People who have strived for and achieved excellence in their fields have a lot to offer in terms of quotes about how to be successful.
From former presidents to motivational speakers, authors, artists, and sports heroes, successful personalities offer wisdom that can provide you with guidance in your journey to success.
The following is 10 best inspiring success quotes from people who excel or have excelled in their lives and chosen work.
Each section is comprised of one quote, an interpretation of the quote and valuable information about how to apply the success quote’s message in your life.
1. David Frost: Discover Your Passion
Author and media personality, David Frost, mentions how finding what you love to do and doing it will bring you to success.
“Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.” –David Frost
Discover your passion. David Frost stresses the importance of finding your passions in life in order to be successful.
What do you love to do? What are your interests? Do you have any natural-born talents or skills that you’re passionate about? List things that make your heart sing and tap into your passions.
Read more about David Frost’s Success Quote
2. Steve Jobs: Have Faith
The entrepreneurial inventor and CEO of Apple, Inc, Steve Jobs, discusses the importance of having faith that what you’re doing will lead to something greater than you could have ever imagined.
“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” –Steve Jobs
Have faith. Steve Jobs said we don’t always know what will become of our work. He believed we must trust and have faith that something will come of it. Whether it’s fate you believe in, destiny or your own judgment, to be successful you’ve got to have faith that something positive will come of it.
Do you have faith that what you do will eventually have an impact on someone or something? Why or why not?
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3. Oprah Winfrey: Take Responsibility
World-renowned talk show host, actress, writer, and philanthropist-turned-media-mogul, Oprah Winfrey, shares how she took responsibility for her life as a very young person in order to be successful.
“I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.” –Oprah Winfrey
Take responsibility. Oprah Winfrey spoke of how she took responsibility for herself at a young age. She felt compelled to “make good.”
What about you? Do you avoid blaming others, looking for excuses and just believing “Stuff happens” without having any control in it? Do you take complete responsibility for what happens in your life and career? If so, how? If not, what do you do instead? What can you do now to change?
Read more about Oprah Winfrey’s Success Quote
4. Thomas Jefferson: Think Positive
Thomas Jefferson, a U.S. President and the creator of the Declaration of Independence, emphasizes the importance of having a positive mindset if you want to achieve success.
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” –Thomas Jefferson
Think positive. Thomas Jefferson stressed that if a person has the “right mental attitude,” nothing can prevent him from reaching his goals.
How is your mental attitude? Do you think positive? How do you know? If you don’t have the right mental attitude, what changes should you make?
Read more about Thomas Jefferson’s Success Quote
5. Pablo Picasso: Take Action
Pablo Picasso, artist and inventor of the art form of cubism, focused his comments on taking action to obtain success.
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” –Pablo Picasso
Take action. According to Pablo Picasso, one must take action in order to eventually have success. Taking action involves putting in time and effort to get something done.
Do you take action to achieve your goals? If yes, describe what you do. If no, discuss what is stopping you from taking action and find a way to get past your challenge.
Read more about Pablo Picasso: Take Action
6. Dale Carnegie: Embrace your Failures
A speaker and author, Dale Carnegie reminds us to embrace failures if we hope to be successful.
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” –Dale Carnegie
Embrace your failures. When you feel discouraged or when you fail at something, Dale Carnegie believed you were actually one step closer to success. Some people are embarrassed by their failures and try to forget about them. Others are galvanized into action to work harder and achieve their goals.
How do you respond to your failures?
Think of one of the biggest mistakes or failures you’ve ever experienced. Write about it here. What did you learn from it? How did you alter your behavior afterward?
Read more about Dale Carnegie’s Success Quote
7. Ayn Rand: Recognize Opportunity
Known worldwide for her writing and social activism, Ayn Rand touted the importance of recognizing opportunities and taking advantage of them to move up the ladder of success.
“The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.” –Ayn Rand
Recognize opportunity. Do you believe there are opportunities around you every single day? Ayn Rand focuses on how taking advantage of opportunities will eventually take you to the top of the success ladder.
List 3 opportunities you could take advantage of right now to better develop your career goals.
Read more about Ayn Rand’s Success Quote
8. Warren Buffett: Find Mentors Whom You Can Emulate
Down-to-earth financier, Warren Buffet, recommends you surround yourself with and emulate people smarter and better than yourself to achieve success.
“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” –Warren Buffett
Find mentors whom you can emulate. Warren Buffet believes that if you fraternize with people who are smarter or more business-minded than yourself, you’ll gradually improve your own efforts to be successful.
What kind of people do you hang out with? Do they inspire you? Do you aspire to be just like them?
If you could benefit from having a different, more inspiring group of people around you, list some people whom you believe would be good mentors and role models for you.
Read more about Warren Buffett’s Success Quote
9. Michael Jordan: Confront and Resolve Obstacles
Michael Jordan, the world’s most beloved basketball player, reminds us all to expect, confront and resolve all obstacles to our success.
“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” –Michael Jordan
Confront and resolve obstacles. If you’re like Michael Jordan, you understand the importance of expecting obstacles to your success. And you realize that you can’t let anything prevent you from continuing along your path to achievement.
How do you resolve obstacles that get in your way?
Read more about Michael Jordan’s Success Quote
10. Zig Ziglar: Realize it’s a Journey
Zig Ziglar, a well-known motivational speaker, shares his ideas about how success is a journey that we begin from wherever we are with whatever we have.
“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” –Zig Ziglar
Realize it’s a journey. Achieving success isn’t an overnight thing and it’s different for every person, according to Zig Ziglar. He believed a person has to reach inside and find his own standard of achieving and then go for it. One must take action and try hard to succeed.
Do you look within to find your effort and will? Where are you in your journey? Where would you like to be by this time next year? Write it all down.
Read more about Zig Ziglar’s Success Quote
Journey To Success
In your personal journey to success, you can prosper from the knowledge of those who’ve achieved success before you.
Listen to those who have excelled and some who continue to accomplish all the goals they set. Improve your chances for success by applying these top 10 quotes from some real winners!
After reading the 10 great success quotes, apply them in your own life to achieve the success you desire. Learning from those who “walk the walk” is life-enriching.
When you open your mind to the wisdom of some of the most successful people who’ve ever lived, the possibilities for success in your life vastly increase.