80 Inspirational Greatness Quotes

In a world that constantly challenges us to push beyond our limits, finding inspiration can be the catalyst that fuels our journey toward greatness. Whether you are setting ambitious goals, navigating through personal growth, or striving to make a positive impact, words of wisdom have the power to ignite a spark within us. This carefully curated collection of 80 inspirational quotes serves as a beacon of encouragement, offering profound insights and timeless encouragement from some of history's greatest thinkers and leaders. Let these words uplift your spirit, motivate your actions, and guide you on your unique path to achieving greatness.

1. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” - Mark Twain

2. “Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. “Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.” - Charles de Gaulle

4. “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” - Judy Garland

5. “The past is to be respected and acknowledged, but not worshipped; it is our future in which we will find our greatness.” - Pierre Trudeau

6. “I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.” - John Ruskin

7. “The greatness comes not when things go always good for you. But the greatness comes when you're really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes. Because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.” - Richard Nixon

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

9. “Good and great are seldom in the same man. ” - Winston S. Churchill

10. “Eh, brother, but nature has to be corrected and guided, otherwise we'd all drown in prejudices. Without that there wouldn't be even a single great man.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky

11. “The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence; and the great welcome them out of vanity or need.” - Napoleon Bonaparte

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. “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

15. “It's because I haven't courage,' said Samuel. 'I could never quite take the responsibility. When the Lord God did not call my name, I might have called his name - but I did not. There you have the difference between greatness and mediocrity. It's not an uncommon disease. But it's nice for a mediocre man to know that greatness must be the loneliest state in the world.''I'd think there are degrees of greatness,' Adam said.'I don't think so,' said Samuel. 'That would be like saying there is a little bigness. No. I believe when you come to that responsibility the hugeness and you are alone to make your choice. On one side you have warmth and companionship and sweet understanding, and on the other - cold, lonely greatness. There you make your choice. I'm glad I chose mediocrity, but how am I to say what reward might have come with the other? None of my children will be great either, except perhaps Tom. He's suffering over the choosing right now. It's a painful thing to watch. And somewhere in me I want him to say yes. Isn't that strange? A father to want his son condemned to greatness! What selfishness that must be.” - John Steinbeck

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

17. “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

18. “Always to be right, always to trample forward, and never to doubt, are not these the great qualities with which dullness takes the lead in the world?” - William Makepeace Thackeray

19. “The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.” - Rensis Likert

20. “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.” - Stanley Wolpert

21. “When you're good at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they'll tell you.” - Walter Payton

22. “To seek greatness is the only righteous vengeance.” - Criss Jami

23. “Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.” - George Bernard Shaw

24. “The measure of greatness in a scientific idea is the extent to which it stimulates thought and opens up new lines of research.” - Paul Dirac

25. “The firstsign of greatness is when a man does not attempt to look and actgreat. Before you can call yourself a man at all, Kipling assuresus, you must "not look too good nor talk too wise.” - Dale Breckenridge Carnegie

26. “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

27. “Abraham Lincoln was asked by an aide about the church service he had attended. Lincoln responded that the minister was inspired, interesting, well-prepared, eloquent and the topic relevant. The aide said, “Then it was a good service?” Lincoln responded, “No.” The aide protested, “But, Mr. President, you said that the minister was inspired, interesting, well-prepared, eloquent, and that the topic was relevant.” “Yes,” replied Lincoln, “but he didn’t challenge us to do any great thing.” - Abraham Lincoln

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

29. “Everyone that enters through Him is secured and the person shall find pastures for himself. Jesus really cares!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

30. “You may not attain the highest height with one leap but my dear; you will reach your destination.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

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

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

33. “Your decision not to join the crowd may be what God is waiting for to grant you revelation on how to deliver your family, your country, business, profession or even your church!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

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

35. “Dare to be different. Represent your maker well and you will forever abide in the beautiful embrace of his loving arms.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

36. “Another way of remaining in intimacy with God is by remaining in His presence.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

37. “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

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

39. “God is never tired of bringing the sun out every morning, taking it in the evenings and bringing out the moon.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

40. “The choice is yours. Don't let your pronouncements destroy your destiny rather let them build your future up!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

41. “Words are directed to your personalities namely; - God, your hearers, devil and yourself.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

42. “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

43. “Dominate in your domain; You can do it.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

44. “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

45. “Now the big question is: what direction are you moving? Look inward; there is a burning desire in your heart that will make you the person you can become – A superstar!” - Maureen Lawrence

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

47. “Our Christian destiny is, in fact, a great one: but we cannot achieve greatness unless we lose all interest in being great. For our own idea of greatness is illusory, and if we pay too much attention to it we will be lured out of the peace and stability of the being God gave us, and seek to live in a myth we have created for ourselves. And when we are truly ourselves we lose most of the futile self-consciousness that keeps us constantly comparing ourselves with others in order to see how big we are.” - Thomas Merton

48. “There is an enduring freshness in what remains strange and obscure which the cliches of greatness can only evoke nostalgia for.” - Bauvard

49. “Endeavor for greatness, venture for the sake of the heart.” - Nadège Richards

50. “You can change any status quo, stand out, walk by faith and not by sight and things will definitely go well with you.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

51. “Don't just float through life; don't just agree to anything and everything, have a course you are known for at all times.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

52. “A prudent man will always try to follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been truly outstanding, so that, if he is not quite as skillful as they, at least some of their ability may rub off on him.” - Niccolo Machiavelli

53. “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

54. “The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.” - John Buchan

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

56. “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

57. “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

58. “A confident woman wears a smile and has this air of comfortability and pleasantness about her.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

59. “A responsible woman doesn’t see opportunities and needs and look the other way pretending not to see them rather she gets to work to ensure things are done properly and her man succeeds in his endeavours.” - Agu, Jaachynma N.E.

60. “People have this dream of being unreachable. They build a name for themselves and then finally fulfill their dream of "being more important." Which just shows they were born from down below. Because when you're born from up above, your dreams have nowhere to go but downwards! And you dream of doing things in order to meet people, to know them, to understand the smallest importances!” - C. JoyBell C.

61. “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

62. “The loves and sorrows that are great are destroyed by their own plentitude.” - Oscar Wilde

63. “All great roads are paved with uncomfortable memories.” - Amy Neftzger

64. “Use your hater to make you greater!” - Habeeb Akande

65. “Greatness consists not in the holding of some future office, but really consists in doing great deeds with little means and the accomplishment of vast purposes from the private rants of life. To be great at all one must be great here, now, in Philadelphia.” - Russell H. Conwell

66. “Be positive at all times! Leave out the negatives.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

67. “Ride higher in life unto the higher life.” - Agu Jaachynma N E

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

69. “There is seed time and harvest, choose to sow at the right time so as to have a bountiful harvest.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

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

71. “You have been called to a life of blessing, don`t descend to that of curses.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

72. “Build up your faith while starving the fears.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

73. “Eschew evil and it`s machinations.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

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

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

76. “Desire to give and not always receive.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

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

78. “You are created with a mandate! You have all you need to fulfill it.” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

79. “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

80. “Greatness is obedience to what Jesus said, to the commission to go to the ends of the earth. It means setting out to make some difference somewhere to someone, in the Name of Jesus Christ.” - Ross Paterson