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: "I believe ___ people do things before they are ready." - Amy Poehler

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

Patience is also a form of action.

separator icon
Auguste Rodin
motivation theme icon

How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.

separator icon
Florence Nightingale
hope theme icon

Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.

separator icon
Gretel Ehrlich
love theme icon

Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you.

separator icon
Mary Tyler Moore
wisdom theme icon

In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.

separator icon
Drew Barrymore
happiness theme icon

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.

separator icon
Oprah Winfrey
motivation theme icon

No idea is final.

separator icon
Taika Waititi
hope theme icon

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.

separator icon
Emily Dickinson
love theme icon

I never practice, I always play.

separator icon
Wanda Landowska
wisdom theme icon

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.

separator icon
Simone Weil
happiness theme icon

There are things that are not sayable. That's why we have art.

separator icon
Leonora Carrington