Many wise people have said things worth sharing, so we have put together a list of all the best short powerful quotes for you to share. And if you’re looking for very short powerful quotes for Instagram, we also have you covered.
Now go ahead and browse through to find your favorite.
Short Powerful Quotes
“Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”— Vince Lombardi
“Courage isn’t having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don’t have the strength.” —Napoleon Bonaparte
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”- Mahatma Ghandi
“You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.” — Oprah Winfrey
“The effective leader recognizes that they are more dependent on their people than they are on them. Walk softly.” – Brian Tracy
“Reading is to the mind, as exercise is to the body.” – Brian Tracy
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.” —Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”— Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.” —Peter Marshall
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” —Lao Tzu
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”― Oprah Winfrey
“Don’t despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don’t – surrender to events with hope.” —Alain de Botton
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. – Dr. Seuss
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.” —J.K. Rowling
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”— Maya Angelou
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” ― Marie Curie
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
“You are who you are meant to be. Dance as if no one’s watching. Love as if it’s all you know. Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” James Dean
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“When one door closes, sometimes we need to turn the knob to open another…” – J.A. Tran
“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”- George Addair
“If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs
“Your life only gets better when you get better.”- Brian Tracy
“If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.” —Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
“Change the game, don’t let the game change you.” – Macklemore
“For every reason it’s not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and succeeded.” – Jack Canfield
“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” — Henry Ford
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffet
“What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” – Don Zimmer
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.” – Albert Einstein
“While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.” Henry Link
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”― George Bernard Shaw
“We are stronger, gentler, more resilient, and more beautiful than any of us imagine.” —Mark Nepo
“You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.” — Unknown
“Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” —Nelson Mandela
“Self-doubt kills talent.” Edie McClurg
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” — Michael Jordan
“Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” —Lou Holtz
“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Zig Ziglar
“Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” – Brian Tracy
“Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.” – Deep Roy
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” Chuck Palahniuk
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
“Make your life a masterpiece, imagine no limitations on what you can be, have, or do.” – Brian Tracy
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” —Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” —Marie Curie
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” —E.E. Cummings
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ― Winston Churchill
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” —Ernest Hemingway
“Change the world by being yourself.” – Amy Poehler
“Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.”― Henry David Thoreau
“Fake it until you make it! Act as if you had all the confidence you require until it becomes your reality.” – Brian Tracy
“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”― Albert Einstein
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” —Christopher Reeve
“We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action. Fear is nature’s way of warning us to get busy.” – Dr. Henry Link
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive.” – Maya Angelou
“Courage is found in unlikely places.” —J.R.R. Tolkein, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals.” – Michelle Obama
“The key responsibility of leadership is to think about the future. No one else can do it for you.” – Brian Tracy
“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.” ― Henry David Thoreau
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” —Vincent Van Gogh
“We become what we think about” – Earl Nightingale
“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” —Gever Tulley
“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.” —Winston Churchill
“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”― Allen Saunders
“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” —Edmund Hillary
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”― Marilyn Monroe
“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” —Maya Angelou
“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.” —Isabel Allende
“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.”― Thomas Edison
“Life is very interesting…in the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” —Drew Barrymore
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” —Abraham Lincoln
“Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.” – Brian Tracy
“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.” – Mae Jemison
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” -William James
“The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible then treat possibilities as probabilities.” -Charles Dickens
“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” —Thomas Carlyle
“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” —J.K. Rowling
“To see what is right and not do is a lack of courage.” – Confucius.
“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!’” — Audrey Hepburn
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” —Dale Carnegie
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
“Life changes very quickly, in a very positive way, if you let it.” – Lindsey Vonn
“Leaders never use the word failure. They look upon setbacks as learning experiences.” – Brian Tracy
“Entrepreneurs are great at dealing with uncertainty and also very good at minimizing risk. That’s the classic entrepreneur.” – Mohnish Pabrai.
“The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ― Walt Disney
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”― Winston Churchill
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” —George Lorimer
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs
“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.” —Thomas A. Edison
“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” – Helen Keller
“If you can change your mind, you can change your life.”― William James
“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” —Oprah Winfrey
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” —Margaret Thatcher
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” ― Winston Churchill
“There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking.” – Brian Tracy
“What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength.” —Meryl Streep
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”― William James
“Out of difficulties grow miracles.” —Jean de la Bruyere
“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” – Jim Rohn
“Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” -Zig Ziglar
“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” —Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.” —Bob Marley
“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” ― Thomas A. Edison
“Imagine your life is perfect in every respect; what would it look like?” – Brian Tracy
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
“You do not find the happy life. You make it.” — Camilla Eyring Kimball
“Every closed door isn’t locked and even if it is…YOU just might have the key! Search within to unlock a world of possibilities!”― Sanjo Jendayi
“With a smile and a song, life is just like a bright sunny day. Your cares fade away.” – Snow White
“Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that has struggled through the tears.” —Demi Lovato
“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” —Audrey Hepburn
“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth.” ― William W. Purkey
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Leaders set high standards. Refuse to tolerate mediocrity or poor performance.” – Brian Tracy
“Life has got all those twists and turns. You’ve got to hold on tight and off you go.”— Nicole Kidman
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” —Maya Angelou
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” —Friedrich Nietzsche
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“You get what you give.” – Jennifer Lopez
“Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.” —Muhammad Ali
“Belief creates the actual fact.” — William James32 Unbreakable Laws of Money and Success Banner 2
“Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama
“It is only when we take chances, when our lives improve. The initial and the most difficult risk that we need to take is to become honest. —Walter Anderson
“It’s easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone.” Mahatma Gandhi
“If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it.” —Michael Jordan
“Don’t count the days. Make the days count.” —Muhammad Ali
“The only limits you have are the limits you believe.” – Wayne Dyer
“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” ― Oprah Winfrey
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” — Oprah Winfrey
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
“It hurt because it mattered.” – John Green
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
“Make sure your worst enemy is not living between your own two ears…”― Nitya Prakash
“I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” – Michael Phelps
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” -Dale Carnegie
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” —Ambrose Redmoon
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” —Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
“It takes courage to examine your life and to decide that there are things you would like to change, and it takes even more courage to do something about it.” – Sue Hadfield
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” —Mahatma Ghandi
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”― Mae West
“Remember: Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.” —Rocky Balboa
“Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. There is no substitute for hard work.” – Thomas Edison
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino
“The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius
“The future belongs to the competent. Get good, get better, be the best!” – Brian Tracy
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Theodore Roosevelt
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” —Mahatma Gandhi
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ― Henry David Thoreau
“Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”― Thomas A. Edison
“Develop an ‘attitude of gratitude.’ Say thank you to everyone you meet for everything you do.” – Brian Tracy
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today.” – Will Rogers
Quotes About Strength And Perseverance
“Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.” —Greg Kincaid
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” —Albert Camus
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman
“We will either find a way, or make one.” —Anibal Barca
“War is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate.” — Marvin Gaye
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” –Vince Lombardi
“When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.” – Paulo Coelho
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler
“Waiting insistently in front of a tightly closed door is unfair to all of the open doors! Give a chance to the open doors!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
“When we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now…” – Hans Christian Andersen, The Snow Queen
“Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.” —Robert F. Kennedy
“Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.”- Brian Tracy
“Someone I once loved gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” —Mary Oliver
“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”- Walt Disney
“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.” —Paulo Coelho
“Just because it’s what’s done doesn’t mean it’s what should be done!”- Cinderella
“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”- Brian Tracy
“Light tomorrow with today!” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”- Rob Siltanen
“There is no remedy for love but to love more.” ― Henry David Thoreau
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“A brave man acknowledges the strength of others.” —Veronica Roth
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” —Marcus Aurelius
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” — Aristotle
“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” – John Wooden
“Grief and resilience live together.” —Michelle Obama, Becoming
“Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.” – Robert H. Schuller
“Fairytales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairytales tell children that dragons can be killed.” – G K Chesterton
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S. Eliot
“Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.” —Lao Tzu
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” —Khalil Gibran
“It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.” — Queen Elizabeth II
“It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” – Alice, Alice In Wonderland
“A genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.” – Thomas Edison
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.”― Robert Frost
“The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” – Hasidic Proverb
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”– Helen Keller
“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” —Nelson Mandela
“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.” —Charles Dickens
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. You draw your own box.”— Duchess Meghan
So that is it for our list of Short Powerful Quotes. We hope you found the perfect one for you!
For more great ideas, check out our other lists of Inspirational Morning Quotes, Short Teamwork Quotes, True Friendship Quotes and Daily Positivity Quotes.
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About the Author
Laynni Deir
I am Laynni Deir, writer and editor of Purely Lists. There are times when you are looking for inspiration or aren’t sure what to say and I am committed to providing lists of the best quotes, sayings, messages, puns or captions for any occasion. Whether you are looking for a positive quote, a message for a card, a fun saying for a letter board or caption for your next post or story, you will find the perfect option here.
The goal of Purely Lists is to provide a comprehensive and diverse set of lists to cover every situation from holidays and celebrations to uplifting quotes and general motivation. Whether you are looking for something deep and profound, funny and foolish or positive and encouraging, we strive to offer easy, fast and accessible options.