Motivation
As one goes through life, one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.
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Quotes About Motivation
Whether you’re facing a daunting task or pursuing a lifelong dream, these motivational quotes will offer a spark of inspiration to propel you forward.
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authors of Motivation
Carlos Castaneda
Anthropologist and writer (1925-1998)
Katherine Center
Author (1972-present)
Nina Simone
Singer and civil rights activist (1933-2003)
Dorothy West
Les Brown
Politician and motivational speaker (1945-present)
I. M. Pei
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Abraham Maslow
Agnes Martin
Abstract painter (1912-2004)
Ai Weiwei
Chinese artist and activist (1957-present)
Albert Einstein
Nobel Prize-winning physicist (1879-1955)
Alexander Graham Bell
Inventor and scientist (1847-1922)
Alfred Adler
Amelia Earhart
Aviation pioneer (1897-disappeared 1937)
Amit Ray
Indian spiritual teacher (1960-present)
Amy Chua
Amy Poehler
Anaïs Nin
French American diarist and author (1903-1977)
Andy Warhol
Angela Davis
Political activist and philosopher (1944-present)
Ann Patchett
Author (1963-present)
Anna Wintour
Fashion editor (1949-present)
Anne Carson
Canadian poet and essayist (1950-present)
Anonymous
Aristotle
Ancient Greek philosopher (384-322 BCE)
August Wilson
B
B. F. Skinner
Benjamin Disraeli
Former U.K. prime minister (1804-1881)
Bertrand Russell
English philosopher, logician, and mathematician (1872-1970)
Betty Williams
Bill Watterson
Cartoonist and “Calvin and Hobbes” creator (1958-present)
Billie Jean King
Björk
Icelandic musician (1965-present)
Bob Dylan
Singer-songwriter (1941-present)
Bob Ross
Painter and TV personality (1942-1995)
Brené Brown
Researcher and storyteller (1965-present)
Bruce Lee
Martial artist and film actor (1940-1973)
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E.B. White
Writer and children's book author (1899-1985)
E.M. Forster
Eden Phillpotts
English author, poet, and dramatist (1862-1960)
Edward Gibbon
Elaine May
Actress, comedian, writer, and director (1932-present)
Elbert Hubbard
Writer and publisher (1856-1915)
Eleanor Roosevelt
Humanitarian and former U.S. first lady (1884-1962)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elton John
British singer-songwriter and pianist (1947-present)
Elvis Presley
Singer and actor (1935-1977)
Ernest Hemingway
Nobel Prize-winning writer (1899-1961)
F
Fay Weldon
English author, essayist, and playwright (1931-2023)
Federico Fellini
Italian director and screenwriter (1920-1993)
Fiona Apple
Francis Bacon
English philosopher and statesman (1561-1626)
Frank Zappa
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd U.S. president (1882-1945)
Fridtjof Nansen
Friedrich Nietzsche
German philosopher and cultural critic (1844–1900)
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I
J
J.R.R. Tolkien
English writer and scholar (1892-1973)
Jack Kerouac
Novelist and poet (1922-1969)
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
James Dean
James Dyson
Jane Goodall
Animal scientist and conservationist (1934-2025)
Jasper Johns
Painter, sculptor, and printmaker (1930-present)
Jesse Eisenberg
Joan Didion
Writer and journalist (1934-2021)
John A. Shedd
Author and professor (1859-1928)
John F. Kennedy
35th U.S. president (1917-1963)
John Irving
John Maxwell
John Steinbeck
Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer (1902-1968)
Judi Dench
Oscar-winning English actress (1934-present)
Judy Blume
Julie Andrews
English actress, singer, and author (1935-present)
Jóhann Jóhannsson
K
L
M
Madame de Sévigné
Madeleine L'Engle
Author (1918-2007)
Mae Jemison
Engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut (1956-present)
Marie Curie
Nobel Prize-winning Polish scientist (1867-1934)
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Austrian writer and noblewoman (1830-1916)
Marina Abramović
Mark Twain
Writer, humorist, and essayist (1835-1910)
Martha Graham
Dancer and choreographer (1894-1991)
Mary Katrantzou
Mary Schmich
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Mary Shelley
English novelist (1797-1851)
Massimo Bottura
Italian chef and entrepreneur (1962-present)
Matt Damon
Actor (1970-present)
Maxine Hong Kingston
Novelist (1940-present)
May Sarton
Belgian-American novelist (1912-1995)
Maya Angelou
Poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928-2014)
Meryl Streep
Oscar-winning actress (1949-present)
Michelangelo
Miguel de Cervantes
Spanish writer (1547-1616)
Misty Copeland
Principal ballet dancer (1982-present)
Montesquieu
Morgan Harper Nichols
Musician and artist (1990-present)
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Rainer Maria Rilke
Austrian poet and novelist (1875-1926)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
Ray Bradbury
Author (1920-2012)
Rita Moreno
Ron Shelton
Rosa Parks
Civil rights activist (1913-2005)
Rumi
Persian poet and mystic (1207–1273)
Ruth Gordon
Actress, playwright, and screenwriter (1896-1985)
RZA
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Seneca
Ancient Roman philosopher (c. 4 BCE-65 CE)
Shirley Chisholm
Politician (1924-2005)
Shonda Rhimes
TV producer and screenwriter (1970-present)
Simone Weil
French philosopher (1909-1943)
Sonia Boyce
British Afro Caribbean artist and educator (1962-present)
Squire Bill Widener
Stephen King
Author of horror novels (1947-present)
Steve Jobs
Entrepreneur and Apple co-founder (1955-2011)
Stevie Wonder
Suzy Kassem
Sylvia Plath
Poet and novelist (1932-1963)
T
T.S. Eliot
Nobel Prize-winning poet and essayist (1888-1965)
Ted Hughes
Theodore Roosevelt
26th U.S. president (1858-1919)
Thomas Carlyle
Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher (1795-1881)
Thomas Edison
Inventor (1847-1931)
Trevor Noah
South African comedian, writer, and TV host (1984-present)
Twyla Tharp
Dancer and choreographer (1941-present)
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