Sometimes life seems dull and boring doesn’t it? We get stuck in a rut and hold back from what we really desire. We end up living a quiet life of desperation and settle for a dreary and humdrum existence. But what if there was a different way to start living? A way of living that is fun, playful, joyous and truly meaningful. What if at the end of your life you could look back and say “Wow, my life was incredible!” “What an amazing story all of these years have been!” Are you ready to start writing that story? I know I am, and sometimes a little inspiration is what we need. I think quotes are a great way to get the fire burning in our soul. (Check out another list of inspiring quotes about dealing with failure here!)
So here are 20 inspiring quotes to get your spirits lifted, imagination churning, and heart yearning for more!
1. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
2. If you obey all the rules, you’ll miss all the fun. ~ Katharine Hepburn
3. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. ~ Mark Twain
4. Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. ~ Danny Kaye
5. The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.~ Eleanor Roosevelt
6. It is not the years in your life but the life in your years that counts. ~ Adlai Stevenson
7. You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing. ~ Arthur Ashe
8. You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth. ~ William W. Purkey
9. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~ Maya Angelou
10. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. ~ Oscar Wilde
11. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~ Anne Frank
12. The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams. ~ Oprah Winfrey
13. There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein
14. Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. ~ Dr. Seuss
15. Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
16. We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~ Joseph Campbell
18. The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. ~ Mark Twain
19. Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
17. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
20. Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive. ~ Elbert Hubbard
21. (Bonus: One of my favorites!) Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present. ~ Bil Keane