Intro – The Power of Motivational Quotes
Everyone loves motivational quotes. I mean who can blame us? There will be many times on our journey of self improvement when we feel like throwing in the towel or giving up because that would be so much easier. Then, we read a motivational quote and it reminds us of what’s important to us and encourages us to never give up. Words are more powerful than many of us realize.
The power of words can be severely underestimated at times as sometimes words will be the only thing to keep us going. However, what you do with those words you see or are told is equally as important as the words themselves. Don’t let it end ith just hearing them, make sure you do something with them.
This post will not be a list of the “BEST QUOTES EVER” or anything like that. Instead, they’re quotes that are some of my personal favorites and quotes that I often keep in mind.
However, not everyone loves motivational quotes (I know I did kinda lie earlier). In the back of our minds, almost all of us have the same dreams. Those dreams usually involve living a life of luxury in a huge house with lots of cars, or anything related to having money. These kinds of dreams linger in the back of everyone’s mind. However, when people discover the work that has to be done to achieve these goals, they back down and settle for less. Intead they rely on things like the lottery and scratchers to fulfill those dreams. This leads us nicely into the first quote…
1. “Everyone wants to be successful until they see what it actually takes.”
What a perfect quote to start the post with.
There’s nothing like a good reality check I say as they often keep me from becoming too arrogant and prideful. This quote is the perfect example of exactly that, a good reality check. Now let’s see the impacts of that reality check.
Meaning Behind the Quote
In this case, the meaning is pretty obvious and I already talked about it a little over in the intro.
Everyone wants to have the benefits and rewards of being a successful person. Everyone wants to own the most expensive cars, live in their dream house, marry their dream partner, and have lots of money. However, only a tiny percentage of all those people are even willing to try and an even smaller percentage of those people are willing to actually stay consistent.
When I first saw this quote, it gave me a realization that hit me like a truck on the freeway. I was lazy as hell. I was talking big and dreaming big, but I wasn’t doing anything aside from those two things. This leads to another thing that this quote taught me. The only thing that speaks louder than words is action, and I wasn’t taking any of it. Instead, I thought way too highly of myself when I really had nothing to back that up with. I was too prideful.
It is for all these reasons that this quote hit me so hard when I first read it. It made me realize that I wasn’t all that special and that just talking big was not enough, and that I was cowering away from actually doing the work I needed to. Because of this (and a few other reasons I may get into), I started my self improvement journey.
Apply it To Your Life
Remember what I said earlier in the intro? Never let words end with just hearing them. Use them to take action.
When it comes to this quote, I feel that if you don’t start taking action then it will constantly linger in the back of your mind. You’ll be constantly reminded of your failures to take action and start self improvement. It’ll keep on beating you down until you choose to turn the tables.
The best way to apply this quote to your life is to take action and not be like everyone else. Don’t let it end with just a dream, make that dream a reality, no matter how daunting that may seem, you can do this.
2. “There ain’t no getting offa this train we’re on, ’till we’re at the line of the line.”
For those of you who don’t know where this quote comes from, then you’re probably confused as to why there is an image of a huge guy with a gun for an arm here. That’s because he’s the speaker of this inspirational quote.
This is Barret Wallace, a character from the video game Final Fantasy VII. I know what you’re thinking a video game on a self improvement site?! I know I know, but here’s my take on the whole video game situation.
I have spoken out on video games and how they’re a waste of time before yet here I am about to praise a game, what gives? Well, they are indeed a waste of time, if all you do is spend all day and every moment you have playing them. Otherwise, I believe they’re completely fine to play in moderation and can be a great way to cool off after a productive day. In fact, many games can teach you valuable lessons that you’ll hold onto for the rest of your life. Final Fantasy VII is definitely ones of those games.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get into the meaning.
Meaning Behind the Quote
This quote is said roughly around halfway through the game. Our protagonist, Cloud Strife, is not doing so hot. Long story short, he lost control of himself and now doesn’t want to continue the journey due to the fear of doing it again. That’s when Barret gives him some tough love and drops this quote on him.
This quote seems to have impacted our man Cloud quite a bit as he manages to gain the strength to keep on going and sticks it out to the very end no matter how tough things get for the party. He even ends up repeating it to Barret later on in the game along whcih shows how much it stuck with him and the party.
Apply It To Your Life
This is a quote that has kept me going many times, and let’s hope it will do the same for you. There will be many times along your self improvement journey when you may lose motivation and give up. However, you shouldn’t. This journey you’re on is like a train, why would you wanna get off it until it reaches its destination?
By starting this self improvement journey, you made a commitment, you boarded the train. You can’t just throw it all away so easily and let the train ride the tracks to your goals while you stay behind in despair. Instead, ride the train of hope and see your goals through to their completion, regardless of your motivation levels.
3. “Anyone can wear the mask. You could wear the mask.”
When it comes to inspirational quotes Spider-Man, you would probably expect to see “With great power, comes great responsibility.” However, as legendary as that quote is, this is my list and I prefer this quote so this is the one we’re using.
If you follow my TikTok page, you probably would’ve guessed that I’m a Spider-Man fan. You would be correct with that guess and I especially love Into the Spider-Verse. This quote is said at the end of the movie by our protagonist, Miles Morales. What exactly does he mean by it though?
Meaning Behind the Quote
I’m sure many people already know what this quote means as it lies at the core of the character of Spider-Man. However, those who don’t know are probably pretty confused as not everyone has superhuman strength and can stick to walls, so what does Miles mean by this?
Well, in this case, it’s more like a metaphor. One of the things that people love about Spider-Man is his relatability. He isn’t a billionaire tech genius, he isn’t the god of thunder, he’s just a normal guy who, outside of his hero life, goes through struggles that everyone experiences in life. He doesn’t have anything special about him that made him get bitten by that radioactive spider, he was just the one who happened to have been bitten.
If Spider-Man actually existed, then it could easily be Me, or you, or anyone who gets bit. It is for this reason that Miles says that anyone can wear the mask. Because you can wear the mask. Even if you have no special powers, you can still wear that metaphorical mask and do good things for the people in your life, and be their hero.
Apply It To Your Life
This will be kind of like a continuation of what I was saying earlier.
You don’t need special powers or anything like that to be a hero and do good things in life. All you need to do have the motivation is wear that metaphorical mask, and be brave. You don’t need powers to become a hero in real life, all you need is the courage and honesty to do good things. Even just checking in on those you care for can do more good than you could possibly imagine, so don’t be afraid to reach out to them.
If you wanna do good things in your life, you can. Anyone can. All you have to do is be brave and take the leap of faith that you know you have to take and you’ll do so many amazing things, you’ll end up surprising yourself.
4. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
One of the most inspirational quotes ever by one of the most inspirational people ever. It’s appropriate that someone as admirable as Nelson Mandela said a motivational quote as admirable as this, considering what he did for South Africa. However, there’s something really strange about this quote, let’s dive into it.
Meaning Behind the Quote
Well the meaning is pretty obvious, so I’ll go over that once I’ve adressed one crazy strange thing about this quote. No one has actually never seen him say those words. However they have been strongly attributed to Nelson and many people seem to remember him saying those words at some point, even I did. However it seems that it is actually just the Mandela effect tricking us again. It’s kind of funny how many false memories there are about this guy.
The earliest record I could find of him saying this was a couple mentions of a speech that he gave in 2001, as well as a mentioned appearance in an Australian newspaper published in 2001. But that’s about it.
As for the meaning, well it should be pretty obvious. We set up so many mental barriers between ourselves and our goals. This makes them seem impossible whenever we think about them due to these mental barriers we set between us and our goals. It makes us feel like we’re not good enough to even achieve them. That’s why when it’s so satisfying when we finally do achieve them, because we feel like we achieved the impossible.
Apply It To Your Life
The best way you can apply this quote to your life is by showing the impossible what’s up. By destroying those mental barriers in your mind, you’ll eliminate the number 1 thing that is preventing you from achieving your dreams. Your mind is by far the biggest obstacle on the path of self improvement, as it dicates what you do. So if you chose to neglect your self improvement journey for a day, that’s an active choice you made in your mind that you had control over.
So master your mind, don’t let temptations drive you to make the wrong decisions. Instead, force yourself to make the right decisions so you can break down those barriers between you and success. That way you can make the impossible possible.
5. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts. It’s the life in your years.”
The 16th US president is perhaps one of the most iconic people ever. As well as countless inspirational achievements, Lincoln has countless incredible quotes to his name. There are so many I could probably do an entire post just about his quotes. But for diversity’s sake, I had to pick one. But why this one? Well let’s find out why.
Meaning Behind The Quote
Well, well, well. It appears we have a similar situation to the last motivational quote. Thanks to this pretty website I use called the Quote Investigators, I discovered that no one actually knows when or where this one was said or written. Instead, it’s been accredited to a man known as Adlai Stevenson II. It seems that the belief that Lincoln said these words originated from a darn Facebook post. Yep, you did read that correctly. A Facebook post started this. I guess that shows how easy it is to spread misinformation these days, so keep in mind that Lincoln most likely didn’t actaully say this quote.
As for the meaning, well this one will get a little deep. Like it or not, a day will come for each and every one of us where we will depart from this world. That’s just a fact of life. That time may come at different points for all of us, there’s no way to know when your last breath will be taken. It is for this reason that we should strive to make the ost out of our lives, since we only have one shot at doing so.
You never know when you’re going to die, hell you could even die tomorrow or next week. It’s for this reason that we should accept death instead of running away from it. If you accept death, then you will understand how important it is to make the most out of every second you have. This will lead to your years having more life in them, which is what this quote is all about.
Apply It To Your Life
Well in order to apply this to your life, you need to accept death. Once you do that, you’ll realize how important it is to enjoy life and make the most out of your days, months and years. You may also realize that you’re making many mistakes. For example, if you’re one of those people who stays in bed for ages after waking up, you’ll most likely realize how bad that is for your mental health and motivational drive, it’s also a huge waste of time. accepting death will also help you to stop wishing you were in the past and start appreciating the present.
Think about it like this, would you wanna be around someone who is always distracted and never present in the moment, instead wishing he was elsewhere? Hell no. So make sure you don’t become that person and instead, live your life to the fullest. When it comes to death and our future, we always think “Oh that’s ages away so I don’t have to think about it now.” I’m willing to bet that this line right here is a huge cause of mid-life existential crisies.
By not thinking about it, we’re delaying the inevitable while it slowly looms over us in the back of our mind, getting bigger and bigger the more we ignore it. Eventually, the thought will explode and this will result in an existential crisis.
How do you avoid it? You face those feelings now and start to accept death today. It’s not easy though. You will feel ncomfortable and that’s ok. But when you finally accept it you’ll notice how much happier you’ll become. Because now you know how important it is to enjoy life and not run away from things.
6. “Even good leaders make poor choices. The best take responsibility for them.”
Would it really be a list of motivatonal quotes without including a motivational quote from Kratos? Of course it wouldn’t. For a fictional characters, this guy has more famous quotes than some actual motivational speakers. Not only that, but his quotes also hit incrediblly hard.
Out of all of the quotes this man has said, why did I chose this one though? Let’s find out.
Meaning Behind The Quote
This quote is said during a side-quest where the spirit of the captain of a long dead army asks you to take out his undead soldiers. The captain feels shame for leading the soldiers to his death and wants to free them from their current state. You are tasked with defeating them. After defeating a few of them, Kratos’ son Atreus says that since the captain led these soliders to their deaths, he was a bad leader. However Kratos responds saying that these men chose to follow and then he drops the quote.
He says this because we all make mistakes in life, every single one of us does. It’s how we react to those mistakes that matters even more than the actual mistake itself. That being said, running away from them is NEVER the answer, trust me I know. If you take accoutability for those mistakes, not only will you be able to move on easier, but you would also be more respected by anyone who saw or affected that mistake. It’s just the right thing to do.
Apply It To Your Life
If you want to apply it then you need to do exactly what Kratos says a good leader does. If you make a mistake or do something bad, you need to take accountability for what you have done. Running away from it won’t solve anything, it’ll only make you look worse. We all make mistakes, it’s fine if you do. That’s just part of life. It’s how we respond to those mistakes that define us.
7. “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”
No, Jin Sakai did not say this motivational quote. I just used this image because I liked it. In actuality, this inspirational quote is accredited to George Eliot. Once again though, we have another case of misinformation and Facebook posts. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get into the meaning behind this last motivational quote.
Meaning Behind The Quote
In this case, this motivational quote revolves around the feeling of giving up. Many people start believing they have failed in life before they have even really got going. This can mainly happen to people who have just finished school (because of how big the world seems) or to people who are in slightly later stages in life (like mid or late 20s). This mainly stems from a lack of action being taken or something an individual believes to be failure. As a result, they wallow in despair, a lack of motivation, and a will to never try again.
People who do this really latch on to the belief that they have failed and that they have no idea what to do now. However, the reality is that they had not failed. Sure they might’ve slighly messed up but if you know anything about self improvement, then you should know to never back down from a challenge.
Apply It To Your Life
If you want to apply this last one to your life, you have to first realize that it’s not over, that you can still achieve your dreams. It doesn’t matter what you think now, all you have to do is act before it’s actually too late. No matter how much you try to convince yourself that you’ve failed, it’s noting more than an excuse so you have an easy way out of doing the hard work you need to do. Stop bieng lazy abd become the person you know you want to be.
Reading all these motivational and inspirational quotes isn’t enough, watching a self improvement video isn’t enough, nothing is enough unless you chose to take action. No excuse will save you from the truth, you’e being lazy. So stop that and take action, regardless of your motivation levels.
Get the work done today for a better tomorrow.
