Man legs standing on the edge of a cliff with motivational quotes on his shoes.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for some good motivational quotes.

You can look on my social media, on my phone, or just on the walls in my house and see that it’s true.

I mean, there’s just something so uplifting and inspiring about some strong powerful words during tough times.

And clearly I’m not alone on this one, because #motivationalquotes has been used in 24.7 million posts on Instagram. 

So, since we’re all clearly equally ecstatic about great motivational quotes, and since we’re definitely in what I would consider to be “tough times,” I want to share with you my top 20 go-to motivational quotes.

Keep reading to check ‘em out.

Picture of a man standing on the edge of cliff in the background behind the words, "20 Motivational Quotes to inspire you during tough times" in white font on the right side.

20 motivational quotes to inspire you

  • “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela 
  • “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis
  • “Fall seven times, get back up eight.” – Japanese proverb
  • “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi
  • “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus
  • “The first step to getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” J.P. Morgan
  • “In order to kick ass, you must first lift your foot.” – Jen Sincero
  • “No matter how many mistakes you make, or how slow you progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” – Tony Robbins
  • “You have the chance, every single morning, to make that change, and be the person you want to be.” – Brendon Burchard
  • “It’s not who you are that holds you back. It’s who you think you’re not.” – Ed Mylett
  • “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar
  • “Courage is not having the strength to go on; it’s going on when you don’t have the strength.” Theodore Roosevelt
  • “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
  • “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” – Rumi
  • “Your life is what your thoughts make it.” – Confucius
  • “Never be ashamed about being broken, because strength is nothing but pain that’s been repaired.” – Trent Shelton
  • “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” – Abraham Lincoln
  • “Don’t worry about failures. Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” – Jack Canfield
  • “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

There you have it, 20 of my favorite motivational quotes.

Which quotes would you add to the list? Drop them in the comments below.

Be UNCOMMON!