Inspirational Quotes
Aim for the moon. If you miss, let's hope you weren't a NASA scientist.
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Inspirational Quotes
Pep talks from Lady Gaga, Patrick Henry, Dumbledore, and more. Click on any inspirational quote below to see it in context and find out where it falls on Shmoop's pretentious scale. We'll give you details on who said it, when they said it, and in some cases, why on earth they thought it was okay to say it.
"And unto the uttermost part of the earth."Source: Acts of the Apostles | Speaker: Jesus of Nazareth
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."Source: The Book of Isaiah | Author: The Prophet Isaiah
"Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."Source: Inauguration Address, January 20, 1961 | Speaker: John F. Kennedy
"Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."Source: The Alchemist | Author: Paulo Coelho
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."Source: Matthew 11:28 | Speaker: Jesus
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."Source: Henry Ford's Marketing Team | Speaker: Henry Ford
"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."Source: Poor Richard's Almanack | Author: Benjamin Franklin
"Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement."Source: Henry Ford's Marketing Team | Speaker: Henry Ford
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."Source: The Great Gatsby | Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."Source: Not verified | Speaker: Thomas Edison
"Give me liberty, or give me death!"Source: Virginia Convention in Richmond on March 20, 1775 | Speaker: Patrick Henry
"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."Source: Matthew 7:6 | Speaker: Jesus
"Happiness can be found in the darkest of times."Source: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Speaker: Albus Dumbledore
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."Source: The Diary of Anne Frank | Author: Anne Frank
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly"Source: John 10:10 | Author: Unknown
"I am not afraid; I was born to do this."Source: Spoken as she left the town of Vancouleurs | Speaker: Joan of Arc
"I believe it is peace for our time."Source: Speech outside 10 Downing Street | Speaker: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
"I do not wish any reward but to know I have done the right thing."Source: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Author: Mark Twain
"I don't like work—no man does—but I like what is in the work—the chance to find yourself."Source: Heart of Darkness | Author: Joseph Conrad
"I get by with a little help from my friends."Source: With a Little Help from My Friends | Speaker: The Beatles
"I have not yet begun to fight."Source: Spoken on September 23, 1779 | Speaker: Captain John Paul Jones
"I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys."Source: A Supermarket in California | Author: Allen Ginsberg
"I think I'll try defying gravity, and you can't pull me down."Source: Wicked (2003 Musical) | Speaker: Elphaba
"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am."Source: The Bell Jar | Author: Sylvia Plath
"I will always love you."Source: I Will Always Love You | Speaker: Dolly Parton (and Whitney Houston)
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature."Source: The Second Epistle to the Corinthians | Author: Paul of Tarsus
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins"Source: 1 John 1:9 | Author: The Elder
"In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart."Source: The Diary of Anne Frank | Author: Anne Frank
"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."Source: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Author: J.K. Rowling
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."Source: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | Author: J.K. Rowling
"Logic is no doubt unshakable, but it can't withstand a person who wants to live."Source: The Trial | Author: Franz Kafka
"Maybe Christmas, perhaps...means a little bit more!"Source: How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Author: Dr. Seuss
"My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time."Source: David Copperfield | Author: Charles Dickens
"Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."Source: Game of Thrones | Speaker: Tyrion Lannister
"Nothing is hopeless; we must hope for everything."Source: A Wrinkle in Time | Author: Madeleine L'Engle
"Oh, the things you can find if you don't stay behind!"Source: On Beyond Zebra! | Author: Dr. Seuss
"Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God"Source: Romans 12:1 | Author: Paul of Tarsus
"Real courage is [...] when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."Source: To Kill a Mockingbird | Author: Harper Lee
"She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom!"Source: The Scarlet Letter | Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?"Source: Auld Lang Syne | Speaker: Robert Burns
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."Source: First Moon Landing | Speaker: Neil Armstrong
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."Source: March from Selma, 1965 | Speaker: Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace"Source: The Epistle to the Romans | Author: Paul of Tarsus
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."Source: I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! | Author: Dr. Seuss
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."Source: FDR's Inauguration Speech | Speaker: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."Source: Unknown | Speaker: Albert Einstein
"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."Source: In Memoriam | Author: Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."Source: The Soul of Man Under Socialism | Author: Oscar Wilde
"Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."Source: The Pride of the Yankees | Speaker: Lou Gehrig
"We are not makers of history; we are made by history."Source: Strength to Love | Author: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them."Source: The Mill on the Floss | Author: George Eliot
"Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."Source: John 3:16 | Speaker: Jesus
"Without faith it is impossible to please Him"Source: The Epistle to the Hebrews | Author: Anonymous
"Words can be like X-Rays if you use them properly – they'll go through anything."Source: Brave New World | Author: Aldous Huxley
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."Source: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court | Author: Mark Twain
"You don't have to live forever. You just have to live."Source: Tuck Everlasting | Speaker: The Narrator
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."Source: You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life | Author: Eleanor Roosevelt
"You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so...get on your way!"Source: Oh, the Places You'll Go! | Author: Dr. Seuss