111 best quotes about courage and motivation

True courage is shown when you are determined to follow through on your endeavors to the end despite adversity and doubt.
It is about having the courage to keep going even when the chances of success are low.
This form of courage, characterized by perseverance and tenacity, inspires us to push beyond our own limits and face our fears.
By facing this challenge, we often discover an inner strength we didn’t know we possessed before.

He who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.

Friedrich Schiller, German poet and playwright

The ignorant have courage, the knowledgeable have fear.

Alberto Moravia, Italian writer

Falling is neither dangerous nor shameful. Staying down is both.

Konrad Adenauer, German Chancellor

We can learn a lot from the Chinese. I was told that they have the same character for crisis and opportunity.

Richard von Weizsäcker, German politician

The man has free courage, // He likes doing what he does.

Thomasîn von Zerclaere, Italian poet in Middle High German

Motivation is like the tailwind when you ride a bike.

Hermann Lahm, German author

Just do it! In a double sense.

Axel Haitzer, German marketing expert and author

Have the courage to use your own mind.

Immanuel Kant, German philosopher

We need something to drive us on, sometimes a cup of coffee is enough.

Helmut Glaßl, German engineer and aphorist

Enough words have been exchanged, let me finally see some actions! While you are spinning compliments, something useful can happen.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet

Those who fight can lose. Those who don’t fight have already lost.

Bertold Brecht, German dramatist and poet

Leadership means determining the direction; motivation means accelerating the pace.

Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger, German chemist and aphorist

For me, civil courage is the only acceptable form of heroism.

Harald Schmid, German athlete and politician

The ability to say the word “no” is the first step to freedom.

Nicolas Chamfort, French writer

There is a lot of coldness among people because we do not dare to be as warm as we are.

Albert Schweitzer, German theologian, philosopher and doctor

Even the bravest among us has only rarely the courage for that which he really knows.

Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher

Courage mounteth with occasion.

William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

Alan Alexander Milne, English author

Between pride and humility is a third, which belongs to life, and that is courage.

Theodor Fontane, German writer

Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it.

Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet and philosopher

Willpower shapes the man, but success requires courage and perseverance.

Bruce Lee, Sino-American martial artist and actor

Courage is well, but endurance is better.

Theodor Fontane, German writer

Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.

Thomas Stephen Szasz, American psychiatrist

Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.

Napoleon Bonaparte, French military leader and emperor

Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.

John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

Erica Jong, American novelist and poet

Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.

Robertson Davies, Canadian novelist, playwright, and critic

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.

Mary Anne Radmacher, American writer and artist

I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and I try to ignore the rest.

Venus Williams, American professional tennis player

Live out of your imagination, not your history.

Stephen R. Covey, American educator and author

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Suzy Kassem, American writer, poet, and philosopher

Without fear there cannot be courage.

Christopher Paolini, American author

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

Brian Tracy, Canadian-American motivational speaker and author

Freedom lies in being bold.

Robert Frost, American poet

Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, lecturer, and poet

With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.

Margaret Mitchell, American novelist and journalist

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist

Courage is found in unlikely places.

J. R. R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, philologist, and academic

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.

J.K. Rowling, British author, screenwriter, and philanthropist

Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.

Benjamin Franklin, American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.

Arianna Huffington, Greek-American author, syndicated columnist, and businesswoman

The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.

Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it.

Thucydides, ancient Greek historian and general

The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear.

Brian Tracy, Canadian-American motivational speaker and author

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Winston Churchill, British statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Courage is grace under pressure.

Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

Muhammad Ali, American professional boxer and activist

When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say, ‘Wow, that was an adventure,’ not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe.’

Tom Preston-Werner, American entrepreneur and software developer

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher and writer

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.

George S. Patton Jr., United States Army general

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

Mark Twain, American writer, humorist, and entrepreneur

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.

John Wayne, American actor and filmmaker

A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.

Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher

Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.

Maya Angelou, American poet and civil rights activist

Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.

Brené Brown, American research professor and author

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

E.E. Cummings, American poet and painter

The secret to happiness is freedom…and the secret to freedom is courage.

Thucydides, ancient Greek historian

Creativity takes courage.

Henri Matisse, French artist

Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States

From caring comes courage.

Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher

Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use.

Ruth Gordon, American actress and writer

It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.

J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer and scholar

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

Anaïs Nin, French-Cuban-American diarist and writer

Creativity takes courage.

Henri Matisse, French artist

Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears.

Arthur Koestler, Hungarian-British author and journalist

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

Coco Chanel, French fashion designer and businesswoman

If you could get up the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.

David Viscott, American psychiatrist and author

You’ve got to follow your passion. You’ve got to figure out what it is you love – who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams.

Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist

Courage is the complement of fear. A man who is fearless cannot be courageous. He is also a fool.

Robert A. Heinlein, American science-fiction author

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist

Courage to me is doing something daring, no matter how afraid, insecure, intimidated, alone, unworthy, incapable, ridiculed or whatever other paralyzing emotion you might feel. Courage is taking action….no matter what. So you’re afraid? Be afraid. Be scared silly to the point you’re trembling and nauseous, but do it anyway!

Richelle E. Goodrich, American author and novelist

Courage is about learning how to function despite the fear, to put aside your instincts to run or give in completely to the anger born from fear. Courage is about using your brain and your heart when every cell of your body is screaming at you to fight or flee—and then following through on what you believe is the right thing to do.

Jim Butcher, American author

There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.

Jane Austen, British author, Pride and Prejudice

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer

Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.

Napoleon Bonaparte, French military and political leader

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.

Mary Anne Radmacher, American author and artist

Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and perceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and last some crisis shows what we have become.

Brooke Foss Westcott, British bishop and scholar

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.

August Wilson, American playwright

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill, British statesman, army officer, and writer

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’

Eleanor Roosevelt, American political figure, diplomat, and activist

We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.

Barbara De Angelis, American relationship consultant and author

To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength.

Criss Jami, American author and poet

Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.

Brené Brown, American research professor and author

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Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States

Life is not about living the safer option. Life is about living a life worth living.

Robert Thier, Author

Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.

Shannon L. Alder, Author

Bravery never goes out of fashion.

William Makepeace Thackeray, English novelist

Real courage is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. Doing the unpopular thing because it’s what you believe, and the heck with everybody.

Justin Cronin, American novelist

Pride is holding your head up when everyone around you has theirs bowed. Courage is what makes you do it.

Bryce Courtenay, Australian-South African novelist

We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.

Madeleine L’Engle, American author

You need to have faith in yourself. Be brave and take risks. You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward.

Roy T. Bennett, Author

He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.

Jean-Luc Godard, French-Swiss film director

No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never know if they are or not until something real happens.

Veronica Roth, American novelist

Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.

Mary Tyler Moore, American actress

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, Brazilian lyricist and novelist

You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.

Stephen King, American author

If you want to change things, it requires bravery.

Naftali Bennett, Israeli politician

Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.

Emma Donoghue, Irish-Canadian novelist

Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.

Franklin P. Jones, American journalist and humorist

A brave man acknowledges the strength of others.

Veronica Roth, American novelist

I’m not funny. What I am is brave.

Lucille Ball, American actress and comedian

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies but just as much to stand up to our friends.

J.K. Rowling, British author

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.

Nora Ephron, American journalist and filmmaker

Because no matter what they say, you always have a choice. You just don’t always have the guts to make it.

Ray N. Kuili, Author

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

Victor Hugo, French poet and novelist

Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.

C.S. Lewis, British writer and lay theologian

Everyone has talent. What’s rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.

Erica Jong, American novelist and poet

It’s your life; you don’t need someone’s permission to live the life you want. Be brave to live from your heart.

Roy T. Bennett, Author of The Light in the Heart

Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.

W. Clement Stone, American businessman and philanthropist

Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.

Maya Angelou, American poet and civil rights activist

You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.

William Faulkner, American writer and Nobel Prize laureate

If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.

John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.

Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer and author

It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.

Erma Bombeck, American humorist and writer

The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.

Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host and media executive

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter

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