50 Inspirational Quotes About Life

These quotes about life will motivate you, inspire you, and might make you tear up a bit, too.

Sometimes, life can be a bit daunting. Between big life decisions, heartbreaks, tragedies, and even simple bad days when nothing seems to go right, it's easy to get down on your outlook on life. That's where these moving life quotes come in. When you (or a friend or family member) need a pick-me-up, these quotes about life will turn your day around. From some of our favorite famous authors, musicians, and public figures, these life quotes are beyond motivating.

Inspirational Quotes About Life
martin-dm/Getty Images

These uplifting messages aren't reserved for just the not-so-good days, though! If you're about to make a big life change or know a friend who's about to, these life quotes are perfectly inspiring for any situation. If you want to make someone's day, write one of these inspirational quotes on a sticky note and put it somewhere you know it will be seen. Soon, you'll be spreading inspiration all around. Plus, we all know a good quote makes an amazing Instagram caption (admit it). Whatever situation you're in, these quotes about life will motivate you, inspire you, and we'll be honest, might make you tear up a bit.

01 of 50

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks Quote
Southern Living

"I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom." — Rosa Parks

02 of 50

Lilly Pulitzer

Lilly Pulitzer Quote

"Being happy never goes out of style." — Lilly Pulitzer

03 of 50

Helen Keller

Helen Keller Quote
Southern Living

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." — Helen Keller

04 of 50

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quote

"You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive." — Maya Angelou

05 of 50

Mark Twain

Mark Twain Quote

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." — Mark Twain

06 of 50

Ann Richards

Ann Richards Quote

"I have very strong feelings about how you lead your life. You always look ahead, you never look back." — Ann Richards

07 of 50

Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush Quote
Southern Living

"Never lose sight of the face that the most important yard stick to your success is how you treat other people." — Barbara Bush

08 of 50

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash Quote

"All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate…I choose love." — Johnny Cash

09 of 50

Princess Diana

Princess Diana Quote

"I don't go by the rule book…I lead from the heart, not the head." — Princess Diana

10 of 50

Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty Quote
Southern Living

"The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order the continuous thread of revelation." — Eudora Welty

11 of 50

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr Quote

"The time is always right to do what is right." — Martin Luther King Jr.

12 of 50

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn Quote
Southern Living

"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other." — Audrey Hepburn

13 of 50

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson Quote

"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." — Jackie Robinson

14 of 50

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton Quote

"If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one." — Dolly Parton

15 of 50

Lilly Pulitzer

Lilly Pulitzer Quote2

"Despite the forecast, live like it's spring." — Lilly Pulitzer

16 of 50

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson Quote
Southern Living

"If I'd have done all the things I was supposed to have done, I'd be really tired." — Willie Nelson

17 of 50

Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire Quote

"To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone." — Reba McEntire

18 of 50

Rebecca Wells

Rebecca Wells Quote

"Life is short, but it is wide. This too shall pass." — Rebecca Wells, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

19 of 50

Mark Twain

Mark Twain Quote2

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." — Mark Twain

20 of 50

William Faulkner

William Faulkner Quote

"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself." — William Faulkner

21 of 50

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks Quote2

"Each person must live their life as a model for others." — Rosa Parks

22 of 50

Dr. Seuss

Dr Seuss Quote

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." — Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go

23 of 50

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson Quote2
Southern Living

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." — Jackie Robinson

24 of 50

Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts Quote
Southern Living

"The older you get, the more fragile you understand life to be. I think that's good motivation for getting out of bed joyfully each day." — Julia Roberts

25 of 50

Joanna Gaines

Joanna Gaines Quote
Southern Living

"Now it's the little moments that stop me in my tracks, because that's what life is all about." — Joanna Gaines

26 of 50

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey Quote
Southern Living

"The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams." — Oprah Winfrey

27 of 50

Helen Keller

Helen Keller Quote2
Southern Living

"So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good." — Helen Keller

28 of 50

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quote2

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style." — Maya Angelou

29 of 50

Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty Quote2

"All serious daring starts from within." — Eudora Welty

30 of 50

Emeril Lagasse

Emeril Lagasse Quote

"Life just doesn't hand you things. You have to get out there and make things happen. that's the exciting part." — Emeril Lagasse

31 of 50

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton Quote2
Southern Living

"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try." — Dolly Parton

32 of 50

Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison Quote

"It takes a deep commitment to change and an even deeper commitment to grow." — Ralph Ellison

33 of 50

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn Quote
Southern Living

"I've been around a long time, and life still has a whole lot of surprises for me." — Loretta Lynn

34 of 50

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr Quote2
Southern Living

"Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are." — Martin Luther King Jr.

35 of 50

Joel Osteen

Joel Osteen Quote

"You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say, 'Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.' See the positive in negative events." — Joel Osteen

36 of 50

Beyoncé Knowles

Beyonce Knowles Quote

"If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow." — Beyoncé Knowles

37 of 50

Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg Quote
Southern Living

"Being a successful person is not necessarily defined by what you have achieved, but by what you have overcome." — Fannie Flagg, The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion

38 of 50

Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush Quote2
Southern Living

"You have two choices in life; you can either like what you do or dislike what you do. I have chosen to like what I do." — Barbara Bush

39 of 50

Billy Graham

Billy Graham Quote
Southern Living

"The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith." — Billy Graham

40 of 50

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash Quote2
Southern Living

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." — Johnny Cash

41 of 50

Dr. Seuss

Dr Seuss Quote2

"You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut." — Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

42 of 50

Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty Quote3

"The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy." — Eudora Welty

43 of 50

William Faulkner

William Faulkner Quote2

"You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore." — William Faulkner

44 of 50

Truman Capote

Truman Capote Quote

"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." — Truman Capote

45 of 50

Mark Twain

Mark Twain Quote3
Southern Living

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started." — Mark Twain

46 of 50

Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison Quote2

"Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat." — Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

47 of 50

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks Quote3
Southern Living

"Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that held its ground." — Rosa Parks

48 of 50

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quote3

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back." — Maya Angelou

49 of 50

William Faulkner

William Faulkner Quote3
Southern Living

"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself." — William Faulkner

50 of 50

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter Quote
Southern Living

"We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon." — Jimmy Carter

If you're feeling lost or blue (or need to encourage a friend who might be), these inspirational quotes about life will pep you right up. And if you're feeling just fine today, bookmark these quotes for a time when you or a friend might need to hear them.

Was this page helpful?
Related Articles