Productivity

My 10 Favourite Quotes for Inspiration and Motivation

Reading Time:
4 mins read
Ben Willmott
Founder

Sometimes come across motivational and inspiring quotes online and look at the person saying it or re-quoting it and think, do they really mean that or they just forwarding it on in the hope of a few likes or shares.

It’s hard to tell, so in this post rather than just sharing a load of quotes, I’ve added the reasons why I like them and when I use them. 

Using inspirational quotes or quotes that trigger an action in you or at the right time is key.

It could be when you’re really struggling for motivation or a reminder that you haven’t been spending much time with your family, a quote can give a little nudge that you need to take a step back from work or do more of it in some cases. 

Where and how you use them, is up to you, but find ones that truly resonate with you and make them visible so they’re there when you need them most. 

“A mistake repeated more than once is a decision”

This is one of a couple of quotes I refer back to the most as it triggers an action in me. If I repeat something that I’ve done before I shouldn’t have, it annoys me and this pops into my head. The action is usually a note to remind me on how I can improve, or just in my head I say that’s the last time.

“Its the people with the greatest reasons who achieve the most, not the most disciplined”

Discipline is obviously key when it comes to achieving your goals, but if you don’t have an emotional reason to do something, you’re more likely not to do it, take longer or just not do it as well. 

“Life happens for you, not to you”

This is all about understanding that there is are some things in life you can’t control, but everything that does happen to you is just part of the plan to make you a better person in the long run, if you deal with it the right way. 

“It’s the events in life that you learn the most from”

Whatever happens to you, it’s what you take from it is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a positive or negative event, reflect on what has happened and learn from it.   

“Nothing we do is easy” 

Lot’s of people are looking for overnight success or a quick win on the lottery but with a 1 in 45,057,474 chance, this is unlikely. So prepare to work hard, have patience and then when you do get success, you’ll feel so much better for it.

“On your last on this earth, imagine if you face yourself who achieved everything you could have achieved. Do you want to be that guy or look back and say dam I could have done more”

This quote or statement has had the biggest impact on me as it’s really thought-provoking. I’m way off yet, but I’m sure on my last day on earth I’m going to be thinking have I achieved what I wanted to achieve? It must be an awful feeling knowing you should have done more. So if you take one quote to get you to motivate to do more, it’s this one. 

“Take massive action. Set goals and vision for direction but you must take massive action with intention otherwise you’ll achieve nothing”

Not so much of a quote, but great for motivation. Setting your direction and vision is just one part of the process, you must then put everything into achieving them through focused massive actions. 

“Live to love and you love to live”

Part of being alive is to love others and love what we do, but if we don’t also just love being alive then we won’t be truly fulfilled. I personally use this quote to keep me focused on the moment and appreciate what is happening to me each day. 

“You must see it and believe it before you can achieve it”

This is about visualisation and having faith in what you do. A lot of the goals I’ve created are so far off in the future they can sometimes feel unachievable. To make you believe they can happen you can visualise them in a number of different ways.

That could be visiting that place where you want to buy that dream home and imagine yourself living there, or regularly pausing for thought and visualising yourself at some point in the future living that goal you set. Or creating dream boards with images of all the outcomes of hitting your goals.  

“Mindset x Action + Time = Greatness”

I love this short statement of the key things you need to do to achieve your goals. For me, greatness doesn’t just mean you literally change the world, it could about achieving having a happy and fulfilling life that I want to have and live

Having the right positive and focused mindset is key, as without it you won’t do the actions needed.

Time is the easy one to explain, without time you can’t do anything so look at where your time goes and make sure you’re spending it on the right things.

Then plan your time to avoid distractions and work on actions that move you towards your goals. 

I hope some of these quotes resonate with you as well, if they do keep them close you so you can use when needed.

If you have any others that work for you I would love to hear about them.

Ben Willmott
Founder
Ben is Delivery Director at the London based creative agency Wunderman Thompson where he creates bespoke ways or working for his clients and teams. Ben is also the founder of The PPM Academy specializing in coaching Project Management, Agile Delivery and how to be more productive at home and work.

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