These. self development quotes will inspire you to focus on your personal development to be the best version of yourself possible. This, in turn, will also inspire and motivate you to pursue your goals in life and achieve the success in life you seek.
Are you looking for some self-development quotes to inspire you to accomplish your goals? If yes, then you are in the right place. Whatever your goals may be, these self-development quotes from some of the world’s most prominent authors, scientists, philosophers, politicians, business leaders, and athletes are sure to motivate and inspire you.
Whether you’re pursuing a new dream, putting in the effort to achieve long-term goals, or devising a strategy to improve your life in any way, self-discipline will be essential to your success. If you find any of these quotes particularly inspiring for your personal growth, print them out, write them down and post them in prominent around your home and or office, where you will see them regularly throughout the day. A simple quote can sometimes make a significant impact on your day.
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It’s hard to overstate the importance of personal growth and self-development.
Personal growth and self-development is the key to distinguishing yourself from the herd and the link that ties you to the goals you have yet to reach. We spend a lot of time engaging in things that distract us from the reality of how brief our lives are, such as surfing the internet for hours or watching television shows for hours on end. It’s great to be amused, but how much time should we allow to ourselves each week?
How often do we set aside time for self-development in our busy lives when we may learn and grow in a way that defines our identities? To be well-rounded, invest time in your personal growth and development. Not forgetting that you must focus on your personal growth and self-development to be successful. Here are 64 personal development quotes to inspire you to succeed and be your best. You may also like these quotes on the importance of reading, as reading is a great way to improve yourself.
1. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
You are a powerful being and are in control of your destiny, which is determined by all the little choices you make daily. Be the change you seek.
2. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
When too much emphasis is focused on the end goal, such as success, there is a tendency to lose sight of the things that matter to us. Thus, the journey is just as important as the destination.
3. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” – Carrie Fisher
In other words, fake it until you make it. The only way to overcome a fear is to face it head-on, and it is okay to take baby steps in overcoming your fears. Just take action.
4. “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” – Abraham Maslow
One way to interpret this personal growth and self-development quote is that there is always room for improvement no matter what ‘position’ in life we are in. Choose to be a better version of yourself every day.
5. “The swiftest way to triple your success is to double your investment in personal development.” – Robin Sharma
This self-development quote hit the nail right of the head. If you want to know how to be successful, here is your answer: to be successful, focus on your self-development and personal growth. Brush up on your skills and learn new ones related to your chosen profession. Work hard / smart towards what you want, be consistent, and your efforts will yield results with time.
6. “Don’t go through life, grow through life.” – Eric Butterworth
Life is a teacher, and we have so much to learn from living. There are so many lessons to be learned. So, don’t sail through life not learning the lessons that are presented to us, for we grow from them. Don’t also forget that we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. So never give up, seize every opportunity and failure as a learning experience and keep moving forward; you’ve got this.
7.“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Oprah Winfrey
Ever heard the saying that your success is on the other side of your comfort zone. This self-development quote thus seeks to encourage you to take action, step out of your comfort zone and take practical steps towards your desired goals in life.
8. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon
We cannot avoid change in life, and it is a surety. So instead of fighting unavoidable changes in our lives, which can be pretty devastating to do. We ought to embrace them and make them work for our good. In other words, look for the positives in every situation, focus more on that and give less thought and energy to negativity. For where your attention goes, energy flows.
9. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
Don’t wait to be perfect; act now. The confidence and everything else you desire will follow if you act. For example, a person wants to go swimming and be more active but however wants to wait to get the perfect body before going swimming, because the person doesn’t like how they look. Perfection is a myth. No one is perfect and people are generally more critical of themselves than they are of others. Thus, this person may never go swimming unless there is a change in mindset because perfection will never come. You may be interested to check out these inspirational positive mindset quotes that are helpful in the pursuit to change your mindset for the better and live your life to the fullest.
11. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
Nobody like struggles or hardship, however, when we overcome the challenges life throws at us and learn the lessons that were presented to us from our struggles, we progress, become better. In other words, we learn more from our time of struggles and failure than we do from our successes.
12. “It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” – J.K. Rowling
This self-development quote speaks volumes to the fact that mistakes and failures are all a part of life. They are learning experiences for us to learn and grow from. Not forgetting that we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes.
10. People who are ‘reckless’ enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
So dream big, work hard, focus on your self-development to equip yourself for success and take practical steps towards the accomplishment of your dreams. You’ve got this, if you believe you can, then you are more likely to succeed.
13. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou
14. “I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” – Larry Bird
In other words, hard work really does pay off, and where your focus goes, energy flows towards. So, if you want to accomplish a goal if you want to be successful, you have to give your time, focus and energy towards your desires.
15. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
16. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton
This is a beautiful self-development quote. By focusing on your self-development, you are spreading light to those around you. Thus according to this self-development quote, in this scenario, you would be the candle shining brightly and touching the lives of those around you, encouraging them directly or indirectly to also focus their self-development which would better equip them to be successful.
17. “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” – Paulo Coelh
This self-development quote seeks to encourage people to follow their hearts, and live their truths. However, it has to be said that in following your heart, one should remember that your right ends where another person’s right begins. But as long as your heart is in the right place of doing good and being kind to yourself as well as being kind to others, you can’t really go wrong.
18. “We should not judge people by their peak of excellence, but by the distance they have travelled from the point where they started.” – Henry Ward Beecher
In other words, the journey is just as important as the destination. It does matter what you do to get to where you are going. In focusing on your self-development, your daily choices are just as important as your end goal.
19. “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” – Ella Fitzgerald
Do things you love, focus your energy and time on things including work that gives you joy. Might be easier said than done for some people but a balance can be reached. If you have to do a job you do not necessarily like for whatever reason, mostly financial, try to balance that out by having other activities that give you great joy, such as spending quality time with friends and family.
20. “Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.” – Hillary Clinton
Focusing on your self-development will help you not to take criticism personally, as you would be in better control of your emotions.
21. “You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” – Shonda Rhimes
22. “Sometimes in life, we take a leap of faith. Remember, the leap is not about getting from one side to the other. It’s simply about taking the leap…and trusting the air, the universal breath, will support your wings so that you may sour.” – Kristi Bowman
23. “Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is a starting point to begin changing your life.” – Deborah Day
24. “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” – Steve Maraboli
25. “Be patient with yourself. You are growing stronger every day. The weight of the world will become lighter…and you will begin to shine brighter. Don’t give up.” – Robert Tew
26. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
27. “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you…never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
28. “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” – Babe Ruth
This self-development quote encourages you to never give up, focus on your self-development, become better at what you do, be highly qualified and let the sky be your limit.
29. “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
Hard work really does pay off. The harder you work towards your desires the luckier you will become. Thus, one could argue that there is no such thing as luck. You have to work for what you want. Really good things usually don’t come easy.
30. “Follow your honest convictions, and stay strong.” – William Thackeray
31. “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb
32. “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” – Diane von Furstenberg
33. “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
34. “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard
35. “It is never too late to be who you might have been.” – George Eliot
36. “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” – Malala Yousafzai
37. “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experiences that reveals the human spirit.” – E.E. Cummings
38. “There’s only one growth strategy: work hard.” – William Hague
39. “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential…these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius
40. “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” – Rick Warren
41. “If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want.” – Kevin Ngo
42. “The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” – Benjamin Mays
43. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou
44. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” – Stephen Covey
45. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
46. “The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir
47. “When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.” – Karen E. Quinones Miller
This is an amazing personal growth and self-development quote for people who are afraid of rejection and as a result, do nothing, and for those who put themselves out there, and get turned down. This personal growth and self-development quote encourages you to not give up even you are being told ‘no’. It’s a no with that person saying ‘no’ but it is not a no to dreams and aspirations.
48. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown
49. “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett
So be the change you seek in the world. We are all benefactors from the good works of others, most of whom we do not know and will never know. Your self-development will impact the lives of others in ways you may not even anticipate.
50. “Income seldom exceeds personal development.” ―Jim Rohn
This is a powerful quote for it is so true. A lot of people are searching for ways to make a living to support themselves and their families and rightly so. However, the importance of personal or self-development in the pursuit of wealth and success gets unfortunately overlooked at times. As rightly stated in this self-development quote, the amount of money you make hardly ever surpasses your self-development. Thus to be successful and thereby make more money, focus on your personal growth and development. Sharpen your skills, and learn new ones in your desired field.
51. “Every moment of one’s existence, one is growing into more or retreating into less.” ―Norman Mailer
52. “You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” ―Henry David Thoreau
53. “Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.” ―Morihei Ueshiba
54. “Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.” ―Brian Tracy
55. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” ―Ralph WaldoEmerson
56. “Man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.” ―B. R. Ambedkar
57. “Change equals self-improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.” ―Pat Summitt
If you desire a better outcome, you would have to do things differently. Thus, change as this self-development quotes states equals self-improvement. You cannot do things the same way you have always done and keep expecting a different outcome. So, make changes in your life that will steer you towards the goals in life you seek. Focus on self-development
58. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ―Ernest Hemingway
Usually although not always as there is an exception to every rule, people with a superiority complex are usually quite ‘inadequate’ in some areas that they try to hide with their superiority complex. A confident person in themself and their abilities ought not to feel the need to put people down to make themselves feel better or ‘superior’.
This personal growth and self-development quote thus encourages you to be superior not in comparison to others but superior to your former self. Thus be a better version of yourself by focusing on your personal growth and self-development. Focus on your growth and loss of the need to compare yourself with others, not forgetting to not put other people down.
59. “Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.” ―John C. Maxwell
60. “Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time and energy needed to develop yourself.” ―Denis Waitley
Based on this personal growth and self-development quote, the question arises as to whether you love yourself enough to work on or focus on your self-development to become the best version of yourself possible.
61. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” ―Stephen Covey
Self-growth and self-development take time, and there are so many facets to it that one cannot accomplish overnight. However, the rewards of focusing on self-development make it totally worth it, irrespective of how long it takes. When you work on yourself, you become a better friend, co-worker or boss, parent and so on. You being a better version of yourself will inspire those around you to become better as well. You may not realise it, but there are people who look up to you and want to be like you.
62. “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” ―Abraham Maslow
There is always room for improvement, no matter how far we progress. Thus, according to this personal growth and self-development quote, we have to choose to grow, work toward being better every day. Overcome your fears, for the success you seek, might be at the other side of your fears or comfort zone.
63. “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.” ―Robin Sharma
This is a great personal growth and self-development quote. You have no idea how much of an impact you will make on the lives of those around you just by simply focusing on your self-development. No matter what position you are in, in life, there are people who aren’t there and aspire to be where you are. The better you become, the greater your aspirations will become as well. So, focus on your self-development, change your life for the better and inadvertently make a positive impact in the lives of those around you.
64. “In this world, you’re either growing, or you’re dying, so get in motion and grow.” ―Lou HoltzDo
Ever heard the phrase school of life? Life is a school, and we are its students. We are constantly learning through our everyday life experiences. We stop learning we die, so to speak. So live life to the fullest, experience life, learn its lessons and thereby focus on your personal growth and self-development, which leads to success in life. But what does success in life mean to you?
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Excellent post