152 Life Quotes to Bring Inspiration and Positivity to Your Day

With all of its ups and downs, the journey of life is one that is not easily summed up in words. But luckily for you, our list of inspirational life quotes is filled with powerful sayings and musings from famous people from all walks of life who have found a way to whittle down the unique lived experiences that make us who we are into a few sentences and phrases.

On this list you will find beautiful and short quotes that reflect on the things that mean most in life, including sayings about family and incredible messages about friendships. You’ll also find deep and even sometimes sad quotes that will help you to put life into perspective. Happy quotes that will encourage you to find the beauty in life’s most mundane moments are also included. Whether you’re looking for positive quotes to inspire you to move forward, quotes that give you peace or wise words that will help you navigate a significant life change or transition, we have it all spelled out right here.

So, go ahead and dive right into these notable quotes about life. You may even uncover your next Monday motivation or self-care mantra.

1 Zhuangzi

“Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth.”

2 William Osler

“We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life.”

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3 William Hazlitt

“The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.”

4 Wayne Dyer

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

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5 Vincent Van Gogh

“For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together.”

6 Vince Lombardi

“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

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7 Vernon Howard

“You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.”

8 Theodore Roosevelt

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

9 T.S. Eliot

“To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man’s life.”

10 Sydney J. Harris

“When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?'”

11 Stephen Jay Gould

“We pass through this world but once.”

12 Stephen Covey

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”

13 Søren Kierkegaard

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

14 Sai Baba

“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy.”

15 Roy T. Bennett

“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”

16 Roy. T. Bennett

“Don’t waste your time in anger, regrets, worries, and grudges. Life is too short to be unhappy.”

17 Rose Kennedy

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.”

18 Robert Louis Stevenson

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

19 Robert Frost

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

20 Rick Riordan

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.”

21 O. Henry

“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”

22 Naval Ravikant

“Three things in life – your health, your mission, and the people you love. That’s it.”

23 Michelle Obama

“Success isn’t about how your life looks to others. It’s about how it feels to you.”

24 Michael Cunningham

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.”

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25

Maxime Legacé

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Difficult and meaningful will always bring more satisfaction than easy and meaningless.”

26

Mary Anne Radmacher

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'”

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27

Mark Twain

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”

28

Margaret Mitchell

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect.”

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29

Mae West

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

30

Louise Hay

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.”

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31

Les Brown

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.”

32

Kamal Ravikant

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“A secret to life: Know that none of this matters, and yet… live as if every single moment does.”

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33

Jim Rohn

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.”

34

Jean Anouilh

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Things are beautiful if you love them.”

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35

Jane Goodall

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

36

Herman Melville

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

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37

Henry Ford

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“If you say you can or you can’t you are right either way.”

38

Henry David Thoreau

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

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39

Havelock Ellis

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”

40

George Lorimer

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”

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41

George Bernard Shaw

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

42

Gary Vaynerchuk

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Love your family, work super hard, live your passion.”

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43

Frederick Douglass

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

44

Jennifer Lopez

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.”

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45

Erica Jong

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”

46

Eminem

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“The truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride and nothing is guaranteed.”

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47

Emily Dickinson

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“That it will never come again is what makes life sweet.”

48

Eleanor Roosevelt

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. You should give a good thought to happiness that you can give out.”

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49

Edna Mode

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.”

50

Dorothy West

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“To know how much there is to know is the beginning of learning to live.”

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51

Dolly Parton

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”

52

David Ogilvy

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals.”

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53

D. H. Lawrence

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it.”

54

Colleen Hoover

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Don’t take life too seriously. Punch it in the face when it needs a good hit. Laugh at it.”

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55

Coco Chanel

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”

56

Charles M. Schluz

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“I think I’ve discovered the secret of life – you just hang around until you get used to it.”

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57

Charles Darwin

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”

58

Cassandra Clare

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.”

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59

Boris Pasternak

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.”

60

Bob Marley

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?”

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61

Aristotle

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit.”

62

Anthony Pompliano

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Control your emotions, control your mind, Control your mind, control your actions. Control your actions, control your life.”

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63

Annette Funicello

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.”

64

Allen Saunders

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”

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65

Alice Roosevelt Longworth

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“I have a simple philosophy: Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. Scratch where it itches.”

66

Albert Einstein

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

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67

Albert Camus

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Live to the point of tears.”

68

A.A. Milne

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

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69

Lao Tzu

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality, let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

70

George Gershwin

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Life is a lot like jazz… it’s best when you improvise.”

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71

Erma Bombeck

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“When I stand before God at the end of my. life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say ‘I used everything you gave me’.”

72

Buddha

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

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73

Al Roker

“Always be yourself. At the end of the day, that’s all you’ve really got; when you strip everything down, that’s all you’ve got, so always be yourself.”

74

Alice Nkom

“When you are doing something that is right, you just do it and take care … Someone has to do this.”

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75

Booker T. Washington

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”

76

Dalai Lama

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”

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77

Langston Hughes

“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”

78

Diane Luna

“Collaboration, creativity, and respect build life long connections that matter and make a difference, propelling us to work together across all boundaries.”

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79

Dr. Damary M. Bonilla-Rodriguez

“Stay strong as you live your life story and remember your blessings, no matter what circumstances you face.”

80

Earl G. Graves, Sr.

“Hold on to your dreams of a better life and stay committed to striving to realize it.”

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81

Eleanor Roosevelt

“If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.”

82

Ernest Hemingway

“In order to write about life first you must live it.”

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83

Frank Sinatra

“The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.”

84

Gabriel García Márquez

“All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.”

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85

George Takei

“I intend to live life, not just exist.”

86

Harvey Milk

“I know you can’t live on hope alone. But without hope, life is not worth living. So you, and you and you: You got to give them hope. You got to give them hope!”

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87

Gabriel García Márquez

“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.”

88

Jackie Robinson

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

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89

James Baldwin

“You have to go the way your blood beats. If you don’t live the only life you have, you won’t live some other life, you won’t live any life at all.”

90

Langston Hughes

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”

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91

Luisa Fernanda Cicero

“Sometimes the biggest accomplishment in life is to find yourself.”

92

Maya Angelou

“If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”

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93

James Baldwin

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

94

Muhammad Ali

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”

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95

Bruce Lee

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”

96

Phillipa Soo

“Life isn’t perfect, any failures you have are actually learning moments. They teach us how to grow and evolve.”

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97

Rita Dove

“There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.”

98

Sandra X Pradas Martin

“Our life and our success will be measured by the quality of the life we lead and the lives we touch.”

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99

Stephen King

“Get busy living or get busy dying.”

100

The Buddha

“The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.”

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101

Will Smith

“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.”

102

Oprah Winfrey

“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”

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103

Yai Vargas

“When life hands you a difficult situation where you feel undervalued and disrespected, be bold and brave enough to know your worth.”

104

Oprah Winfrey

Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.

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105

Serena Williams

GETTY IMAGES

I decided I can’t pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it.

106

Zora Neale Hurston

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”

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107

Priyanka Chopra

GETTY IMAGES

I think it’s great to be flawed. I am hugely flawed, and I like it this way. That’s the fun of life. You fall, get up, make mistakes, learn from them, be human and be you.

108

Freida Pinto

GETTY IMAGES

I’ll never forget where I’m from. It’s essential to remain humble and evolving.

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109

Hailee Steinfeld

GETTY IMAGES

It needs to be said and heard: it’s OK to be who you are.

110

Ava DuVernay

DANIELLE CARSON

If you’re doing something outside of dominant culture, there’s not an easy place for you. You will have to do it yourself.

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111

Nikki Giovanni

DANIELLE CARSON

Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.

112

Tina Turner

DANIELLE CARSON

Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go – purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything… whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.

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113

Zanele Muholi

DANIELLE CARSON

If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.

114

Lana Condor

DANIELLE CARSON

I’ve been very fortunate to have good people in my life, and when you find good people, you gotta hold onto them real tight.

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115

Robin Roberts

DANIELLE CARSON

Life is not so much what you accomplish as what you overcome.

116

Michelle Yeoh

DANIELLE CARSON

It’s very important for us all to understand that we are interconnected and we need to hold hands together, especially when the going gets tough.

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117

Wanda Sykes

DANIELLE CARSON

If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.

118

Dolly Parton

If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.

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119

Helen Keller

The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.

120

Hoda Kotb

Life is a series of baby steps.

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121

Lucille Ball

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.

122

Princess Diana

Lead from the heart, not the head.

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123

Unknown

Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.

124

Meghan Markle​

Don’t give it five minutes if you’re not going to give it five years.

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125

Unknown

What comes easy won’t last long, and what lasts long won’t come easy.

126

Reese Witherspoon

Every day is not a success. Every year is not a success. You have to celebrate the good.

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127

Roald Dahl

Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

128

Unknown

No one is you and that is your superpower.

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129

Reba McEntire

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

130

Oprah Winfrey

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

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131

Unknown

The best time for new beginnings is now.

132

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘”What are you doing for others?”

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133

Michael Jordan

I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

134

Maya Angelou

Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.

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135

Margaret Laurence

It’s not what we have in life but who we have in our life that matters.

136

Unknown

One day or day one. It’s your decision.

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137

Elizabeth Gilbert

Embrace the glorious mess that you are.

138

Unknown

Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.

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139

Dr. Seuss

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.

140

Unknown

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

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141

Carol Burnett

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.

142

Unknown

A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.

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143

C.S. Lewis

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

144

Unknown

Small steps in the right direction can turn out to be the biggest step of your life.

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145

Beyoncé

If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.

146

Audrey Hepburn

The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.

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147

Albert Einstein

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.

148

George Bernard Shaw

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

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149

Arthur Rubinstein

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.

150

Oscar Wilde

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

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151

Mark Twain

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

152

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is not the length of life, but depth of life.

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