5 Quotes For Maintaining Your Motivation

Title Image - Whatever you do - do it with all your heart

Finding confidence and courage to get up and go after what you say you want can be daunting at times, but if you want to experience the benefits of success, you have to put in the work. With 2017 quickly approaching the half-way mark, there is no better time to get inspired and fired up! Assessing the mid-way point now will help to determine who you are becoming, what you've done so far, and what extra efforts you need to put in. It's time to stir the simmering pot of goals so that nothing gets stuck. That said, here are my top five life changing quotes to help motivate you and keep you moving forward.

1.  Quit talking and start doing

Walt Disney

We all know people, maybe you are one of them, who talk endlessly about their big dreams and audacious ideas but never put a plan in place to accomplish them much less get started. If you are one of those people, Walter (Waltz) Disney would suggest you shut up and start up! As you may have guessed, he was a world renown creator, animator, and owner of everything Disney, including the famous Disneyland and Disney World. Mr. Disney knew a thing or two about starting and failing. He's been there. He was fired at 22 years old for "not being creative enough", went bankrupt after his business failed, and brought the concept of what we now know as Disneyland to fruition. So believe him when he says: "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." Talking produces nothing. Actions do. So stop talking already and get cracking.

2.  Life is not a spectator sport

Jackie Robinson

Are you sitting on the sideline of life watching it pass you by? Jack (Jackie) Robinson made history when he broke baseball color barrier in 1947. He didn't let anything stop him from living his dream. He got on the playing field and leveled it. Despite the many obstacles he faced, including the obvious color of his skin, he pushed through the grandstand of life. Let this quote of his encourage you to get up, get out and get moving. Let your faith be bigger than your fate. Pursue your passion and push past the pain. Let nothing or no one stand in your way, including you. Be positive and proactive in the game of life. No more waiting and watching in the grandstand of life criticizing others and complaining about your barriers. Life is too precious to be wasted. Be confident and courageous. You've got skills—apply them.

3.  Excellence is the best deterrent

Oprah Winfrey

Women face many barriers in society, but to be black and a woman is a double-whammy! However, Oprah Winfrey didn't let any of those stop her. Not only did she break racial and sexist barriers as a black woman, she was born and raised in poverty, was left by her single mother to be raised by her grandmother, and was molested before being sent to live with her biological father. Under her father sternness and penchant for perfection, she learned the importance of excellence as he pushed her to rise above the noise. Oprah worked her excellence to become America's first black billionaire by turning one of the lowest rating talk shows in Chicago into her personal empire; all while using her brand to impact thousands of lives. So, what's holding you, ahem, me back? If you think you are not good enough, get up and cultivate your craft daily. We are what we do repeatedly. Excellence is a habit, not an act. Delete all self-inhibiting thoughts or behaviors you hold about yourself, whether conscious or unconscious and take a page from Oprah's book. Believe in yourself. Push yourself. Excellence is the best deterrent to any barrier.

4.  Sight without vision is pathetic

Helen Keller

Oftentimes we lack motivation and procrastinate on our dreams because we have no clarity of vision to pursue them. According to Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind since early childhood due to a contracted childhood disease, the only thing that is worse than being blind is having sight and no vision. Helen Keller was an author and activist for people with physical limitations and was the first person in her condition to earn a bachelor of arts degree. What's your vision for your life or career? Proverb 29:18 tells us, without vision the people perish. This is how big a deal clarity of vision is. If lack of clarity is holding you back, spend time setting personal and professional goals and visualizing yourself being, doing, and having achieved them. Who are you becoming? What does your life look like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? How will you know you have achieved your goals? Don't waste time staring at closed doors that you miss the opportunity to step into open ones. Don't waste time fretting over your limitations. Self-pity won't help you. Despite being deaf and blind since childhood, Helen Keller pursued her heart's desires and even blazed a few trails. Create a clear vision of the life and career you desire for yourself and go get it!

5.  Start where you are

Arthur Ashe

Starting is always the hardest part of anything. Once you get started all you have to do is keep on pushing yourself. Persistent is the key to unlocking success. Be confident and courageous in your pursuits. Arthur Ashe overcame many obstacles, including the loss of his mother at an early age, apartheid, and grave illness to pioneered his way to tennis stardom. Stop making excuses—excuses are for loser. Arthur didn't come from a lineage of wealth. He piggybacked on the fringed-benefits of his father being a caretaker for a park. With that, he encourages us to take action—start where we are, use what we have, and do what we can. What can you do today to put his quote into practice to pursue your own greatness?


I trust these quotes will help you find the strength to tap into your God-given power and get fired up. A persistent mindset is all it takes to keeping moving forward. Forward is forward no matter how slow you go. Never stop pushing for excellence. It is not going to be easy—I know it and so do you. Anything easy doesn't produce growth or excellence. But with the clarity of vision, the courage to play, a little creativity and a huge confidence, I hope you can cultivate the chutzpah to start, despite obstacles, setbacks, and limitations. Remember, a successful life is about overcoming obstacles and objections. The more likely you are to succeed, the more challenges you will experience. None of these five people were built in a day—they were built with persistence and perseverance.

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Until next time,

Be Blessed. Be Bold. Be Strong. Be You!

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Andrene Gregory is a life coach at Aggie Strong Ultimate Life Coaching Services. You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn for more tidbits of information and learn more about her. 

She provides one-to-one coaching and group workshops to adults seeking to improve their life skills, lifestyle and leadership capabilities for greater confidence and work-life balance.