100 Meaningful Quotes to Inspire Change

Change does not always have to be a bad thing. Although it may seem scary at first, it is the first step in creating the life that you want. Sometimes we may feel stuck or unable to find a way to make a change in our life. That is normal and sometimes we have to wait for the change to come to us or even sometimes seek it out. Meaningful quotes are an inspiration to help us initiate change. No matter what kind of change you're looking for, there are a lot of inspiring quotes to help make the push. We have compiled 100 of our favorite meaningful quotes to inspire change.

In This Article:

• Meaningful Quotes About Work 
• Meaningful Quotes About Travel
• Meaningful Quotes on Life
• Meaningful Short Quotes 

Meaningful Quotes About Work

It’s easy to assume that the only people who move forward at work are those who get lucky. The saying “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” gets thrown around a little too much. If you want to see change, you have to be the one to start the change. Instead, use one (or more!) of these quotes to help inspire change within your work. No matter the career goal, you will find one here that resonates with you. 

• “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”
 - Dalai Lama
• “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” - 
Beverly Sills
• “Failure is not the opposite of success: it’s part of success.” - Arianna Huffington
• “Nothing will work unless you do.” - Maya Angelou
• “Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.” - Frank Ocean
• “Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” -Simon Sinek
• “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” - Helen Hayes
• “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
• “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
• “Hire character. Train skill.” - Peter Schutz
• “If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” - Steve Job
• “Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.” - Haile Gebrselassie
• “You will never plough a field if you only turn it over in your mind.” - Irish Proverb
• “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and – SNAP – the job’s a game!” - Mary Poppins
• “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourselves.” - Chanakya
• “Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.” - Conan O’Brien
• “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” - Rumi
• “Give yourself something to work toward - constantly.” - Mary Kay Ash
• “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” - Amelia Earhart
• “Your goal should be just out of reach. But not out of sight.” - Remi Witt
• “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” - Dwayne Johnson
• “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one." - Dolly Parton
• “Don’t waste your time chasing butterflies. Mend your garden, and the butterflies will come.” - Mario Quintana
• “Nothing is impossible; the word itself says ‘I’m possible!” - Audrey Hepburn
• “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” - Oprah Winfrey

Meaningful Quotes About Travel

Sometimes we need a change of scenery and pace if we want to bring about change. By traveling, we can meet new people and experience different cultures and lifestyles. Travel allows you to reflect on what you have and what you want. When traveling, keep these quotes in mind and see what changes you find yourself inspired to make. 

• “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller” - Ibn Battuta
• “Oh the places you’ll go” - Dr. Seuss
• “Take only memories, leave only footprints." - Chief Seattle
• “The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself” - Wallace Stevens
• “Traveling allows you to become so many different versions of yourself." - Unknown
• “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” - Anonymous
• “Travel – the best way to be lost and found at the same time” - Brenna Smith
• “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving” - Lao Tzu
• “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going” - Paul Theroux
• “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before” - Dalai Lama
• “The gladdest moment in human life is a departure into unknown lands" - Sir Richard Burton
• “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” - St. Augustine of Hippo
• “It is better to see something once, than to hear about it a thousand times”- Asian Proverb
• “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment” - Hilaire Belloc
• “I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met” - Melody Truong
• “It’s a big world out there. It would be a shame not to experience it” - J. D. Andrews
• “Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show” - Unknown
• “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” - David McCullough Jr.
• “With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding” - Sandra Lake
• “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends” - Shirley MacLaine
• “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things” - Henry Miller
• “Investment in travel is an investment in yourself” - Matthew Karsten
• “I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad” - George Bernard Shaw
• “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign” - Robert Louis Stevenson
• “Travel has a way of stretching the mind” - Ralph Crawshaw

Meaningful Quotes on Life 

Life is full of changes. Whether the change is big or small, it may take some time to get adjusted. Sometimes, this change may not even be something you wanted. It may be something that caught you by surprise. The quotes here are great to keep on hand when you need a little inspiration. Change can be tough, so here are your reminders to keep pushing through and to see the bright side of things.

• “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” - Helen Keller
• “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” - Oprah Winfrey
• “Oh yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it, or learn from it.” - Rafiki, The Lion King
• “If something is wrong, fix it now. But train yourself not to worry, worry fixes nothing.” - Ernest Hemingway
• “You can’t change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react to it.” - Mahatma Gandhi
• “What I love most about rivers is, you can’t step in the same river twice.” - Pocahontas, Disney’s Pocahontas
• “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” - Dr. Robert Schuller
• “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” - George Bernard Shaw
• “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” - Marcus Aurelius
• “Life is a dance between making it happen and letting it happen.” - Arianna Huffington
• “When it hurts – observe. Life is trying to teach you something.” - Anita Krizzan
• “Life is like an elevator: On your way up, sometimes you have to stop and let some people off.” - Unknown 
• “Life is like a boomerang; whatever you throw out there will always return.” - Allen Weinstein
• “Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.” - Gayle Forman
• “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” - Maya Angelou
• “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” - Mae West
• “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” - Dolly Parton
• “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” - Robert Frost
• “I believe that nothing in life is unimportant. Every moment can be a beginning.” - John McLeod
• “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” - Gail Sheehy
• “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney
• “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” - Maya Angelou
• “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.”
 - Florence Nightingale
• “Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.”
 - Richard Branson
• “The road to success is always under construction.”
 - Lily Tomlin

Meaningful Short Quotes 

A quote doesn’t need to be long to carry a lot of meaning. These short quotes can inspire you to make changes when it feels like your life is at a standstill. They also are a reminder that it's never too late to make a change and you are never stuck in one spot.

• “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” - Karen Lamb
• “Light tomorrow with today.” - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• “Someday is not a day of the week.” - Janet Dailey
• “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” - Muhammad Ali
• “Fall 7 times, stand up 8.” - Japanese Proverb
• “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” - Maya Angelou
• “One day or day one. You decide.” - Paulo Coelho
• “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?” - Ayn Rand
• “I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
• “If you’re alive, you’re a creative person.” - Elizabeth Gilbert
• “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” - Robin Williams
• “Love the life you live. Live the life you love.” - Bob Marley
• “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” - Oprah Winfrey
• “Everything you can imagine is real.” - Pablo Picasso
• “Some things scratch the surface while others strike at your soul.” - Gianna Carini
• “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss
• “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” - Omar Khayyam
• “The healthiest response to life is joy.” - Deepak Chopra
• “Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” - Stephen Hawking
• “Life is about making an impact, not making an income.” - Kevin Kruse
• “Life is short, and it is here to be lived.” - Kate Winslet 
• “Every moment is a fresh beginning.” - T.S. Eliot
• “There are no mistakes, only opportunities.” - Tina Fey
• “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” - Omar Khayyam
• “Find people who will make you better.” - Michelle Obama

Whatever the change may be, these quotes will inspire you. It may be uncomfortable at first, but change isn't always bad. You can view it as a brand new start that is bringing you to your destiny.

For more inspiring quotes, read:

• 34+ Affirmations for Confidence and Self-Worth
• 50+ Quotes to Manifest Anything You Want
• 40+ Life-Changing Famous Literary Quotes