Motivational quotes about work: inspiration to help you achieve your goals

Sometimes it can feel like you’re running on empty, both at work and in your private life. Every so often we all feel worn out, overwhelmed by a project or unimpressed by our colleagues’ work. Perhaps it seems your team isn’t working well together, or you no longer feel like a capable leader. You know your business needs to make that extra leap to remain competitive, but you can’t quite manage it. Basically, you lack motivation.

At times like these, some food for thought can help you rediscover the energy you need to gets things moving. This article contains 32 quotes on success, commitment and teamwork that should help bring back your enthusiasm and motivation: read them, print them and hang them on your office wall, write them on post-it notes and wallpaper your office with them, or send them to your colleagues. They might just help you find the momentum you need to take the plunge.

Eight quotes to improve commitment

“Doing your best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment” Oprah Winfrey, TV presenter.

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it” Pablo Picasso, artist.

“We know what needs to be done – all that is missing is the will to do it” Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa.

“Always deliver more than expected” Larry Page, entrepreneur and Google co-founder.

“Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success” Biz Stone, entrepreneur and Twitter co-founder.

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today” H. Jackson Brown Jr., writer.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out” Robert Collier, essayist.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work” Thomas Alva Edison, inventor.

Eight quotes to instil courage

“And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become” Steve Jobs, entrepreneur.

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” Winston Churchill, former UK prime minister.

“All human beings are entrepreneurs, not because they should start companies, but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA” Reid Hoffman, entrepreneur, LinkedIn co-founder and author.

“Don’t give up. You’d risk doing so an hour before the miracle” Arab proverb.

“If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out” Mark Zuckerberg, entrepreneur and Facebook founder.

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed” Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Hornets and former basketball player.

“Fall down seven times, get up eight” Japanese proverb.

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance” Steve jobs, entrepreneur.

Eight quotes to encourage teamwork

“If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together” African proverb.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself” Henry Ford, entrepreneur and founder of the Ford Motor Company.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” Margaret Mead, anthropologist.

“No matter how much work a man can do, no matter how engaging his personality may be, he will not advance far in business if he cannot work through others” John Craig, mathematician and theologian.

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean” Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese author.

“The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side” Margaret Carty, author and executive director of the Maryland Library Association.

“My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other’s kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That’s how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people” Steve Jobs, entrepreneur.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships” Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Hornets and former basketball player.

Eight quotes to stimulate enthusiasm

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” Socrates, philosopher.

“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement” Golda Meir, former prime minister of Israel.

“The only limit to our realisation of tomorrow will be our doubts of today” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States.

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen” Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Hornets and former basketball player.

“If you can dream it, you can do it” Walt Disney, animator.

“What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed” Dave Thomas, entrepreneur and founder of Wendy’s.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain, author.

“There is a driving force more powerful than steam, electricity and nuclear power: the will” Albert Einstein, physicist.

Did any of these quotes speak to you? Then why not note them down in your diary, print them on your business’ promotional gifts or share them with your team. Re-read them whenever you need a boost, stop for a moment to reflect on their meaning, and put the lessons they impart into practice. Sometimes, simply saying or reading the right words can trigger something inside you that brings back your motivation, helping you come back stronger and more determined than ever!