Article image

Create the Life You Desire With These 14 Transformative Quotes

Turning over a new leaf and reinventing ourselves can be an imposing task, and far too often we let our fears of the unknown stand in the way of achieving our highest potential. Many people would sooner settle for complacency rather than risk disappointment, but it’s only when we step outside of our comfort zones that we can truly flourish, even if there are hiccups and setbacks along the way.

One of the most powerful feelings that tends to keep us from greatness is the worry that we’re “too late” to transform our lives. Our minds are infiltrated with thoughts such as, “I should have started saving in my 20s,” or “I should have started working out in my 30s,” which can discourage us from taking that first step.

While yesterday may have been a good time to start, today is no less worthy. The only failure is never starting at all.

May these 14 powerful quotes inspire you to begin your own journey of self-improvement and personal discovery. If we can find the courage, one day we can all look back on our lives and be glad we finally took those leaps of faith.

No star is ever lost we once have seen, / We always may be what we might have been.
Adelaide Anne Procter

Share Quote

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou

Share Quote

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin.
Ivan Turgenev

Share Quote

How hurtful it can be to deny one’s true self and live a life of lies just to appease others.
June Ahern

Share Quote

Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves.
Swami Vivekananda

Share Quote

The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
Jack London

Share Quote

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
Anaïs Nin

Share Quote

Do not despise the bottom rungs in the ascent to greatness … If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest.
Publilius Syrus

Share Quote

The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.
Marie Kondo

Share Quote

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
Carl Jung

Share Quote

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao Tzu

Share Quote

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Share Quote

Do not try to fix whatever comes in your life. Fix yourself in such a way that whatever comes, you will be fine.
Sadhguru

Share Quote

It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.
Lewis Carroll

Share Quote

Featured image credit: Bonnie Schiffman Photography/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

Author image
About the Author
Bennett Kleinman
Bennett is a staff writer at Optimism as well as a freelance comedy writer. He's based in New York City.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "___ is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect." - Steve Jobs

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

People living deeply have no fear of death.

separator icon
Anaïs Nin
motivation theme icon

The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.

separator icon
William Somerset Maugham
hope theme icon

In all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other.

separator icon
Carl Sagan
love theme icon

The quality of your life depends quite a bit on the quality of attention you project out onto the world.

separator icon
David Brooks
wisdom theme icon

Everything that truly makes us happy is quite simple: love, sex, and food!

separator icon
Meryl Streep
happiness theme icon

Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.

separator icon
Mary Shelley
motivation theme icon

Words empowered by justice can never be silenced.

separator icon
Isabel Ibañez
hope theme icon

Success is the process itself.

separator icon
Matt Damon
love theme icon

Pretend you’re more obsessed with this moment and a little bit less with the way it ends.

separator icon
Buddy Wakefield
wisdom theme icon

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.

separator icon
Kurt Vonnegut
happiness theme icon

You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people, if you don't serve the people.

separator icon
Cornel West