Each of us has our own idea of what makes us successful: fame, fortune, a career, or a happy family.
We also have our notions of how much risk we’re willing to take, how many sacrifices we’re ready to make, and how hard we’re willing to work for success.
Whether you’re dreaming of a better life, striving for an exciting future, or working towards a long-held ambition, take inspiration from these 54 motivational quotes about success.
Find your quote:
9 Quotes Defining Success
“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.” – Bob Dylan
“I define success by personal growth; if you don’t continue to grow, you can’t continue to succeed.” – Tabatha Coffey
“Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.” – Roy T. Bennett
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
“Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get” – W.P. Kinsella
“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” – Anne Sweeney
“I had to remind myself of the truth of who I was and the reality that success wasn’t defined by a result but by faithfulness.” – Rachael Denhollander
“I want to define success by redefining it. For me it isn’t that solely mythical definition – glamour, allure, power of wealth, and the privilege from care. Any definition of success should be personal because it’s so transitory. It’s about shaping my own destiny.” – Anita Roddick
“You have to define success in your own way. What maintains your dignity and integrity, and what is your life’s plan; where do you want to put your efforts? I could be richer and more famous, but I would have to give up things that are of infinitely more value.” – Laura Schlessinger
15 Quotes About How To Be A Success
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder
“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you’ll move mountains.” – Dr. Seuss, aka Theodore Geisel
“Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” – Viktor E. Frankl
“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.” – Serena Williams
“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions, and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.” – Lao Tzu
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” – Malcolm Gladwell
“I am willing to put myself through anything, temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level. I am interested in the unknown, and the only path to the unknown is through breaking barriers, an often painful process.” – Diana Nyad
“Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.” – Virat Kholi
“If it’s a good idea, go ahead and do it. It’s much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.” – Grace Hopper
“True champions aren’t always the ones that win, but those with the most guts.” – Mia Hamm
“One of the differences between some successful and unsuccessful people is that one group is full of doers, while the other is full of wishers.” – Edmond Mbiaka
“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” – Mister Rogers
15 Quotes About Success And Failure
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Sir Winston Churchill
“You can fall, but you can rise also.” – Angélique Kidjo
“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.” – Herbert Bayard Swope
“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” – Truman Capote
“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali
“We learn from failure, not from success!” – Bram Stoker
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“A thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions – as attempts to find out something. Success and failure are for him answers above all.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” – Dale Carnegie
“Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison
“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” – Bill Gates
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” – Herman Melville
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.” – WC Fields
“If a book about failures doesn’t sell, is it a success?” – Jerry Seinfeld
5 Funny Quotes About Success
“The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” – Bette Midler
“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.” – Mark Twain
“The biggest challenge after success is shutting up about it.” – Criss Jami
“The best revenge is massive success.” – Frank Sinatra
“Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.” – Fran Lebowitz
10 Inspirational Quotes About Success
“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein
“I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
“It has always seemed strange to me…The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.” – John Steinbeck
“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, “Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody.” – Henri Nouwen
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?” – Brian Tracy
“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” – the 14th Dalai Lama
“A society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated …” – Khaled Hosseini
“If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.” – Melinda Gates
Success requires focus, dedication, and a positive attitude. But sometimes, even the most driven among us can be held back by toxic people and negativity. That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with positive influences and rise above negativity.
Our toxic people quotes offer powerful words of inspiration to help you do just that.
From recognizing toxic behavior to setting healthy boundaries, these quotes will help you rise above negativity and stay focused on your goals. So please look at our collection and find the inspiration you need to stay positive, focused, and on the path to success.