50 Motivational Success Quotes To Inspire In 2024

What is your definition of success? Does it mean being rich, famous, and influential, or just doing what you love and pursuing your potential? Whatever your answer, let’s face it—everyone wants to succeed in life. However, sometimes we lack the motivation to keep moving forward with our goals. In such situations, you can find inspiration in motivational quotes for success from famous people who are role models for many.

To help you stay motivated, we’ve compiled a list of the 50 best success quotes. We believe that at least one of them will spark your enthusiasm to keep chasing your dreams. So, let’s dive in!

What you will find in this article:

Motivational quotes for success

1. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” — Vince Lombardi

2. “People think that at the top there isn’t much room. They tend to think of it as an Everest. My message is that there is tons of room at the top.” — Margaret Thatcher

3. “Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it… Success is shy—it won’t come out while you’re watching.” — Tennessee Williams

4. “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” — Dwayne Johnson

5. “I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.” — Queen Elizabeth II

Ever wondered what truly drives you? Find out more about different types of motivation in our article Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation: Differences & Examples

Famous quotes about success

6. “The secret of success is to do the common thing uncommonly well.” — John D. Rockefeller

7. “My powers are ordinary. Only my application brings me success.” — Isaac Newton

8. “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” — Bill Gates

9. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela

10. “80% of success is showing up.” — Woody Allen

Inspirational quotes for success in life

11. “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” — Bruce Lee

12. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” — Albert Einstein

13. “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

14. “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” — Bob Dylan

15. “The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.” — Gustave Flaubert

Motivational quotes for work success

16. “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” — James Cameron

17. “Success isn’t about the end result, it’s about what you learn along the way.” — Vera Wang

18. “One of the rewards of success is freedom, the ability to do whatever you like.” — Sting

19. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” — Thomas Edison

20. “When you do more than you’re paid for, eventually you’ll be paid for more than you do.” — Zig Ziglar

Seeking that elusive state where creativity meets peak performance? Unlock the secrets with our guide How to Get into Creative Flow for Achieving Peak Performance.

Positive quotes about success for students

21. “Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.” — Louisa May Alcott

22. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln

23. “Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it… Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.” — Marcus Aurelius

24. “The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’ — Maria Montessori

25. “We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.” — Michelle Obama

Short success quotes

26. “Failure is success if we learn from it.” — Malcolm Forbes

27. “For success, attitude is equally as important as ability.” — Walter Scott

28. “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” — Estee Lauder

29. “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” — Thomas Jefferson

30. “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” — Sun Tzu

Powerful success quotes for business

31. “An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.” — Stephen Covey

32. “In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” — Mark Zuckerberg

33. “Overcoming fear is the first step to success for entrepreneurs. The winners all exemplify that, and the hard work and commitment they have shown underlines what is needed to set up a business.” — Richard Branson

34. “Don’t run before you can crawl. It’s a very hard business, full of many, many extremely creative, talented people who work hard and still fail. If you have the basic building blocks behind you, you’re much more likely to do well.” — Anna Wintour

35. “If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.” ― Simon Sinek

Looking to enhance your productivity through mindfulness? Learn the transformative benefits of mindfulness in our latest guide Mindfulness for Productivity: Benefits, Best Practices & Tips.

Inspirational quotes about success and achievement

36. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

37. “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

38. “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” — Stephen King

39. “Whenever I’ve had success, I never learn from it. Success usually breeds a degree of hubris. When you fail, that’s when you learn.” — Moby

40. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs

What are the best quotes for success?

The best success quotes are those that give you inspiration and make you believe in achieving anything you dream of. Many of the quotes on our list have a common idea: it all depends on you and your perseverance. So, keep moving forward, and don’t compare yourself to anyone but the you of today to the you of yesterday. Remember that every step you take towards your goal is your path to success.