoleon Hill

59. "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." – Napoleon Hill

60. " Tough times never last but tough people do." – Robert H. Schiuller

I hope that these short quotes help you get on the right track in your personal life and drive you to massive success.

Want more great, short, powerful motivational quotes? Check out my post here on the greatest leadership and management quotes of all time!

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