The start of a new week or a new month—heck, a new anything—brings with it an opportunity. You can either keep doing what you’ve done in the past (whether it’s worked well or not). Or you can take stock, take charge, and try something new.
If you’ve ever found yourself in a rut, chances are you could use a little bit of inspiration. So start your day by reading and reflecting on some great pieces of advice like the ones below. They’re among the most inspiring things anyone has ever said.
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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
—Helen Keller -
“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”
—Teddy Roosevelt -
“You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing, no one to blame.”
—Erica Jong -
“It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
—Abraham Lincoln -
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
—Maya Angelou -
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
—Mark Twain -
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
—Henry Ford -
“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.”
—Roger Staubach -
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt -
“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”
—Aristotle -
“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.”
—The Dalai Lama -
“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.”
—Vince Lombardi -
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
—Chinese Proverb -
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
—Muhammad Ali -
“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”
—Charles Swindoll -
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
—George Eliot -
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
—Babe Ruth -
“Retirement planning is like life insurance. It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst-case scenario.”
—Tim Ferriss -
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”
—Seth Godin -
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
—Albert Einstein -
“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”
—Stephen Covey -
“The secret to success is constancy of purpose.”
—Benjamin Disraeli -
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
—Booker T. Washington -
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
—Henry David Thoreau -
“One man with courage makes a majority.”
—Andrew Jackson -
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me.”
—Erma Bombeck -
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
—Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee -
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.”
—Margaret Thatcher -
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.”
—Billie Jean King -
“It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.”
—Ann Landers