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41 Success Quotes That Will Make You Even More Successful

Updated on Sep. 18, 2024

These quotes about success will motivate you to cross off everything on your to-do list.

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The feeling of success

Often, we think of success as a linear, upward trajectory—but nothing could be further from the truth! As these success quotes show, success comes in all forms and from all types of journeys. After you absorb these success quotes, you may want to peruse these inspirational quotes to motivate you even more.

Leslie Jones quote
Reader's Digest

You’re never too old

“You can achieve your dreams at any age. Did you know Harrison Ford at 30 was a carpenter? Vera Wang didn’t design her first dress until she was 40. Even Captain Crunch joined the Navy at 50.” —Leslie Jones. It’s never too late to achieve your fitness goals, either—check out these workout quotes that will help you reach your goals.

John Legend quote
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Passion as fuel

“Cool detachment only gets you so far. Passion gets you a lot further.” —John Legend

(Also, check out these mindset quotes if you’re aspiring for greatness!)

Dana Canedy quote
Reader's Digest

Take it from a publisher

“I can live with a mistake. What I couldn’t live with is sloppiness. And there’s a difference.” —Dana Canedy

Kevin Garnett quote
Reader's Digest

A baller quote

“I didn’t want to be something cool. I didn’t want to be calm. I wanted to be a player that made you say, ‘Did you see that?'” —Kevin Garnett

RELATED: 50 Parents’ Quotes That Perfectly Sum Up Being a Parent

Mary Barra quote
Reader's Digest

CEO lessons

“Some people are natural-born leaders. Some can be great leaders with the right training. Some are better as individual contributors. Looking at them from above, it’s very hard to tell who fits in what category. But the people who work for them can tell you.” —Mary Barra

Tim Cook quote
Reader's Digest

If you want it enough…

“There’s a saying that if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. I learned that’s a total crock. You’ll work harder than you ever thought possible, but the tools will feel light in your hands.” —Tim Cook

RELATED: 50 Amazing Dad Quotes

Steph curry quote
Reader's Digest

Lift while you climb

“Invest in the success of others. It’s not about being the only one that succeeds; it’s about multiplying to many.” —Steph Curry

Tomi Adeyemi quote
Reader's Digest

A 30-minute recipe for success

“Spend 30 minutes a day doing something to help you become the person you secretly would love to be. To do the job you secretly would love to do. If I can tell you anything, it’s that you can actually do it. It’s more than just that what you want to do is possible, because there are people who are doing it and it was impossible for them at one time too.” —Tomi Adeyemi

RELATED: Wise Quotes Worth Remembering

Alex Dmitrov quote
Reader's Digest

Don’t do nothing

“Some people feel confusion and uncertainty, (which are often things that arrive right before possibility) and do nothing. Don’t do nothing.” —Alex Dimitrov

Danielle Steel quote
Reader's Digest

From the woman who’s written almost 200 books

“There are no miracles. There is only discipline.” —Danielle Steel

LeGuin quote
Reader's Digest

Keep it weird

“There’s a point, around the age of 20, when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your life, or to make a virtue of your peculiarities.” —Ursula K. LeGuin

Lauren Graham quote
Reader's Digest

Enjoy the moment

“The ‘success’ parts of life look good to others, but the best parts are actually the simple, daily experiences. This is true whether you’re an actor or a teacher or a waitress. I know because I’ve been all three.” —Lauren Graham

Gwyneth Paltrow quote
Reader's Digest

Nothing goes to waste

“I haven’t made one mistake that I haven’t used as a stepping stone to get somewhere else. I’m ruthless when it comes to using hard things.” —Gwyneth Paltrow

Ocean Vuong quote
Reader's Digest

Deviate!

“Rules, like streets, can only take you to known places.” —Ocean Vuong

RELATED:  “Failures” of Wildly Successful People

Misty Copeland quote
Reader's Digest

Blow them away

“Start unknown, finish unforgettable.” —Misty Copeland

Ian Brennan quote
Reader's Digest

Be your hardest-working friend

“Be the hardest working person you know. If you’re not, someone else will be.” —Ian Brennan

RELATED: 30 “Dream Big” Quotes That Will Motivate You Right Now

Yvon Chouinard quote
Reader's Digest

The business of virtue

“I could give example after example of how doing the right thing ended up making us more money.” —Yvon Chouinard

Twyla Tharp quote
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It’s not called “hustle” for nothing

“Age is not the enemy. Stagnation is the enemy. Complacency is the enemy. Stasis is the enemy.” —Twyla Tharp

Sarah Barker quote
Reader's Digest

According to an astrophysicist

“The sky isn’t the limit—the sky has no limit.” —Sarah Barker

T. Boone Pickens quote
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Oh, that’s what I’ve been doing wrong

“Work eight hours and sleep eight hours. Make sure they are not the same eight hours.” —T. Boone Pickens

Yoda quote
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Yoda knows a thing or two

“Do or do not. There is no try.”—Yoda

RELATED: 40 Powerful Yoda Quotes

Lee Iacocca
Reader's Digest

Get moving

“Don’t just stand there; make something happen.” —Lee Iacocca

Henry Kissinger quote
Reader's Digest

New decisions

“Every success is usually an admission ticket to a new set of decisions.” —Henry Kissinger

Arnold Schwarzenegger quote
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The key to success

“The key to success? Work hard, stay focused, and marry a Kennedy.”—Arnold Schwarzenegger

Conan O'Brien quote
Reader's Digest

White tuxedos

“Success is a lot like a bright white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you’re desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way.”—Conan O’Brien

Warren Buffet quote
Reader's Digest

Right and wrong

“You only have to do a very few things right in your life—so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” —Warren Buffet

Jerry Bruckheimer quote
Reader's Digest

Doubts are necessary

“Anybody who’s really successful has doubts.”—Jerry Bruckheimer

Kareem Abdul Jabbar quote
Reader's Digest

Put the ball through the hoop

“There’s a ball. There’s a hoop. You put the ball through the hoop. That’s success.” —Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Jon Bon Jovi quote
Reader's Digest

Take it from Bon Jovi

“Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.” —Jon Bon Jovi

Walter Cronkite quote
Reader's Digest

Stand by your principles

“Success is more permanent when you achieve it without destroying your principles.”—Walter Cronkite

Carlos Santana quote
Reader's Digest

Just meditate

“If you want to be successful, just meditate, man. God will tell you what people need.”—Carlos Santana

RELATED: Powerful Kindness Quotes

Carrie Fisher quote
Reader's Digest

No time for naps

“There is no point at which you can say, ‘Well, I’m successful now. I might as well take a nap.'” —Carrie Fisher

Jason Giambi quote
Reader's Digest

Prioritize

“Winning depends on where you put your priorities. It’s usually best to put them over the fence.”—Jason Giambi

Edward Albee quote
Reader's Digest

Be interesting

“If you’re willing to fail interestingly, you tend to succeed interestingly.”—Edward Albee. Get inspired by these Walt Disney quotes.

Mia Hamm quote
Reader's Digest

Raise the bar

“Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.”—Mia Hamm 

Reba quote
Reader's Digest

Three things

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funnybone.”—Reba McEntire

Bill Gates quote
Reader's Digest

You can lose

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces people into thinking they can’t lose.”—Bill Gates 

RELATED:  Stephen Hawking Quotes That Might Lead You to the Meaning of Life

Anna Quindlen quote
Reader's Digest

Be more than your work

“You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are.”—Anna Quindlen 

Muhammad Ali quote
Reader's Digest

Get back up

“Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.”—Muhammad Ali

Pat Conway quote
Reader's Digest

Forever fabulous

“There is no downside of winning. It feels forever fabulous.”—Pat Conroy

Diane Ravitch quote
Reader's Digest

How vs. why

“The person who knows ‘how’ will always have a job. The person who knows ‘why’ will always be his boss.”—Diane Ravitch