“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” ~Mark Twain
In a world where there are thousands of quotes on inspiration and motivation, it can be difficult to choose from the abundance. I have been writing for years, but even that doesn’t make me an expert on what inspires people. However, my experience has led me to create a list of ten inspirational quotes for students. Each line is memorable in its own way and useful in achieving success academically or personally.
1) “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” ~Bill Gates
What better place to start than with one of the richest men in America? Bill Gates has amassed his wealth through assisting the world of technology, but he also knows what it’s like to be a student. The best way to improve is by learning about your mistakes. You can never have too much information on how people judge you, so why not go out and ask them?
2) “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.” ~Unknown
I find this quote comforting because it shows that everyone wants their life to matter in some way or another. This is something that every student should have as an ultimate goal for his or her education. Too often do people enter college simply because they were told they needed a degree instead of creating a plan with the end goal being happiness. If you can make a difference in the world, your resume means nothing.
3) “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.” ~Vidal Sassoon
It’s not about what you achieve, but how hard you work to get there. Successful people have learned that being lazy doesn’t lead to growth and improvement. Because they’re willing to spend a little extra time on a task, they wind up with a better result than if they had rushed it or ignored it altogether. No matter what you choose for a career, having a good work ethic will always benefit you more than talent alone ever could.
4) “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” ~Warren Buffett
As a student, you’re only beginning to cook in the big picture kitchen. It’s easier to destroy a career than it is a gain a reputation from scratch. If there isn’t much work experience under your belt, don’t make any rash decisions or snap judgements on people for this will be detrimental when you enter the real world. Being one of those young professionals who constantly makes mistakes will give employers pause before offering you another chance at promotion.
5) “Follow your passion and success will come.” ~Oprah Winfrey
Oprah is an obvious choice when thinking of inspirational quotes, but her words carry so much weight. As a student, this is probably your first time being your own boss, so you have to set the rules. What better way to do so than by leveraging what you love to do? You can always find a way to make money from something that makes you happy as long as you’re willing to work hard and put the effort in.
6) “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” ~Fred Devito
If an opportunity isn’t a little scary or a bit stressful, then chances are that there’s nothing useful for your future on the other side of the situation. Your education will only be worth it if it changes at least one thing about you. You’ll find that what you learn in the classroom will be beneficial to your personal life, thus opening up new opportunities for yourself.
7) “Do not read instructions. Read the objectives and references.” ~Robert Gonyea
When I was younger I didn’t understand this quote, but now it makes sense. Professors look at an assignment as a way of introducing themselves to students so they can decide if they should do more work with them or not. If you take notes on what each section is asking for and use examples from the material to help clarify it then you’ll be able to complete assignments much faster than if you read word by word like how an instruction manual is written.
8) “Anything you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” ~Goethe
The step after learning is to take the first step toward achieving your goal. It doesn’t matter how much experience you may or may not have as long as you put in work towards improvement. You’ll soon find that working diligently consistently will lead to amazing results. Plus, starting off with a low bar of expectations lets you surpass those who started ahead of you without lifting a finger. Give yourself every advantage possible so there’s no chance for failure.
9) “I fear not the man who practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” ~Bruce Lee
This speaks to having an arsenal of options under your belt. If you’re new to the workforce you won’t have much experience, but if you keep practicing new ways to achieve results then it will increase your chances of success greatly. Even though it’s nice to be great at something, your skills should only get you so far. You’ll be hard pressed to find anything in life that requires no creativity or improvisation; this is why people who are “idiots” often come up with solutions before everyone else does (i.e., MacGyver).
10) “The game is won by those who bring the most to the field each day. If you’re giving 100 percent, there’s no way you can lose.” ~Vince Lombardi
Even if you aren’t an expert at what it is that you do, your willingness to go above and beyond will separate you from the pack. Don’t worry about being the best at something because this is a losing mindset. Instead of trying to compete with others who are stronger or more talented than you are in certain areas, focus on doing everything in your power to be good enough for what needs to get done. There’s nothing wrong with having low expectations as long as they’re realistic ones that are still challenging enough for success to be attainable.
After reading those 10 Inspirational Quotes For Students, I hope you have a better sense of what it takes to achieve your goals. As long as you keep trying and don’t give up then you’ll find yourself aligning yourself with those who are exactly where they want to be in life.
Thanks for reading!