120 Dream Big Quotes To Inspire Ambition
Dreaming big and having ambitions is something that drives many of us to achieve great things and accomplish our goals. This article contains 120 inspiring quotes that will help motivate you to pursue your dreams with passion and ambition.
The quotes in this article come from some of the most successful and influential figures throughout history such as Nelson Mandela, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and others. Their words offer encouragement for why it’s important not to limit yourself and to think beyond what seems possible so you can achieve more than you ever imagined.
This compilation of dream big quotes is organized into several categories including quotes about success, quotes about taking risks, quotes about setting goals and more. Whether you need a quick dose of motivation or are looking for wisdom to help you stay determined, these inspiring passages offer thoughtful perspectives on dreaming big and having the ambition to pursue your goals relentlessly until you achieve them.
1. Inspiring Words of Determination and Willpower
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” – Seneca
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison
“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” – Tony Robbins
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” – Victor Kiam
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” – Rabindranath Tagore
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” – Seneca
“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.” – Jamie Paolinetti
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash
“Your dreams are for you. Don’t let anyone else tell you can’t do something or that you’re not good enough, because that’s nonsense.” – Joe Manganiello
“Great things never come from comfort zones.” – Unknown
2. Motivational Sayings about Achieving Ambitious Goals
“When you have an ambitious goal, don’t focus on obstacles, stay focused on opportunities and stay anchored to your vision.” – Doris Kearns Goodwin
“We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone… and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.” – Sandra Day O’Connor
“One individual may start a little spark of an idea that smolders in their mind, but does not become a flame. When others fan it, it blazes up so that all can see.” – Augusta Jane Evans
“Success comes to those who dare to dream big, work hard, and constantly work to improve themselves.” – Roy Bennett
“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” – W. Clement Stone
“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” – Chris Grosser
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
“With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve.” – Muhammad Ali
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash
“Well done is better than well said.” – Ben Franklin
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Norman Vincent Peale
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” – Booker T. Washington
“Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.” – Don Marquis
“Whatever your goal, your energy – mental and physical – should be totally focused on it. All distractions should be eliminated.” – Les Brown
“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.” – Napoleon Hill
“I never dreamt of success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
“I can’t do it but we can.” – John F. Kennedy
3. Empowering Quotes on Pursuing Your Passions Relentlessly
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” – Paulo Coelho
“If you want something, go get it. Period.” – Naya Rivera
“If you have passion and perseverance in any calling, you will rise to the top; and if you don’t, you will be kicked to the bottom.” – Anonymous
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Don’t let fear stop you from reaching your dreams. Find courage, passion and perseverance to make things happen.” – Anonymous
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
“If you want to live your dreams, you have to pursue your wildest ambitions relentlessly.” – Bethenny Frankel
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller
“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey
“Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and surround yourself with good people who believe in you and want to see you succeed.” – Zig Ziglar
“Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” – Earl Nightingale
“The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs
“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” – Bobby Unser
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“There is a driving desire that acts as a catalyst to all motivation within us. What is yours?” – Steve Chandler
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
4. Uplifting Thoughts for Overcoming Obstacles with Confidence
“Overcome obstacles or they can overcome you. If someone says ‘It can’t be done,’ you should say ‘Maybe they’re wrong.’ Then it can!” – C.R. Anderson
“The biggest challenge of obstacles is using them to your advantage instead of letting them work against you.” – Unknown
“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.” – Vince Lombardi
“There is nothing more difficult than the ascent, yet nothing more dangerous than to stand still.” – Goethe
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford
“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” – Bruce Lee
“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale
“Either I will find a way or I will make one.” – attributed to Philip Sidney
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” – Jim Rohn
“Well done is better than well said.” – Benjamin Franklin
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
“If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“I will face my limitations and overcome them.” – Bo Bennett
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” – Proverb
5. Encouraging Expressions about Vision and Moving Forward Positively
“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others – Jonathan Swift”
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare – Japanese Proverb”
“Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs – Vaclav Havel”
“If you can dream it, you can do it – Walt Disney”
“Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures – H. Jackson Brown Jr.”
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching – Gerard Way”
“I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work – Thomas Edison”
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world – Harriet Tubman”
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending – Carl Bard”
“No limits. Not one. No limits, just take it, see it, do it, have it. You have bigger dreams in you. You have more courage and more wonder, more mystery and adventure inside you than you dare to imagine. There are no limits. You’re braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. Just take a step. – Anne Aguirre”
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. – Japanese Proverb”
“If you don’t set big, outrageous goals for yourself, you will only take small incremental steps which adds little value or meaning to your life. Set a massive goal which inspires and motivates you.” – Barbara Sher
“Dare to dream big and own the day. The path is yours to take alone, no matter what may come your way.” – Anonymous
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve. – Mary Kay Ash”
“Visualize this thing that you want; see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin.” – Robert Collier
“A vision once conceived will never leave your mind and heart until it is achieved. Never dream with the smaller vision still alive.” – Orison Swett Marden
“Dare to dream big. The sky is not the limit, it’s merely the view.” – Victoria Harding
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Les Brown
“Dare to reach for the stars. We all have a inner light. And if we dare to shine, we brightly light the way for others.” – Margaret Park Bridges
“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
6. Heartfelt Statements to Ignite your Inner Drive and Ambition
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill (statesman, army officer, writer)
“Your possibilities are greater than your imaginings.” – Jack Canfield (entrepreneur, motivational speaker, author)
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. – Eleanor Roosevelt (activist, diplomat, writer)
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. – Arthur Ashe (tennis player, author, civil rights activist)
“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” – Dalai Lama (religious leader)
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill (statesman, army officer, writer)
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan (former basketball player, businessman)
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss (author, illustrator)
“Be tenacious. Excellence can come only through frequent revisions and relapses.” – André Gide (French writer, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature)
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar (motivational speaker)
“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden (former basketball player, coach)
“Focus on your visions, not your fears.” – Anonymous
“What we expect is what we will get.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (poet, essayist, lecturer)
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan (former basketball player, businessman)
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” – Goethe (German writer, poet, philosopher)
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon (hairdresser)
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill (statesman, army officer, writer)
“Today is when your best work begins.” – Anonymous
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.” – Serena Williams (tennis player)
Conclusion
Dream big quotes provide inspiration and motivation to help us pursue our ambitions and achieve great things. The quotes highlighted in the article serve as reminders that we must set lofty goals for ourselves and aim higher than we think possible if we want to accomplish meaningful work and make an impact. As you reflect on these quotes, think about your dreams and what is truly important to you. Consider how taking risks and being bold may help you achieve success on your own terms. While the path is difficult, keep your ambitions high and do not limit your potential. With determination and perseverance, you have the power to turn your dreams into reality.
