100 Greatness Quotes

In a world filled with endless noise and constant distractions, seeking wisdom from great minds can provide clarity and inspiration. Our curated collection of the top 100 greatness quotes serves as a beacon of motivation, drawing from the thoughts of legendary figures across various fields. Whether you're striving for personal excellence, aiming to make an impact, or simply in need of a daily dose of inspiration, these quotes will ignite the greatness within you. Dive in and let the words of icons guide you on your journey to achieving true greatness.

1. “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” - William Shakespeare

2. “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” - Albert Einstein

3. “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.[Epitaph, upon his instructions to erect a 'a plain die or cube ... surmounted by an Obelisk' with 'the following inscription, and not a word more…because by these, as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered.' It omits that he had been President of the United States, a position of political power and prestige, and celebrates his involvement in the creation of the means of inspiration and instruction by which many human lives have been liberated from oppression and ignorance]” - Thomas Jefferson

4. “It takes a great man to be a good listener.” - Calvin Coolidge

5. “Its hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.” - Dolly Parton

6. “Greatness is a property for which no man can receive credit too soon; it must be possessed long before it is acknowledged.” - Emerson

7. “Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.” - Edgar Allan Poe

8. “Harry - you're a great wizard, you know." "I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him."Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!” - J.K. Rowling

9. “Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part upon the myth-making imagination of humankind. The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality, even occasional greatness will destroy a man.” - Frank Herbert

10. “Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. “If you can't do great things, Mother Teresa used to say, do little things with great love. If you can't do them with great love, do them with a little love. If you can't do them with a little love, do them anyway.Love grows when people serve.” - John Ortberg

12. “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.” - Steve Maraboli

13. “A great chessplayer is not a great man, for he leaves the world as he found it.” - William Hazlitt

14. “A great man is always willing to be little.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

15. “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.” - Mahatma Gandhi

16. “Yet isn't it all—all of it, every single episode and detail of the Clinton saga—exactly like that? And isn't some of it a little bit more serious? For Sen. Clinton, something is true if it validates the myth of her striving and her 'greatness' (her overweening ambition in other words) and only ceases to be true when it no longer serves that limitless purpose. And we are all supposed to applaud the skill and the bare-faced bravado with which this is done. In the New Hampshire primary in 1992, she knowingly lied about her husband's uncontainable sex life and put him eternally in her debt. This is now thought of, and referred to in print, purely as a smart move on her part. In the Iowa caucuses of 2008, he returns the favor by telling a huge lie about his own record on the war in Iraq, falsely asserting that he was opposed to the intervention from the very start. This is thought of, and referred to in print, as purely a tactical mistake on his part: trying too hard to help the spouse. The happy couple has now united on an equally mendacious account of what they thought about Iraq and when they thought it. What would it take to break this cheap little spell and make us wake up and inquire what on earth we are doing when we make the Clinton family drama—yet again—a central part of our own politics?” - Christopher Hitchens

17. “Your greatness is revealed not by the lights that shine upon you, but by the light that shines within you.” - Ray A. Davis

18. “Great men are not born great, they grow great . . .” - Mario Puzo

19. “Every step gets him closer to greatness...or disaster.” - Jody Feldman

20. “If a man has a capacity for great thoughts, he is likely to overtake them before he is decrepit.” - George Eliot

21. “If woman had no existence save in the fiction written by men, one would imagine her a person of the utmost importance (...); as great as a man, some think even greater. But this is woman in fiction. In fact, as Professor Trevelyan points out [in his History of England], she was locked up, beaten and flung about the room.” - Virginia Woolf

22. “Denys (Finch-Hatton) has been written about before and he will be written about again. If someone has not already said it, someone will say that he was a great man who never achieved greatness, and this will not only be trite, but wrong; he was a great man who never achieved arrogance.” - Beryl Markham

23. “The rule seemed to be that a great woman must either die unwed ... or find a still greater man to marry her. ... The great man, on the other hand, could marry where he liked, not being restricted to great women; indeed, it was often found sweet and commendable in him to choose a woman of no sort of greatness at all.” - Dorothy L. Sayers

24. “Greatness is an opiate.” - Toba Beta

25. “Observing and commenting, it is a piece of cake.Experiencing and sharing, that is a piece of work.” - Toba Beta

26. “The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.” - Elbert Hubbard

27. “He knew now that it was his own will to happiness which must make the next move. But if he was to do so, he realized that he must come to terms with time, that to have time was at once the most magnificent and the most dangerous of experiments. Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre.” - Albert Camus

28. “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.” - Coco Chanel

29. “Suddenly summoned to witness something great and horrendous, we keep fighting not to reduce it to our own smallness.” - John Updike

30. “Though I think and speak of greater becoming, I, too, am an infinite work in progress.” - T.F. Hodge

31. “Milton's Eve! Milton's Eve! ... Milton tried to see the first woman; but Cary, he saw her not ... I would beg to remind him that the first men of the earth were Titans, and that Eve was their mother: from her sprang Saturn, Hyperion, Oceanus; she bore Prometheus" --"Pagan that you are! what does that signify?""I say, there were giants on the earth in those days: giants that strove to scale heaven. The first woman's breast that heaved with life on this world yielded the daring which could contend with Omnipotence: the stregth which could bear a thousand years of bondage, -- the vitality which could feed that vulture death through uncounted ages, -- the unexhausted life and uncorrupted excellence, sisters to immortality, which after millenniums of crimes, struggles, and woes, could conceive and bring forth a Messiah. The first woman was heaven-born: vast was the heart whence gushed the well-spring of the blood of nations; and grand the undegenerate head where rested the consort-crown of creation. ...I saw -- I now see -- a woman-Titan: her robe of blue air spreads to the outskirts of the heath, where yonder flock is grazing; a veil white as an avalanche sweeps from hear head to her feet, and arabesques of lighting flame on its borders. Under her breast I see her zone, purple like that horizon: through its blush shines the star of evening. Her steady eyes I cannot picture; they are clear -- they are deep as lakes -- they are lifted and full of worship -- they tremble with the softness of love and the lustre of prayer. Her forehead has the expanse of a cloud, and is paler than the early moon, risen long before dark gathers: she reclines her bosom on the ridge of Stilbro' Moor; her mighty hands are joined beneath it. So kneeling, face to face she speaks with God. That Eve is Jehova's daughter, as Adam was His son.” - Charlotte Brontë

32. “Was not Hypatia the greatest philosopher of Alexandria, and a true martyr to the old values of learning? She was torn to pieces by a mob of incensed Christians not because she was a woman, but because her learning was so profound, her skills at dialectic so extensive that she reduced all who queried her to embarrassed silence. They could not argue with her, so they murdered her.” - Iain Pears

33. “There is really nothing you gain from being a pauper rather you loose every thing.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

34. “We cannot prevail by our own might or strength, we need to plug on to the source of our strength so that we will remain resourceful always.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

35. “You don't need to go running from pillar to post looking for what God looks like.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

36. “God is not a thief. That which steals, kills and destroys is the devil - not God!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

37. “God comes down in the evenings to chat with man, enjoy man's company and find out how man faired in the course of the day.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

38. “God wants all man's attention, thoughts and focus to be on Him.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

39. “God rewards every act of obedience to His Will.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

40. “The presence of God is so important in the life of believers. There is abundance of all you need to make your life comfortable in His presence.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

41. “The presence of the Lord destroys a life of struggle. You will struggle until you encounter His presence.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

42. “You recreate your world to your taste with God's Word in your mouth.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

43. “Your words are powerful so what you say goes a long way to either establish or destroy you; this is why you should say things that God has said concerning you, not things that situations or circumstances say.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

44. “Create your world with God's Word in your mouth just say it and it will be accomplished!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

45. “Let your words glorify God and edify your hearers and then beautify your life.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

46. “Weigh whatever you are about to say; what will it do to your hearer - encouragement, edification, disappointment or fear? What will it do to your life - glorify, edify, beautify or weigh you down? Speak well and things will go well.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

47. “Your status has changed. Your Name is changed! You are a new creation.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

48. “Don't call yourself discouraged anymore;it's no longer your name.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

49. “Be a King. Dare to be Different, dare to manifest your greatness.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

50. “Those touchy mediocrities who sit trembling lest someone's work prove greater than their own - they have no inkling of the loneliness that comes when you reach the top. The loneliness for an equal - for a mind to respect and an achievement to admire.” - Ayn Rand

51. “Don't blow off another's candle for it won't make yours shine brighter.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

52. “Don't set your goals by what other people deem important.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

53. “A man's shortcomings are taken from his epoch; his virtues and greatness belong to himself.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

54. “Greatness is sifted through the grind, therefore don't despise the hard work now for surely it will be worth it in the end.” - Sanjo Jendayi

55. “When it is impossible to stretch the very elastic threads of historical ratiocination any farther, when actions are clearly contrary to all that humanity calls right or even just, the historians produce a saving conception of ‘greatness.’ ‘Greatness,’ it seems, excludes the standards of right and wrong. For the ‘great’ man nothing is wrong, there is no atrocity for which a ‘great’ man can be blamed.” - Leo Tolstoy

56. “Nay, could their numbers countervail the stars,Or ever-drizzling drops of April showers,Or wither'd leaves that autumn shaketh down,Yet would the Soldan by his conquering powerSo scatter and consume them in his rage, That not a man should live to rue their fall.” - Christopher Marlowe

57. “Rise to the challenge of bringing your dreams to life! Do not be discouraged by resistance, be nourished by it. Success is the experience of rising to the level of your true greatness.” - Steve Maraboli

58. “Never again will I underestimate the greatness inside of me just because of the hate and limited thinking inside of others.” - Steve Maraboli

59. “We have an internal check and balance system. By design we are so filled with possibility, opportunity, with greatness that when we live small, within the bottom of our capability, we innately know we should be living greater than that, and it creates a disconnect inside that leads us to feeling empty, unhappy, maybe even depressed.” - Steve Maraboli

60. “إن الاصطفاء للرسالات العظيمة ليس بالأمل فيها و لكن بالطاقة عليها، و كم في الحياة من طامحين لا يملكون إلا الجرأة على الأمل، و كم من راسخين يطويهم الصمت حتى إذا كُلِّفوا أتوا بالعجب العجاب. و لا يعلم أقدار النفوس إلا بارئها. و الذي يريد هداية العالم أجمع يختار للغاية العظيمة نفسا عظيمة” - محمد الغزالي

61. “Greatness is in influence, and not necessarily in affluence. It is not achieved by being a 'paper millionaire', but by being a 'people millionaire'.” - Ogwo David Emenike

62. “I write because I'm free,because I can,because I will. I write because I must,because I'm breathing,because I'd go crazy otherwise,because it's who I am.I write to make a statement,to share my thoughts,to discover myself,to express my ideas.But most of all, I write for future generations.I write for love. I write to inspire.I write to encourage. I write for me.” - Nadège Richards

63. “God is great, God is faithful".~R. Alan Woods [2103]” - R. Alan Woods

64. “Confidence thrills men for it means you won’t be fidgety or excessively jealous when the man is in the midst of people especially those of opposite sex.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

65. “When a man finds this kind of woman, he will go all out for her knowing that she will not be a letdown.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

66. “Ladies, get confident bout yourselves, build up your self-worth and esteem, love yourself and be proud of your achievements and your man will adore you for life.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

67. “Courage is the ability to execute tasks and assignments without fear or intimidation.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

68. “An intelligent woman is a goldmine! She has the ability to learn, reason and understand things better and faster than her contemporaries. She is competent, alert and can reason out stuffs easily.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

69. “A woman that is patient has the ability to endure provocation, pain, annoyance etc, with much calm and strength.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

70. “A woman can tolerate delays knowing they are not denials; she is diligent, and composed. She is not easily irritated like love; she endures all things, beans all things and can be stretched to any limit.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

71. “Maturity of a woman is not in her age or size for age is just a number and size is figure.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

72. “A responsible woman sees and accepts only the best in a given situation.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

73. “For something to be great, there has to be some kind of trial or some type of struggle that actually makes it special or valuable to you. Otherwise, anything could be easily taken for granted.” - Hayley Williams

74. “Ladies, get confident about yourselves, build up your self-worth and esteem, love yourself and be proud of your achievements and your man will adore you for life.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

75. “God in his unending greatness and glory and man in his unending littleness, prepared for the worst but rarely for the best, prepared for the possible but rarely for the impossible.” - Frederick Buechner

76. “The real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.” - G.K. Chesterton

77. “Only adversity provides the opportunity for greatness.” - Wayde Goodall

78. “The idea isn't to do the impossible. The idea is to show the world that if one man can do the impossible, then maybe the rest of the world can do what's possible.” - Jonathan Malley

79. “A man must love a thing very much if he practices it without any hope of fame or money, but even practice it without any hope of doing it well. Such a man must love the toils of the work more than any other man can love the rewards of it.” - G.K. Chesterton

80. “The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize."[Modernism's Patriarch (Time Magazine, June 10, 1996)]” - Robert Hughes

81. “Great men know how to control two things; their women and money.” - Habeeb Akande

82. “You have a great name .. They must kill your name before they can kill you , cuz name is your idea , and ideas are bulletproofs :))” - Hamza wolf

83. “Greatness is to stay humble when the whole world calls you great!” - Mehmet Murat ildan

84. “Options abound world over, Options to choose from and be the best.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

85. “In your emotions: exercise Joy over sadness.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

86. “Life is beautiful if you take the best option.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

87. “It turns out horrendous when you choose the wrong options.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

88. “Sow good seeds for a good yield.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

89. “Choices, options, decisions abound. Choose right, take the best option and decide well.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

90. “Avoid conflicts, Embrace cordiality.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

91. “Relish what is good and expedient.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

92. “Sow the right words! Think the good thought.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

93. “Don`t complain, Don`t compromise.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

94. “Stand out tall amidst challenges! Dwarf all irrelevant voices.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

95. “Shun darkness and evil vices for they that embrace them wear off with time!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

96. “The giver is the blessed! The receiver stands still.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

97. “Desire to impact lives! Change destinies and make dreams come true.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

98. “I don't know what kind of great I'm bound to be," Dove considered his prospects calmly, "all I know for certain is I'm born a world-shaker.” - Nelson Algren

99. “Encouraging others can be the catalyst to unleashing their greatness.” - Rob Liano

100. “Children get food shelter pocket money longholidays and love, all of it apparently free gratis, and most of the little fools think it's a sort of compensation for having been born. 'There are no strings on me!' They sang; but I, pinnoccio, saw the strings. Parents are impelled by the profit motive - nothing more, nothing less. For their attentions, they expected, from me, the immense dividend of greatness.” - Salman Rushdie