86 Personal Development Quotes and Sayings to Live by

Yes! You won’t leave this page without getting what you desired─Inspiring motivational quotes!

I believe that one of our roles in life is to regularly work on being a better person.

Sadly, you won’t feel great every day, so a rational dose of motivation is needed.

And one way to obtain this motivation is to glean some of the best personal development quotes in this article. 

The following self-development quotes and sayings will feature both famous and uplifting personal development quotes.

86 Personal Development Quotes and Sayings that are Inspirational

1. It is horrifying to have the power of sight and have zero vision – Helen Keller

Even though deaf and blind, Helen Keller had an inspiring insight to dish out to the world.  

She authored several books, was passionately active in the political debate and inspired thousands of individuals with her lectures.

Her vision was toward justice and equality.

As one of the few persons with personal development quotes, she understands the impact of an inspiring vision.

She realizes that visions have the potential to pull an individual via the most challenging circumstances.

2. Change might not be imminent and easy, but with time and effort, any habit can be reshaped – Charles Duhigg

3. The best moments of your life are those moments you realize that your problems are yours and that you are in control of your destiny – Albert Ellis

4. Master the art of working harder on yourself than you would on your job – Jim Rohn

This is one of Jim Rohn’s personal development quotes.

He is an intelligent man and an impressive speaker in personal development.

This quote reminds everyone that we are more vital than we may realize. 

5. Enjoying good life requires being fully open to experience, living in the present moment, trusting self, taking responsibility for choices made, and treating oneself and others with wholehearted positive regard – Carl Rogers

6. Your potential is one thing; what is accomplished with it is another – Angela Duckworth

7. Jump into a line you have a deep personal interest in, something you deeply enjoy spending from twelve to fifteen hours working at, and even the rest of your days thinking about – Earl Nightingale

Complementing the previous personal development quotes, many individuals are scared to follow their passion; 

They fear losing security and safety.

It isn’t intelligent to discard everything and pursue dreams. 

But, one shouldn’t ignore a consistent, passionate drive; your passion will always want to be expressed.

So, give passion time to grow steadily. 

The moment it has grown large enough, you will then focus all your energy on it.

By then, working will no longer appear to you like work, but as a natural expression of what you are.

You won’t search for anyone, but you will have to obtain energy by just being glued to your passion. 

That is an excellent state in which to dwell.

8. Your belief about your ability has a significant effect on your ability. Your ability isn’t a fixed property – Albert Bandura

9. You are nothing else but what you make yourself – Jean-Paul Sartre

10. Most humans are interested in improving their circumstances but wouldn’t take a chance to improve themselves. Hence, they stay stagnant – James Allen

As one of my favorite authors, James Allen, is one of the most influential writers in the niche of personal development. 

You can have a bite in this masterful piece: “As a Man Thinketh.”

11. Talent is your pursued interest – Bob Ross

12. Every moment presents you with two options, you push forward to growth or retreat to safety – Abraham Maslow

13. You should remember and fight for your dreams. You should know what you want in life. You have one thing to make your dream unobtainable: The fear of failure! – Paulo Coelho

As a Brazilian, professional author, Paulo Coelho gives everyone the ability to find their path, lead a meaningful and fulfilled life.   

His life is a powerful source of inspiration for the compelling stories he relates. 

As one of his personal development quotes, this comes from his work:

“The Alchemist!” Where a shepherd follows his dream to pursue treasure in life but is held back by fear and doubt.  

This is a reality for many individuals who intend to follow their path.

14. You should always take personal responsibility. You can’t change the wind, seasons, and circumstances, but you can change yourself. It is what you have charge of – Jim Rohn

15. Cornerstones for humanness is love and work – Sigmund Freud

16. Never allow the fear of the time needed to accomplish a goal stop you from doing it. The time will pass away – Earl Nightingale

When this quote is reversed, it might give you something like: 

Never allow the regret of time wasted to stand in your way of not doing things you had put aside for a long time.

17. The best way to make an accurate prediction of your future is to create it – Abraham Lincoln

18. Everything starts with the mind. Knowing what you desire is the initial step to attaining it – Mae West

19. Attitude toward life decides life’s attitude toward us – John N. Mitchell

Having a friendly attitude suggests that your feelings, thoughts, and actions are aligned in a similar direction.

If you embrace a positive attitude toward life, you will radiate positive emotions and behave constructively; 

You will create identical conditions in your life.

20. Identifying what you desire saves you from limitless confusion and unfruitful energy – Stuart Wilde

The following phrases are famous personal development quotes and sayings:

21. Your fundamental values are the firmly held beliefs that authentically define your soul – John Maxwell

22. Do not be scared to be your real self. What you want desires you too – Genevieve Behrend

That desire for more life is also available in the world around you. 

When you express your real self, you will undeniably attract circumstances and people required to experience life to the brim.

23. Rather than being disturbed about events, men should be concerned by views that move them – Epictetus

24. If we hold to ideas of how things must be instead of accepting how they should be, we stem conflict as defensiveness – Carl Rogers

25. Success is the continuous realization of an ideal or worthy goal – Earl Nightingale

As described by Earl Nightingale, success is not gaining money and fame; 

However, it is in walking to the path of obtaining worthy goals for oneself and the rest of the world.

Success isn’t the achievement of the goal, but the journey. 

It is the person who you become and the things you do along the way.

26. Instead of averting or repressing negative feelings, accept them. Suffering is contributory to psychological growth – Rollo May

27. Fall seven times; pick up yourself eight  – Japanese Proverb

28. Peer deeply into Nature, you will understand things better – Albert Einstein

Beyond his legacy as a brilliant science student, Albert Einstein also published many works on non-scientific subjects.

As a non-religious spiritualist, he advocated that by peering at Nature as a bedrock for our reasoning, whether moral or scientific, we can obtain an insight that will grow our experience.

29. When you dwell in complete acceptance of what it is, you’ve reached the end of the dramas in your life – Eckhart Tolle

30. Enthusiasm is ordinary. Endurance is scarce – Angela Duckworth

31. The desire to be free mandates I become Me. It’s not the Me I think I should be. Not the Me people think I should be. So, If I want to be free, I have to be Me. Hence, I must know who Me is – Bill Gove

Making one of the best personal development quotes, this is quite important. 

This is because your freedom wouldn’t lie in mimicking someone or have a wrong idea of who you are. 

If you understand and learn to express your qualities the best way, you could be seen as authentic. 

You must try to learn a lot about yourself.  

32. Obstacles shouldn’t limit you. When you run into a wall, don’t give up. Find out how to climb, go through and work around it – Michael Jordan

33. Self-awareness is identifying one’s emotions. It is also identifying a feeling as it occurs – Daniel Goleman

34. For one to be knowledgeable in these trying times, we should pursue a constant program of self-development, an unceasing journey into new fields of learning and knowledge – Og Mandino

Lifelong learning will enhance one’s importance. 

Also, it functions as a fundamental tool to help move forward and stay updated with all the revolution that happens in this ever-changing world.

35. Character over genius – Angela Duckworth

36. Self-awareness is the capacity to honestly look at you without an attachment to being good or bad, right and wrong – Debbie Ford

37. It is vital to see knowledge like a semantic tree — be sure to understand its fundamental principles. This includes trunks and big branches, before moving to the leaves or you will be left with nothing to hold on to – Elon Musk

Now the world’s richest person, Elon Musk has this inspiring self-development quote. 

He is a strategic entrepreneur whose mind regularly works at connecting information to underlying principles. 

This helps to help pay attention to primary causes and not even outcomes. 

This will help you underline the vitality in strategic, principled living and thinking. 

38. Self-awareness lets you self-correct – Bill Hybels

39. The initial and most significant victory is to conquer you – Plato

40. For justice and truth, there lays no difference between small and large problems, since issues affecting people stay the same – Albert Einstein

Einstein here points out the essence of nature principles: 

They apply to all issues, irrespective of their size or importance.

Nothing is big or small; our thought brings this distinction. 

The way we handle little things will influence how we execute larger items.

41. The bravest thing you’ll ever do is to own your story and love yourself – Bill Hybels

42. Working and loving are the twin capacities of optimum maturity – Sigmund Freud

43. Success appears to be linked with action. That is why successful people keep progressing. They continually make mistakes, but they wouldn’t quit – Conrad Hilton

One of the vital parts of leadership is perseverance. 

It is also critical to desist from doing something that adds little or nothing to your goals.

44. To improve our mental health, we have to strengthen our relationship – William Glasser

45. The relationship you have with yourself sets the tone with every other relationship you own –Robwert Holden

46. The definiteness of purpose is the initial point of all accomplishment – W. Clement Stone

Like all forms of life, the meaning of life for man is also to grow. 

Discovering, expressing, and cultivating your natural potential toward meaningful goals will enhance life and the world around you.

This means you identify what your natural talents are and must decide to work towards them.  

47. It is impossible to win or buy happiness; you must choose it. Like every other endeavor, your attitude must be attended to daily – John Maxwell

48. Vision is inspirational; discipline actualizes it – Christine Caine

49. What we must continually do is to move forward. That’s the progressive awareness of a predetermined goal – Og Mandino

Og Mandino is an American author who has written books. 

One of his works is, “The University of Success.”

He understood that owing a sense of moving forward will make a man thrive.

50. A man’s primary task is to birth himself so he can transform himself into what he is, potentially – Erich Fromm

51. Inaction leads to fear and doubts. Action gives birth to courage and confidence. If you want to silence fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Step out and get busy – Dale Carnegie

52. Life seems like riding a bicycle. To retain or maintain your balance, you must keep moving Albert Einstein

Often, people attribute this to physical fitness, but the reality is this isn’t what Einstein meant.

He only tried to emphasize how vital moving forward in life is. 

53. You must be very careful so you don’t allow present appetites to usurp any chance you could have for the future – Jim Rohn

How about some uplifting quotes?

The following are uplifting personal development quotes:

54. You could have a million reasons for not starting. But sincerely, none could be as compelling as the desire to grow, change, and succeed – John Maxwell

55. When you walk on the way, it appears – Rumi

If you own a vision that gladdens you but enormous that you don’t even know how to begin or make it a reality, fear, and doubt can creep in and alter it.

I’ve learned that you do not need to know how to do it; all you need is what you desire to do.

The how will become more apparent as you keep walking. 

The rest of the path will reveal itself as you move one step after the other.

56. Let’s halt glorifying busyness; our busyness shouldn’t be a measure for worthiness – Jennifer Pastiloff

57. People agree that motivation isn’t forever; the same is valid with bathing; that’s why we do it daily – Zig Ziglar

58. We are all self-Made; however, only successful individuals will admit it – Earl Nightingale

Making a wave as one of the personal development quotes, Earl Nightingale emphasizes one platform for personal movement. 

And that is, regardless of how circumstances could be, we will always have the power to respond, and when that is actualized, it will shape our future. 

It is a difficult thing to see it like that, but we must!

59. Attention to talent distracts us from the most crucial thing–effort – Angela Duckworth

60. To execute things properly, stretch yourself, something that was never natural. The ability to diligently do something wouldn’t come overnight – John Irving

61. For success or failure in this life, we are hinged on obeying the laws of Nature – Raymond Holliwell

As one of the personal development quotes, if you have read Raymond Holliwell’s books, perhaps you’d attest to the staggering effect his work on readers:

“Working with the Law: 11 Truth Principles for Successful Living,” has an adorable 

import readers.

This book is principally about living, and it is based on the natural laws of success.

62. One vital thing you could do is to work hard. Do a large volume of work – Ira Glass

63. If I expected perfection, I wouldn’t open a word- Margaret Atwood

64. When you walk on the way, it appears – Rumi

If you own a vision that gladdens you but enormous that you don’t even know how to begin or make it a reality, fear, and doubt can creep in and alter it.

I’ve learned that you do not need to know how to do it; all you need is what you desire to do.

The how will become more apparent as you keep walking. The rest of the path will reveal itself as you move one step after the other.

65. Fear is the room where negatives are generated – Michael Pritchard

66. You can choose either courage or comfort, but you can’t select both – Brene Brown

67. People’s opinion of who you are shouldn’t be your reality – Les Brown

Many people get burdened by something a person said about them. But what matters?  

It is what you think about ourselves that determines the level of impact we have on our lives.

68. Formal education will offer you a job; self-education will provide you with a fortune –Jim Rohn

69. Wisdom isn’t the result of formal education; it results from a lifelong attempt for acquisition – Albert Einstein

70. When there is a lack of defined goals, humans become strangely obedient and loyal to performing daily trivia till they ultimately become enslaved by them – Robert Heinlein

This probably is the most relevant quote in the 21st century. More than ever, we’ve had a lot of opportunities that serve as distractions for our goal.

Easily, hours after hours, you can spend time on social media pages, from videos to series, and before you get to know, time is up.

However, those who have smartly defined their goals have a burning desire to see the goals become a reality and are not disturbed by daily trivia.

Ask yourself: How many hours do I spend on social media weekly. Can I carve out time to build more clear goals?

71 Self-education is the only valid education there is – Isaac Asimov

72. Our emotion needs education, like our intellect. It is vital to know the best way to feel, respond, and how to allow life to penetrate to touch you – Jim Rohn

73. The biggest threat to most of us isn’t that our aim is too lofty and we miss it. Instead, it is the fact that we aim too low and we reach it – Michelangelo

If you have read Seth Godin’s book, “The Icarus Effect,” you’d probably have seen this quote there.

In that book, Godin explains how Icarus’s father designed a wing for him and was told not to fly close to the sun; that warning, Icarus ignored, which plunged him to doom. What is the point?

Don’t aim too high; play it safe!

Icarus was also told not to fly too low, why seawater would destroy the lift in his wings.  

This also helps to see that flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high. Why?

It is deceitfully safe.

When you are afraid of flying too high, you stay low, where everything feels comfortable and safe, but when a person holds that view, the adventure isn’t great.

74. You won’t arrive at your destination if you pause and throw stones at every barking door on your way – Winston Churchill

75. Comparison steals your joy – Theodore Roosevelt

76. The most vital sale in this life is to sell yourself to yourself – Maxwell Maltz

Maxwell Maltz, a surgeon and a doctor, wrote countless books about the importance of personal development and self-image.

Believing in oneself, seeing one’s strength, and what is possible for one is the most critical and difficult thing in life to do.

You must grow in the role of being yourself because everyone else is taken already.

Have you sold yourself to yourself, or you desire to be someone else?

When talking about personal development quotes, this saying reminds you that growth makes you happy, as it raises your level of consciousness.

One of the problems you can avert is programming yourself to think that you can’t have what you have.

77. Having a great attitude is like having a secret weapon – John Maxwell

78. Worry is like rolling on a chair; it offers you a thrilling moment but gets you nowhere – Erma Bombeck

79. You can control two things; work ethic and attitude about things – Ali Krieger

80. The single-story gives rise to stereotypes, and the issue with stereotype is that they aren’t untrue but always incomplete, making one story appear as the only story – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

81. Do not give up on dreams because of the time it will take to actualize them. The time will pass away – Earl Nightingale

82. The art of overlooking things is the art of being wise – William James

83. Nothing is more comfortable than altering words, nothing is complicated than living up to day by day – Arthur Gordon

84. You will need to pay the price. Everything in life comes with a cost, and you will need to decide whether the price measure up to the prize – Sam Nunn

85. Ideas are vital. If you have ideas, you’ve obtained the principal asset required, and there is no limit to what can be done with your life and business – Harvey Firestone

86. Stay patient with yourself; self-growth is holy ground. There is no better investment – Stephen Covey

Final Thoughts

Did you find one or more personal development quotes in this article to furnish your life quality?

The key phrases that touch you the most must be noted and pinned. What should you now do?

Implement these self-development quotes and sayings, and watch your growth and progress!

Each day you aren’t feeling motivated, pick it up and let it strike your thoughts.

You can set a daily reminder on checking one or two personal development quote so you can stay consistent with motivation;

The drive is required to grow and stay happy!