These are 21 of My Favorite Quotes About Life!

Like many of you out there, I love quotes. I love them so much that every time I see a good one, I add it to the notes app on my phone under my favorite quotes about life.

I’m not sure why I love them so much. I think there are a few reasons. The biggest one is that when I see a good quote, it makes me think. I try to understand what the person who said meant by it – considering all the possibilities. Then I try to apply it to my life, because if you cannot and do not apply something that you learn to your life, what’s the point?

I also think that part of it is inspiration and motivation. While intrinsic motivation is a great way to motivate yourself, sometimes we are having a crappy day and need a little extrinsic motivation. Quotes can be a great way to get us going.

A couple weeks back, while I was doing some research for my post on management guru W. Edwards Deming I came across one of his quotes – “Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.” – which points to the importance of learning.

That is what inspired today’s post which will revolve around some of my favorite quotes about life, success, and self-improvement. Not only will I share the quote, I will share my interpretation of it, as well as how to make it actionable.

Again, these are just my interpretations of these quotes, if you interpreted them differently, then, by all means, please discuss them in the comments below!

Ok, here we go…

(1)  “You are what you do, not what you say you will do” – C.G. Jung

To me, this quote is similar to ‘actions speak louder than words’. Many people say they are going to do something and don’t do anything. You can also look at it in terms of integrity and do what you say you are going to do.

Make it actionable: Less talking and more doing.

(2)  “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail” – Unknown

Meaning many of us are paralyzed and fail to take any action toward our goals because we are scared to fail.

Make it actionable: Acknowledge your fear of failure and then take that first step anyway.

(3)  “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high, and we miss it, but that it is too low, and we reach it” – Michaelangelo

I believe he is saying that we settle for much less than we are capable of and set goals that don’t challenge us to our full potential. We set easy goals because they are easy to accomplish.

Make it actionable:  Challenge yourself by setting goals that make you reach.

Speaking of reaching – here’s an interesting exercise for you.  Wherever you are, whether it is sitting or standing, do me a favor and reach as high as you possibly can in the air.

Now…reach higher…

(4)  “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect” – Mark Twain

There are a couple of ways I see this one. (1) Don’t blindly follow the masses. (2) If everyone is going one way, there may be more opportunity somewhere else.

Make it actionable: Twain’s quote is actionable itself; really think about why you are on the side of the majority and whether there is somewhere better for you to be.

(5)  “If it doesn’t suck, we don’t do it” – Navy Seal mantra

I’m a big fan of the Navy Seals and the military in general. This quote speaks to the fact that most things in life worth having are difficult and suck.

Make it actionable: Seek out things that challenge you and aren’t necessarily fun – that is how you grow. One way I make it actionable myself is when I find myself not wanting to do something at the gym because it isn’t fun or because it is difficult, I make myself do it right then and there. And I am always glad I pushed myself afterward.

(6)  “One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful” – Sigmund Freud

Freud is saying that failure is part of life and it is the struggles which make you appreciate success when you get there.

Make it actionable: Enjoy the journey and process and understand that the struggles are merely steps you must take in the journey.

(7)  “I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious” – Einstein

As accomplished as he was, Einstein is seemingly giving the majority of the credit for his success to his curiosity.

Make it actionable:  Question everything. Try to figure out how things work.  Switch things up – Read different things, try different workouts, listen to all types of podcasts, experiment with different sexual positions (Google ‘Eiffel Tower’ and thank me later), watch different videos on YouTube. Don’t be scared to be wrong or to make a mistake. Be careful with the sumptions you make. Use active listening skills.

(8)  “Adversity causes some men to break, and others to break records” – William Arthur Ward

Ward is saying that real achievers take adversity as a challenge and rise to the occasion and figure out a way to overcome the adversity.

Make it actionable: Understand that adversity is going to happen to all of us at some time in our lives. If you find yourself wanting to give up, realize that many of the most successful people faced great adversity in their lives, gave it the middle finger, and ended up succeeding.

(9)  “Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those cards you hold well.” – Josh Billings

It matters more what you do with what you have than what it is that you actually have.

Make it actionable: Don’t wish that you were this, or that you had this or that. Most of it is outside your control. Instead, figure out how to use what you do have to accomplish whatever it is you need to accomplish. Wishing or wanting for more will not get you closer to your goals and will only waste time.

(10)  “It’s what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public.” — Tony Robbins.

Similar to a point I made in my 46 Pieces of Advice to My Younger Self-post. Tony is saying that to accomplish something you need to put in a ton of work and focused effort – the majority of which is done alone and without anyone watching or cheering you on.

Make it actionable: Understanding that getting to wherever you want to get to will take an enormous amount of effort and time. So, make sure it is something that you love and have intrinsic motivation to do; just like me and this blog!

(11)  “Your actions today determine what happens tomorrow” – Unknown

Focus on the present! Much of what happens to you in the future will be affected by what you have done in the past. Daily actions add up over time.

Make it actionable: Take consistent action every day.

(12) “If you are brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello” – Paulo Coelho

Many times, we need to get out of our comfort zones and move on in various parts of our lives to grow and experience something better.

Make it actionable:  Getting out of a relationship to get into a better one, leaving a job to find a better one, ditching bad habits to find better ones.

(13)  “Small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, great minds discuss ideas.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

This is all about not gossiping and talking smack about other people.

Make it actionable: Instead of discussing gossip, discuss ideas, how to make things better and other more intellectual and positive subjects.

(14)  “Only look back to see how far you have come.” – Anonymous

The past is over and there is nothing you can do about it.

Make it actionable: Focus on kicking ass in the present (and on being present).

(15)  “You don’t need to be better than anyone else; you just need to be better than you used to be.” – Wayne Dyer

This one I love, and I think my co-blogger Howie will love it too. Dyer is saying no need to compete with anyone else, just keep getting better yourself.

Make it actionable: Focus on improving yourself and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. There will always be someone better looking, smarter, richer, stronger – whatever. You cannot control them, but you can control YOU!

(16) “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.”  Edwards Deming

This one is related to Howie’s video a few weeks back regarding first making sure you are doing the right things, then making sure you do them correctly.

Make it actionable: Making sure that you are doing the right things by making sure whatever you are doing aligns with your personal mission statement. Alternatively, using a list of pros/cons or pluses/minuses can help tell you if you are doing the right thing.

(17) “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Einstein

Another one of my favorites from Einstein. Here he means that if you keep doing things the same way, the same problems will persist. You need to think differently.

Make it actionable: Being creative and switching things up and understanding you will need to do things differently or you will end up with the same results.

(18)  “It isn’t what you have or who you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” – Dale Carnegie

I read something recently to the effect that ‘things that happen are merely results, we are the ones that determine if they are good or bad”, which is what I believe Carnegie is saying here.

Make it actionable: Instead of looking at something that happens with negativity, look at the positives and what you can learn from it.

(19)  “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

Get your ass off the couch and make stuff happen.

Make it actionable: Take consistent, disciplined action every day and adjust along the way until you get where you want to be.

(20)  “Begin with the end in mind. Start with the end outcome and work backwards to make your dream possible.” – Wayne Dyer

This is exactly what I discussed in a previous post on reverse engineering to replicate or figure out how to do something that someone else has done. You do this by starting at the end, then working your way back and figuring out how they did it by pulling it apart, piece by piece, then replicating those steps yourself and making it happen.

Make it actionable:  to reverse engineer something in your life, do the following:

(1)  Figure out the goal.
(2)  Do some research to figure out what you need to do.
(3)  Start at the end and start listing the steps in reverse order until you get to the first step. (eat the elephant in small bites).
(4)  Then start executing from the first step on.
(5)  Course correct and adjust if necessary.
(6)  Achieve your goal

(21)  “To whom much is given, much is expected” – Unknown

Being alive is like winning the lottery of life and we all have a duty to make the world a better place before we leave it.

How to make it actionable: Personally, I use this as a question in self-reflection. Am I doing everything I can with my God-given abilities? What can I do better?

That’s it, those are some of my favorite quotes about life, success, and self-improvement.

Until next time, please share your favorite quotes about life in the comments below and until next time…PYMFP!
–Rick

What Do You Think About These 21 of My Favorite Quotes About Life?

What are some of your favorite quotes about life and what do they mean to you? How can they be made actionable? Please share in the comments below!

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