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100 Short Inspirational Life Quotes to Live By

Everyone needs a little inspiration sometimes and these inspirational life quotes can help with that. So if you are looking for inspiring quotes to live by this list is for you.

Just start scrolling to find your favorite quote.

Our Favorite Inspirational Life Quotes

“Life is a first impression. You get one shot at it. Make it everlasting.” – J.R. Rim

“This has been my life; I found it worth living.” – Bertrand Russell

Life is precious, and when you’ve lost a lot of people, you realize each day is a gift.” – Meryl Streep

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” — John Lennon

“Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.” — Lillian Dickson

“There are three things you can do with your life: You can waste it, you can spend it, or you can invest it. The best use of your life is to invest it in something that will last longer than your time on Earth.” — Rick Warren

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” —Mahatma Gandhi

Person looking at ocean and cliffs with inspirational quotes about life by Gandhi

“The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.” – William Hazlitt

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it.” – Mother Teresa

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying.” — Shawshank Redemption

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” – Joseph Campbell

The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.”- Elbert Hubbard

“Life is short. Be silly. Have fun. Regret nothing.” – Karen Salmansohn

“You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.”— Oprah Winfrey

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive.” – Maya Angelou

“Life is fragile. We’re not guaranteed a tomorrow so give it everything you’ve got.” – Tim Cook

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” –George Bernard Shaw

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.” – Soren Kierkegaard

“A life of sacrifice is the pinnacle of art, and is full of true joy.” –Mahatma Gandhi

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” – Paulo Coelho

Sunset over city with short inspirational life quotes by Coelho

“Life is about creating yourself.”― George Bernard Shaw

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” – Dolly Parton

“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” – Bruce Lee

“You can’t live an exceptional life by being “normal.”” – Nick Maley

“Enjoy the little things in life.” – Robert Breault

“Every moment of life is precious and can never happen again.” – Zelig Pliskin

“I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.” – Arthur Rubinstein

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Life is too short for long term grudges.” – Elon Musk

“Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious.” – Phillips Brooks

“Life is too short to be unhappy.” – Roy T. Bennett

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” – Tony Robbins

“Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is.” – Viggo Mortensen

“Life is too short to worry about anything. You had better enjoy it because the next day promises nothing.” – Eric Davis

“Life is as easy or as hard as you think it is.”– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Person walking by lighthouse with motivational quotes about life by Hule

“The meaning of life is to give life meaning.” – Ken Hudgins

“There are a thousand reasons to live this life, every one of them is sufficient.” – Marilynne Robinson

“My life is my message.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” — Will Smith

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”– Buddha

“The time is always right to do what is right.” Martin Luther King Jr.

“Life doesn’t require that we be the best, only that we try our best.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Sunrise and active volcano with inspired quotes for life

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”—Confucius

“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry.” – Walter Hagen

If you like these, you might also want to check out our other lists of Positive Life Quotes, Funny Inspirational Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Today, Congratulations Quotes, Martin Luther King Jr Quotes, Hope Quotes, Success Quotes Happy Life Quotes, Short Life Quotes and Inspirational Letter Board Quotes.

Inspiring Quotes to Live By

“Your way of thinking affects your life very deeply. Think positive and be positive.” – Anurag Prakash Ray

“Life is short it is up to you to make it sweet.” – Sarah Louise

“Life changes very quickly, in a very positive way, if you let it.” – Lindsey Vonn

Person looking at ocean with inspirational positive life quotes by Vonn

“Life is a first impression. You get one shot at it. Make it everlasting.” – J.R. Rim

“After all, life is too short to be anything but happy.” – Karl Marx

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” — Stephen King

“Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“In order to write about life first you must live it.”– Ernest Hemingway

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates

If you like this quote head to our list of Short Quotes About Change

“The joy of life is becoming a person you are proud of.” —Bill Orender

“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” —Oprah Winfrey

Person hiking on cliff with inspiring life quotes by Oprah

“If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Don’t settle for what life gives you; make life better and build something.” — Ashton Kutcher

“There are no regrets in life, just lessons.” — Jennifer Aniston

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” – John Barrymore

“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” – Jim Rohn

“You do not find the happy life. You make it.” – Camilla Eyring Kimball

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens.“ – Helen Keller

Person looking at ocean with inspirational quotes about life and happiness by Helen Keller

“Happiness is not doing fun things. Happiness is doing meaningful things.” – Maxime Lagacé

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

“Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get” – W. P. Kinsella

“Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness.” – Buddha

“Happiness [is] only real when shared” – Jon Krakauer

“Learn to value yourself, which means: fight for your happiness.” – Ayn Rand

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” – Bruce Lee

“All of life is a test and we all have our challenges to meet.” – Marjory Sheba

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius

“Hard times always lead to something great.” – Betsey Johnson

Person looking at lake with inspirational quotes about life and struggles

“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” – Lao Tzu

“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

“This too shall pass.” – Persian Sufi Poets

“When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up.” – Les Brown

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa

“When hardships keep coming back, do not take it personal. It’s just life.” – Naide P Obiang

“Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” – Bob Riley

“The triumph can’t be had without the struggle.” – Wilma Rudolph

“Challenges are what make life interesting.” – Joshua Marine

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” – Soren Kierkegaard

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin

“Life is too deep for words, so don’t try to describe it, just live it.” – C. S. Lewis

Person hiking with deep inspirational life quotes.

“Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“Life is in ourselves and not in the external.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky

“What matters most in life is often invisible.” — Duane Elgin

“The fullness of life is only accessible in the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle

“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” — Oprah Winfrey

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” – Gerard Way

“I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life.” — Corazon Aquino

“You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

“Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.” – Oscar Wilde

“If life were predictable it would cease to be life and be without flavor.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” ―Albert Einstein

“Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.” – Hans Christian Andersen

“Talent is luck. The important thing in life is courage.” – Woody Allen

“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” – Forrest Gump

“Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got.” – R. Brault

So that’s our list. We hope you found the inspiring quote you were looking for.

So go out and find what inspires you!

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About the Author

Laynni Locke

I am Laynni Locke, a Canadian writer, reader and traveller with a passion for sharing life’s moments on social media. Keeping friends and family in the loop of our lives though photos and videos has become an essential activity for most.

And it doesn’t matter if you are travelling, celebrating a special occasion or just appreciating day-to-day life, when you take that perfect photo you are going to need the perfect caption or quote before you share it. Which is why we started Routinely Shares, providing comprehensive lists of quotes and captions to cover every occasion, adventure or loved one.

With extensive experience as a travel writer, social media specialist and grant writer, I have made it my mission to curate the best and easiest to use lists for your next post.

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