The Greatest Inspiration Quotes & Sayings

Christianity is not only the revelation of truth, but also the fountain of holiness under the unceasing inspiration of the spotless example of its Founder, which is more powerful than all the systems of moral philosophy. It attests its divine origin as much by its moral workings as by its pure doctrines. By its own inherent energy, without noise and commotion, without the favor of circumstance - nay, in spite of all possible obstacles, it has gradually wrought the greatest moral reformation, we should rather say, regeneration of society which history has ever seen while its purifying, ennobling, and cheering effects upon the private life of countless individuals are beyond the reach of the historian, though recorded in God's book of life to be opened on the day of judgment. To appreciate this work, we must first review the moral condition of heathenism in its mightiest embodiment in history. — Philip Schaff

The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world. — Michael Pollan

The greatest security against sin is to be shocked at its presence. — Thomas Carlyle

But your greatest blessing was of another order. In gaining my friendship through your charity - I have never encountered its equal - you have furnished me with a source of inspiration more powerful and more pure that one could find among human things. For nothing among human things is as powerful for maintaining our gaze, applied ever more intensely on God, than friendship with the friends of God. — Simone Weil

Eros and Thanatos were always the source of his inspiration, even though, from this time on, they usually appear in the guise of two simple and fundamental themes: flowers and women. These themes offered him the greatest opportunity to give a certain permanence to all that can be grasped in passing: an ephemeral sensual joy, the ecstasy of life. — Gilles Neret

When faced with the vicissitudes of life, one's mind remains unshaken, sorrow-less, stainless, secure; this is the greatest welfare — Gautama Buddha

The greatest happiness is a quiet kind. It's the tender understanding that we're living in a very strange place full of strange creatures. And there's quite a bit of wonder in that. — F.K. Preston

The greatest education is learning to know the divinity of thy soul. — Lailah Gifty Akita

I understand the arguments about how the billions of dollars spent to put men on the moon could have been used to fight poverty and hunger on Earth. But, look, I'm a scientist who sees inspiration as the ultimate tool for doing good. When you use money to fight poverty, it can be of great value, but too often, you're working at the margins. When you're putting people on the moon, you're inspiring all of us to achieve the maximum of human potential, which is how our greatest problems will eventually be solved. Give yourself permission to dream. — Randy Pausch

People don't need to find reasons to justify their not giving. What they need to find is the inspiration to give. And those who don't, but could afford to, are missing out on one of wealth's greatest luxuries. — Andrew Tobias

If God simply handed us everything we want, He'd be taking from us our greatest prize - the job of accomplishment — Frank A. Clark

My greatest inspiration is my mother, the bravest person I ever knew. She overcame incredible odds, worked while raising two kids, and made it all look incredibly simple. Even in her final days succumbing to cancer, she fought like a champion. — Safra A. Catz

The hours spent forming a written work can make one obsessive, distracted, compulsive, and neurotic even, especially when it comes to those rare, precious occasions of streaming pure inspiration. To have a muse moment interrupted - to watch her scuttle back into hiding with unshared insight remaining on the tip of her tongue - is a wicked irritation. When a writer's eyes glaze over, when she stares off at nothing or appears to be memorizing the lines on a blank page, when she falls asleep at the desk ... tiptoe softly. For a writer's greatest desire is to receive inspiration; her greatest nightmare, to have tossed to the wind what could've been captured in words. — Richelle E. Goodrich

That was the dream of Montparnasse: to live for the moments of the greatest intensity, to find in them a truthful inspiration, and to hell with all the rest. — Philip Sington

The greatest ideas, the most profound thoughts, and the most beautiful poetry are born from the womb of silence — William Arthur Ward

My wife has been my greatest earthly inspiration. She excels in eloquence, the poetry of words, empathy and graciousness. — George W. Romney

There is no doubt that even the greatest musical geniuses have sometimes worked without inspiration. This guest (inspiration) does not always respond to the first invitation. We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If we wait for the mood, without endeavouring to meet it half-way, we easily become indolent and apathetic. We must be patient, and believe that inspiration will come to those who can master their disinclination. — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

One of the greatest challenge in life is not having an attitude but knowing or accepting that you have one — Ikechukwu Izuakor

I've had so many influences and sources of inspiration as an illustrator that it is impossible to name just one. I loved Aubrey Beardsley when I was a student, and then Edmund Dulac and other Golden Age illustrators made a big impact, as well as Victorian painters like Richard Dadd and Edward Burne-Jones. My long-term heroes though are Albretch Durer, Brueghel, Hieronymous Bosch, Jan Van Eyck, Leonardo, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Turner and Degas. What most of them have in common is brilliant draughtsmanship and a strong linear or graphic quality. Most are also printmakers. The one I keep going back to and who fascinates me the most is JMW Turner, the greatest watercolourist. — Alan Lee

The greatest deception, and the deepest source of unhappiness, is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibility. — Pope John Paul II

Self-confidence and self-seeking are the greatest virtues. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The greatest thing about dreams is they don't expire. They can lay dormant for years and when you pull them out and dust them off, they shine like new. — Casi McLean

The greatest tragedy in your life will not be the death of a loved one or a natural disaster; those things hurt like hell and devastate to the core. But loss like that is part of life. What's not necessary and is therefore most tragic is the demise of your truest identity, your dying before you're dead, the moments when you let the words and judgments of others define who you are instead of rising above that pain to be the person you were meant to be. No matter what has happened in your past, you are still capable of becoming a better version of who you are at this moment. Think right. Believe the voice inside of you that speaks the truth. You are a divine marvel. Act like it. Live like it. — Toni Sorenson

The greatest source of inspiration is hard work. Of course, I also believe in inspiration itself, but sometimes you have to provoke it, call on it repeatedly, even though it may take a while. There are times when I feel uninspired and I don't want to compose. I call these my 'bewitched' periods. I have to be touched with a magic wand. — Joaquin Rodrigo

Perhaps creativity's greatest mercy is this: By completely absorbing our attention for a short and magical spell, it can relieve us temporarily from the dreadful burden of being who we are. Best of all, at the end of your creative adventure, you have a souvenir - something that you made, something to remind you forever of your brief but transformative encounter with inspiration — Elizabeth Gilbert

I like to call it 'the national automobile slum.' You can call it suburban sprawl. I think it's appropriate to call it the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world. — James Howard Kunstler

The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty
it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God. — Mother Teresa

The sudden passing of Jack Bruce is terribly sad news. One of the greatest rock bassists to ever live and a true and profound inspiration to countless musicians. He was one of my first bass heroes and was a major influence on my playing and my music. My heartfelt condolences to his family and fans. — Geddy Lee

One of the greatest gifts to give our friends and others is a prayer. — Ellen J. Barrier

The truest of loves transcends even the greatest of insecurities. — Solange Nicole

Going beyond our ordinary concept of self is what always brings us the greatest sense of joy in life. Going beyond our own boundaries brings us an ecstatic awareness of how we are truly created in connection with all that is. — Cynthia Sue Larson

To be able to live each day with honor, respect and dignity is the greatest achievement of all. — Roopleen

God's words are the greatest inspiration. It is refreshing and reviving to the soul! — Lailah Gifty Akita

The greatest energy must be use for work. — Lailah Gifty Akita

It hit me like divine inspiration. Religion is the greatest graft ever invented because no one ever loses money claiming to speak for the invisible man in the sky. People already believe in him. They already accept that they owe him money, and they think they'll burn in hell if they don't pay him. If you can't make money in the religion business, you need to give up. — Jake Hinkson

Our worst fears, like our greatest hopes, are not outside our powers, and we can come in the end to triumph over the former and to achieve the latter. — Marcel Proust

The greatest risk to man is not that he aims too high and misses, but that he aims too low and hits. — Michaelangelo

Do not wait for miracles to happen. The greatest miracle in life is life itself. — Jaggi Vasudev

Baz [Luhrmann] paid me one of the greatest compliments ever. I don't know him, really, but when I first met him I was congratulating him on ROMEO + JULIET - which I think is a wonderful adaptation - and he said, "Oh, well we couldn't have done it without your RICHARD III, which was an inspiration!" I've never quite checked up on the dates to see whether or if, in fact, we did our film before he did his. — Ian McKellen

The greatest inspiration I draw upon is, is this city (New York) and riding the subway and watching people and I find that's kind of like the best, the best acting teacher. You know, I wonder, like people who have huge celebrity, sometimes I feel bad, should this be one of their methods 'cause I don't know how they can observe life anymore, because they become the observed. So, I, I appreciate that New York can still do that. — Amy Ryan

I regard Abraham as my ancestor. Some of the greatest inspiration I have got has come from what we call the Old Testament prophets and what Jews would say "our prophets." — Desmond Tutu

No sooner was I safely among the gravestones than a great feeling of warmth and calm contentment came sweeping over me.
Life among the dead.
This was where I was meant to be!
What a revelation! And what a place to have it!
I could succeed at whatever I chose. I could, for instance, become an undertaker. Or a pathologist. A detective, a gravedigger, a tombstone maker, or even the world's greatest murderer.
Suddenly the world was my oyster
even if it was a dead one. — Alan Bradley

We sometimes just have to let things be.

There are times in life that things happen, and we just cannot control them. There are times when we don't want things to happen, but they do. Things that we don't want to know, we learn. Times in which people we can't live without, we have to let go.

The greatest learning is accepting what has, what is, and what will be. Remaining focussed on where we want to go, and how we want to get there. It might not go the way we planned, or the way we hoped it would be. No one said life would be easy, but at least we keep trying, and working hard at making it the best life it can be. — Aisha Mirza

THE CURSE
May they never
Return home at night ...
May you have no part of eventide,
May you have no room of your own,
Nor road, nor return.
May your days be all exactly the same,
Five Fridays in a row,
Always an unlucky Tuesday,
No Sunday,
May you have no more little worries,
Tears or inspiration,
For you yourself are the greatest worry on earth:
Prisoner! — Visar Zhiti

The greatest barrier to evangelization today is bad example ... Our strategy of evangelization must be based upon sanctity, upon our enthusiastic response to Christ's universal call to holiness. — John Foley

Being a father has been, without a doubt, my greatest source of achievement, pride and inspiration. Fatherhood has taught me about unconditional love, reinforced the importance of giving back and taught me how to be a better person. — Naveen Jain

Nature's probably my greatest inspiration. Everything I need is found in nature, it compels me to create and care. If you can't find what you're looking for in wild places or the eyes of wild creatures, it probably doesn't exist. — Todd Michael Cox

The truth is there isn't anything to me at all. All I know is that I can't sleep well, I can't dream well and I'm quite in love with you. That's all there is to me. My greatest feature is my admiration for you. I know it's not healthy. Like my insomnia. Like my dreamless nights. You make living alright. My nightmares come when I think of a night without Valeria. That's when I realise you're dead. That's when I remember you've been gone for years. That's when I remember I'm awake. And I wait for this dream called Life to leave me to my peace once and for all and forever. — F.K. Preston

Remember, the greatest failure is not to try. — Debbi Fields

We're not going to save the monkey unless we can shed the monkey. And the greatest impetus, the greatest inspiration to the expression of our higher selves comes in the confrontation with psyche that occurs in the psychedelic experience. — Terence McKenna

The greatest self are self-improvement, self-development and self-discovery. — Lailah Gifty Akita

Your dreams are the blueprints of your soul. They should take you by the hand and lead you toward your life's purpose and passion. They are one of, if not the greatest, source of self-motivation that you have. So nurture them and feed them inspiration whenever you can. — Mac Anderson

To recognize that the greatest error is not to have tried and failed, but that in trying, we did not give it our best effort — Gene Kranz

Become loving and become courageous. Become the inspiration which you seek outside. Bring the metaphorical heart of your limbic system in sync with the analytical powerhouse of the prefrontal cortex. From your mind shall rise the inspiration. From your mind shall rise the love. From your mind shall rise the greatest education of all. — Abhijit Naskar

Rise early and seize each day, learn much and use this knowledge well, spend time with those you love, never abuse your pets, use logic to fight the irrational (for it is everywhere), defend the environment and its wildlife as a knight would protect King Arthur, meld mind and heart for greatest creativity, follow your dreams, and become all that you can be. — Charles Kohlhase

I suppose that one of the greatest benefits of studying Isaiah is the process of studying Isaiah. Searching the scriptures puts you in a pondering, searching frame of mind in which inspiration can come, allowing you to find ways to apply scriptural truths to your life. — John Bytheway

Nevertheless the passions, whether violent or not, should never be so expressed as to reach the point of disgust; and music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music. — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The priceless gift of life, strength and time is our greatest wealth. — Lailah Gifty Akita

None but praying leaders can have praying followers. A praying pulpit will beget praying pews. We do greatly need pastors and evangelists who will set the saints to this business of praying. We are not a generation of praying saints. Who will restore this breach? The greatest will he be of reformers who can set the Church to praying. — Edward McKendree Bounds

Let the mind come as it wants; just you don't go with it. The greatest salesman in the world cannot sell you if you don't buy. — Mooji

Self-knowledge is the greatest education. — Lailah Gifty Akita

It is the most fun I'm ever going to have. I love to write. I love it. I mean, there's nothing in the world I like better, and that includes sex, probably because I'm so very bad at it. It's the greatest peace when I'm in a scene, and it's just me and the character, that's it, that's where I want to live my life. — Joss Whedon

Speak quietly to yourself & promise there will be better days. whisper gently to yourself and provide assurance that you really are extending your best effort. console your bruised and tender spirit with reminders of many other successes. offer comfort in practical and tangible ways - as if you were encouraging your dearest friend. recognize that on certain days the greatest grace is that the day is over and you get to close your eyes. tomorrow comes more brightly ... — Mary Anne Radmacher

It wasn't long before God made me realise that the true glory is that which is eternal and that, to achieve it, there is no need to perform outstanding deeds. Instead, one must remain hidden and perform one's good deeds so that the right hand knows not what the left hand does. When I read stories about the deeds of the great French heroines - especially of the Venerable Joan of Arc, I longed to imitate them and felt stirred by the same inspiration which moved them. It was then that I received one of the greatest graces of my life, for, at that age, I didn't receive the spiritual enlightenment which now floods my soul. I was made to understand that the glory I was to win would never be seen during my lifetime . . . — John Beevers

What you think and do now builds.
Value this moment.
Be patient.
Smile often.
Love the process of living each minute fully.
Your presence is a source of strength
and an inspiration
to people you spend time with.
Give your greatest gift
your full attention,
yourself. — Alexandra Stoddard

The 4 pillars Of the Greatest Religion ever Are Love Trust Character & Brotherhood ... — Sujit Lalwani

Nature is my main source of inspiration - I will never stop taking hints from what I call 'the greatest artist' — Roberto Cavalli

Alexander McQueen was one of the greatest fashion designers of his generation. His genius, sometimes provocative, admired and saluted by all, constantly opened new perspectives. Visionary and avant-garde, his creations took their inspiration from both tradition and timeless hyper-modernity. — Francois-Henri Pinault

Spirituality as a science, as a study, is the greatest and healthiest exercise that the human mind can have. — Swami Vivekananda

The most profound voice of any musician I have ever heard. Joe (Strummer) took his message to the world, and the world listened. He managed to influence more than one generation with his innovative and determined manner, and I am not alone in repeatedly turning to his thoughts and lyrics when searching for inspiration. The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2. — Bono

Authentic leadership is leading adaptively from your core, choosing who you're most inspired to be to serve the greatest good in this moment. — Henna Inam

The men who have furnished me with my greatest inspiration have not been men of wealth, but men of deeds. — James Cash Penney

The greatest gifts of a New Year; it brings a new beginning, new blessings and new bliss. — Lailah Gifty Akita

Knowledge of thyself is the greatest enlightenment. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The greatest possessions I leave for my children are books. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The greatest moments of creativity come in absolute solitude, when one's mind is free from distraction and able to probe the depths of the impossible. — Fennel Hudson

I've found that many of the greatest ideas surface in bars because that's where many people cultivate inspiration. — Herb Kelleher

I definitely take after my dad, looks-wise. But my mum is my greatest inspiration. All the women in my family are amazing. They're hilarious. I love funny people. — Shari Sebbens

The greatest part of our existence enfold in service of humanity. — Lailah Gifty Akita

God's presence in our lives gives us the greatest hope. — Lailah Gifty Akita

Fifth letter : To lead your best life, do your best work

There is no insignificant work in the world. All labor is a chance to express personal talents, to create our art and to realize the genius we are built to be. We must work like picasso painted : with devotion, passion, energy and excellence. In this way, our productivity will not only become a source of inspiration to others, but it will have an impact - making a difference in the lives around us. One of the greatest secrets to a life beautifully lived is to do work that matters. And to ascend to such a state of mastery in it that people can't take ther eyes off you. — Robin S. Sharma

One of my greatest times of inspiration is when I'm traveling or living in a new country - there's a tremendous freedom that comes from being unfettered by your own, familiar culture, and by seeing the world from a different point of view. — Kim Edwards

The greatest education is the knowledge of God. — Lailah Gifty Akita

One's own history can be the greatest educator — Deborah L. Parker

Cobden was the greatest statesman and prophet of the century. His speeches are an inspiration. A man whose disciple I am willing to confess I am. — Richard Cobden

Normal is the greatest enemy with regard to creating the new. And the way of getting around this is you have to understand normal not as reality, but just a construct. And a way to do that, for example, is just travel to a lot of different countries and you'll find a thousand different ways of thinking the world is real, all of which are just stories inside of people's heads. That's what we are too. Normal is just a construct, and to the extent that you can see normal as a construct in yourself, you have freed yourself from the constraints of thinking this is the way the world is. Because it isn't. This is the way we are. — Alan Kay

The greatest problem of human life is fear. It is fear that robs us of
happiness. It is fear that causes us to settle for far less than we are
capable of. It is fear that is the root cause of negative emotions,
unhappiness and problems in human relationships. — Brian Tracy

Don't let your mind talk you out of your dreams, trick you into giving up; don't let your mind become the greatest obstacle to success. To get your mind on the right track, the rest will follow. — Roy Bennett

The greatest way to overcome resentment of past is by gratitude of present. What you have, your friends your family, the things that you have overcome but most importantly what you plan to do now. Self Actualization states that we can have what ever we want in the future by acting as if we already have it now. — Matthew Donnelly

The greatest gift at Christmas is love. The love that bind us together us one Human Family. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The greatest discovery is self-discovery. — Lailah Gifty Akita

Poetry gives the greatest pleasure. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The difference between a conventional counsellor and an empowerment counsellor is that a conventional therapist will allow you to dwell in your pit of misery for months, years and possibly even decades; whereas an empowerment counsellor will challenge you to recognise that your past pains and seemingly negative experiences are the very key to accessing your greatest self. — Miya Yamanouchi

Knowing that others want to read my writing is the greatest inspiration to write. — David Rose

The greatest treasures are books. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The greatest mistake is in not being aware that others are Christ. There are very many people who will not discover it until their last day. — Nguyen Van Thuan

An infant's smile was the greatest promise that the world would go on, no matter how much the grown-ups mucked around with it. — Janice Maynard

My greatest inspiration ... is my mum, who had a baby at the age of 42 and is still so fit, independent and beautiful. — Jaime Winstone

Fulfilling your special calling brings the greatest happiness. — Lailah Gifty Akita

Why do they always teach us that it's easy and evil to do what we want and that we need discipline to restrain ourselves? It's the hardest thing in the world
to do what we want. And it takes the greatest kind of courage. I mean, what we really want. — Ayn Rand