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101 Inspirational Quotes for Graduates – Get Motivated

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Ikenna Odinaka
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101 Inspirational Quotes for Graduates

Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular refills.

Peter Davies

Possibly, you are currently out of school, a graduate or employed and wondering what’s next. Or you are just in your current position right now planning for a head start. Achieving your dreams after school is not a journey through the broad way. You need more than qualification to drive through.

Some inspirational quotes can alter your mindset for good and some can keep you glittering through the day if you meditate on them daily. If you love motivational and inspirational quotes from great achievers, as much as I do, here are fire-driven quotes to position you in the direction of success. Feel free to select your best and meditate on them as often as you wish. Enjoy!

  1. Good things come to those who hustle while they wait.  Anonymous
  2. I maintained my edge by always being a student; you will always have something new to learn. Jackie Joyner Kersee
  3. There is only one success–to be able to spend your life in your own way. Christopher Morley
  4. The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows. Aristotle Onassis
  5. The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed in these two: common-sense and perseverance. Owen Feltham
  6. Failures do what is tension relieving, while winners do what is goal achieving. Dennis Waitley
  7. Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time. Josh Billings
  8. Try not to become a man of success but a man of value. Albert Einstein
  9. The man who makes a success of an important venture never wails for the crowd. He strikes out for himself. It takes nerve, it takes a great lot of grit; but the man that succeeds has both. Anyone can fail. The public admires the man who has enough confidence in himself to take a chance. These chances are the main things after all. The man who tries to succeed must expect to be criticized. Anonymous
  10. If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes. St. Clement of Alexandra
  11. The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. Arthur C. Clarke
  12. Men’s best successes come after their disappointments.  Henry Ward Beecher
  13. You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind. Author Unknown
  14. The best way out is always through. Robert Frost
  15. Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking. William B. Sprague
  16. Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. Samuel Johnson
  17. Fortune favors the brave. Publius Terence
  18. If you want to succeed in the world you must make your own opportunities as you go on. The man who waits for some seventh wave to toss him on dry land will find that the seventh wave is a long time a coming. You can commit no greater folly than to sit by the roadside until someone comes along and invites you to ride with him to wealth or influence. John B. Gough
  19. We are still masters of our fate. We are still captains of our souls. Winston Churchill
  20. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson
  21. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Henry David Thoreau
  22. All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible. T.E. Lawrence
  23. I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. Patrick Henry
  24. Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer.  Marcia Wieder
  25. The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success. Henry Ward Beecher
  26. A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. Francis Bacon
  27. The significance of a man is not in what he attains but in what he longs to attain. Kahlil Gibran
  28. Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right. Aldous Huxley
  29. Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives. Viktor Frankl
  30. To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift. Franklin Roosevelt
  31. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something. Henry Ford
  32. It is not enough to take steps which may someday lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  33. In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia. Unknown
  34. Sometimes the best way to figure out who you are is to get to that place where you don’t have to be anything else. Levis Ad
  35. If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead. Gelett Burgess
  36. I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want. Mark Twain
  37. Everyone is born a king, and most people die in exile. Oscar Wilde
  38. Ambition, fueled by compassion, wisdom and integrity, is a powerful force for good that will turn the wheels of industry and open the doors of opportunity for you and countless others. Zig Ziglar
  39. The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust
  40. Press on – nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Perseverance and determination alone are omnipotent. Calvin Coolidge
  41. None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone. Ralph Waldo Emerson
  42. Competition is a by-product of productive work, not its goal. A creative man is motivated by the
    desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. Ayn Rand
  43. “Ninety-eight percent of the population blames anybody else but themselves for their current financial situation. Your financial troubles are because of something you did…. It is time to take personal responsibility for where you are.” Are you taking responsibility?” Dani Johnson
  44. To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe. Anatole France
  45. When you think you can’t… revisit a previous triumph. Jack Canfield
  46. Sometimes things become possible if we want them bad enough. T.S. Eliot
  47. Don’t you get it? This very second you could be doing something you love and dream about doing. So do it! NOW! Anonymous
  48. Courage is facing your fears. Stupidity is fearing nothing. Todd Bellemare
  49. The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur. Vince Lombardi
  50. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance. Dr. Samuel Johnson
  51. It doesn’t matter what you are thinking, or what fear you have, if you just do it! Action is the only thing that matters.. .I can see that at the end of my life, I am not going to look back and say, “I wish I had taken more action”. Diana von Welanetz Wentworth
  52. People become successful the minute they decide to. Harvey Mackay
  53. Your ideas are like diamonds.Without the refining process, they are just a dirty rock, but by cutting away the impurities, they become priceless. Paul Kearly
  54. Society may predict, but only I can determine my destiny. Clair Oliver
  55. To be a winner, all you have to give is all you have. Anonymous
  56. People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. Earl Nightingale
  57. For I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
  58. Don’t limit your challenges; challenge your limits. Anonymous
  59. If you have a burning desire and a plan to take action, there is absolutely nothing you cannot achieve. Thomas J. Vilord
  60. Approach the start of each day with something in mind and end the day with one word…DONE. Anonymous
  61. In every problem there is a hidden treasure inside. It’s your job to find it. Anonymous
  62. Fear is met and destroyed with courage. Again and again when the struggle seems hopeless and all opportunity lost, the one with a little more courage, and a little more effort will have victory.  James F. Bell
  63. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Albert Einstien
  64. Without ambition no conquests are made, and no business created. Ambition is the root of all achievement. James Champy
  65. Cause change and lead; accept change and survive; resist change and die. Ray Norda
  66. 80% of success is showing up. Woody Allen
  67. Trust in yourself. Your perceptions are often far more accurate than you are willing to believe. Claudia Black
  68. If you think you can or if you think you can’t, either way you are right. Anthony Robbins
  69. God created all men equal. Why do some accomplish far greater accomplishments then others? Because they had a vision, a desire, and they took action. Thomas J. Vilord
  70. We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough. Helen Keller
  71. Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached their goal, while others obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before. Herodotus
  72. Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot
  73. People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves. That is why they remain bound. James Allen
  74. Money never starts an idea; it’s the idea that starts the money. Mark Victor Hansen
  75. I am not just here to make a living; I am here to make a life. Helice Bridges
  76. Life is short. Focus from this day forward on making a difference. Anonymous
  77. You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you do not try. Beverly Sills
  78. Your dreams minus your doubts equal your true worth. Anonymous
  79. The man who said he never had a chance, never took one. Anonymous
  80. Read something positive every night and Listen to something helpful, every morning. Tom Hopkins
  81. I do believe I am special. My special gift is my vision, my commitment, and my willingness to do whatever it takes. Anthony Robbins
  82. Man is what he believes. Anton Chekov
  83. It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you often get it. N – W. Somerset Manghan
  84. Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding. Jimmy Valvano
  85. Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable. Emily Guay
  86. Don’t wish for it.. .work for it! Anonymous
  87. He who conquers others is strong. He who conquers himself is mighty. Lao Tzu
  88. Don’t be afraid to go after what you want to do and what you want to be, and don’t be afraid to pay the price to get it. Anonymous
  89. JUST DO IT! Nike
  90. Success in the end erases all the mistakes along the way. Chinese Proverb
  91. Success is a piece of mind which is a direct result of the self-satisfaction knowing you did your  best to become the best you are capable of becoming. John Wooden
  92. People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success. Norman Vincent Peale
  93. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Wayne Gretzky
  94. People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to. George E. Allen
  95. I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. John D. Rockefeller
  96. If I had to select one quality and one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick persistence and determination. The will  to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying, “Here comes number seventy one”. Richard M. Devos
  97. There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is above its reach. It can turn bad morals to good morals; it can destroy bad principles and re-create good ones; it can lift men to angelship. Mark Twain
  98. I am a great believer in luck, and I find that the harder I work the more luck I have.Thomas Jefferson
  99. Destiny is not a matter of chance; it’s a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.Jeremy Kitson
  100. If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page.Mark Houlahan
  101. Consult not your fears, but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you have tried and failed in, but for what is still possible for you to do.Pope John XXIIIT
  102. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.Ralph Waldo Emerson

Author

  • Ikenna Odinaka C. is a Writer, Career Development Professional, Entrepreneur, Educator and Investor. He is the founder of AfterschoolAfrica.com, AfterSchoolMedia.com and Edxtra.com. He has also co-founded other businesses in Education, technology and media industry. He is passionate about the future of work, entrepreneurship and helping young people explore opportunities to develop their financial capability. You can read his best content on AfterSchoolMedia.com and watch his insightful videos on YouTube

This post was last modified on December 3, 2014 10:16 am

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