Favorite Motivational Quotes of 2009

I love motivational quotes, mostly for what it teaches me about how others perceive the basic issues of adversity, challenge, and success. Here are 11 favorites that I’ve collected over the years together with some preferred personal images. Share your favorite quotes in the comments!

“The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.” -Chinese Proverb

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are all in harmony.” -Ghnadi

“Zeal is the volcano, the peak of which the grass of indecisiveness does not grow.” -Gibran

“Let us be like a bird for a moment, perched on a frail branch when he sings; though he feels it bend, yet he sings his songs, knowing that he has wings.” -Victor Hugo

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others. That is nice but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for  achievement and forget about success.” -Helen Hayes

“Do your work with your whole heart and you will succeed – there is so little competition.” -Elbert Hubbard

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” -Robert Fritz

“Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top – it is the will power that is most important. This will power you can not buy with money or be given by others – it rises from the heart.” -Junko Tabei, first woman on Everest

“The greatest service we can perform for others is to help them to help themselves.” -Horace Mann

“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” – Shakespeare