125 Inspirational Quotes for Kids of All Ages

Ah, the freshness of youth—filled with vitality, energy, and unlimited potential. These inspirational quotes are excellent for introducing your students to new ideas, inspiring them to think more deeply and, best of all, to imagine the possibilities of all that is to come. There are so many ways to use them in the classroom—from journal prompts and discussion/debate topics to setting goals, overcoming challenges, and more. Plus, these inspirational quotes are all reliably sourced, so you can share them with confidence!

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Inspirational Quotes About Life

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” —Helen Keller

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” —Charles Darwin

“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.” —Emily Dickinson

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” —Simone de Beauvoir

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

“Life continues … it goes on. In these three words I can sum up everything I have learned in my 80 years about life, it goes on.” —Robert Frost

“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, and compassion.” —Simone de Beauvoir

“To know what life is worth, you have to risk it once in a while.” —Jean-Paul Sartre

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

Inspirational Quotes About Work

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” —Henry David Thoreau

“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.” —Larry Bird

“You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.” —Dr. Seuss

“Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” —Theodore Isaac Rubin

“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.” —Richard Bach

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” —Stephen Leacock

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” —Theodore Roosevelt

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” —Colin Powell

Inspirational Quotes About Love

“The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” —Vincent van Gogh

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

“Spread love everywhere you go; first of all in your house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” —Mother Teresa

“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, and compassion.”—Simone de Beauvoir

“I found the following quote by Goethe that can serve as a commentary … ‘We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.’” —Henry Ward Beecher

Inspirational Quotes About Learning and Knowledge

“A love of books, of holding a book, turning its pages, looking at its pictures, and living its fascinating stories goes hand-in-hand with a love of learning.” —Laura Bush

“From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot in front of the other. But when books are opened you discover you have wings.” —Helen Hayes

“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first.” —Malala Yousafzai

“Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.” —Tom Clancy

“Learning should be a joy and full of excitement. It is life’s greatest adventure; it is an illustrated excursion into the minds of the noble and the learned.” —Taylor Caldwell

“The process of learning requires not only hearing and applying but also forgetting and then remembering again.” —John Gray

“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.” —Daniel J. Boorstin

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” —James Madison

“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” —Bertrand Russell

“Humanity … lies in man’s capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.” —Margaret Mead

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela

“There is no greater weapon than knowledge and no greater source of knowledge than the written word.” —Malala Yousafzai

“Until we get equality in education, we won’t have an equal society.” —Sonia Sotomayor

“The best educators are the ones that inspire their students. That inspiration comes from a passion that teachers have for the subject they’re teaching. … It’s the inspired student that continues to learn on their own.” —Neil deGrasse Tyson

Quotes To Encourage Perseverance and Determination

“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” —Wilma Rudolph

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” —Thomas Edison

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” —Newt Gingrich

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” —Marie Curie

“Wanting to win isn’t enough. You have to go through a process to improve. That takes patience, perseverance, and intentionality.” —John C. Maxwell

“Maturity is perseverance—the ability to sweat out a project or a situation, in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks, and stick with it until it is finished.” —Ann Landers

“Success is the child of drudgery and perseverance. It cannot be coaxed or bribed; pay the price and it is yours.” —Orison Swett Marden

“Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen.” —Oswald Chambers

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” —Anonymous

“The secret to perseverance is a simple one: have a bigger commitment to getting the job done than to attempting to control your inner feelings and sensations.” —Nicholas Lore

“March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path.” —Kahlil Gibran

Inspirational Quotes About Power

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better.” —J.K. Rowling

“Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.” —René Descartes

“Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.” —Henry George

“There is a transcendent power in example. We reform others unconsciously when we walk uprightly.” —Sophie Swetchine

“Knowledge is not a passion from without the mind, but an active exertion of the inward strength, vigour and power of the mind, displaying itself from within.” —Ralph Cudworth

“Change equals self-improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.” —Pat Summitt

Inspirational Quotes Examining Curiosity and Imagination

“We can put our whole heart into whatever we do; but if we freeze our attitude into for or against, we’re setting ourselves up for stress. Instead, we could just go forward with curiosity, wondering where this experiment will lead. This kind of open-ended inquisitiveness captures the spirit of enthusiasm, or heroic perseverance.” —Pema Chödrön

“Staying curious and open is what makes growth possible, and it requires practice to maintain that mindset. To keep learning, we have to avoid the temptation to slide into narrow, safe views of what we do.” —Scott Berkun

“Satisfaction of one’s curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.” —Linus Pauling

“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.” —Samuel Johnson

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” —Albert Einstein

“Imagination is the only key to the future. Without it none exists—with it all things are possible.” —Ida Tarbell

“Imagination is as vital to any advance in science as learning and precision are essential for starting points.” —Percival Lowell

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity. … Don’t stop to marvel.” —Albert Einstein

“The human brain is capable of only one strong emotion at a time, and if it be filled with curiosity or scientific enthusiasm, there is no room for fear.” —Arthur Conan Doyle

“Curiosity is a delicate little plant which, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom.” —Albert Einstein

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” —Mark Twain

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” —Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” —Carl Sagan

“I am not more gifted than anybody else. I am just more curious than the average person and I will not give up a problem until I have found the proper solution.” —Albert Einstein

Inspirational Quotes About Confidence

“Have faith in your skills. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” —Suzy Kassem

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” —Norman Vincent Peale 

“If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence you have won even before you have started.” —Marcus Garvey

“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” —Michael Korda

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” —Edmund Hillary

“The harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph.” —Thomas Paine

“‘I can’t’ are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in myself more than anything else in this world.” —Wilma Rudolph

“Anybody who believes in something without reservation believes that this thing is right and should be, has the stamina to meet obstacles and overcome them.” —Golda Meir

“It is not what talents or genius a man has, but how he is to his talents, that constitutes friendship and character. The man that stands by himself, the universe stands by him also.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“With confidence, you have won before you have started.” —Marcus Garvey

Inspirational Quotes About Teamwork

“Teamwork requires that everyone’s efforts flow in a single direction. Feelings of significance happen when a team’s energy takes on a life of its own.” —Pat Riley

“Teamwork gives you the best opportunity to turn vision into reality.” —John C. Maxwell

“A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself for the group, for the good of the group—that’s teamwork.” —John Wooden

“Teamwork is what makes common people capable of uncommon results.” —Pat Summitt

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” —Michael Jordan

“The fun for me in collaboration is, one, working with other people just makes you smarter; that’s proven.” —Lin-Manuel Miranda

Inspirational Quotes About Facing Challenges

“There are always new, grander challenges to confront, and a true winner will embrace each one.” —Mia Hamm

“Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” —George S. Patton

“Nearly everything that matters is a challenge, and everything matters.” —Rainer Maria Rilke

“Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a different way to stand.” —Oprah Winfrey

“By facing our challenges and overcoming them, we grow stronger, wiser, and more compassionate.” —John Templeton

“It’s a lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.” —Muhammad Ali

Quotes To Inspire Students To Follow Their Dreams

“All our dreams can come true—if we have the courage to pursue them.” —Walt Disney

“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” —William Faulkner

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” —Carl Jung

“Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.” —John Updike

“I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: ‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!’” —W.H. Murray

“Dreams must be heeded and accepted. For a great many of them come true.” —Paracelsus

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” —Unknown

“You face the biggest challenge of all: to have the courage to seek your big dream regardless of what anyone says. You are the only person alive who can see your big picture and even you can’t see it all.” —Oprah Winfrey

Encouraging Quotes About Failure and Making Mistakes

“Attention and activity lead to mistakes as well as to successes; but a life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” —George Bernard Shaw

“A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” —James Joyce

“Failure is not fatal but failure to change might be.” —John Wooden

“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” —Bruce Lee

“Take risks. Ask big questions. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; if you don’t make mistakes, you’re not reaching far enough.” —David Packard

“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” —John C. Maxwell

“There’s nothing final about a mistake, except its being taken as final.” —Phyllis Bottome

“Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.” —Morihei Ueshiba

“An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” —Orlando Aloysius Battista

“Have faith in your skills. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” —Suzy Kassem

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” —Og Mandino

Inspirational Quotes About Purpose and Growth

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.” —Carl Jung

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.” —Gail Sheehy

“Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping.” —Julia Margaret Cameron

“Change is the end result of all true learning.” —Leo Buscaglia

“A balanced intellect presupposes a harmonious growth of body, mind, and soul.” —Mahatma Gandhi

“The capacity for growth depends on one’s ability to internalize and to take personal responsibility. If we forever see our life as a problem caused by others, a problem to be ‘solved,’ then no change will occur.” —James Hollis

“The real joy in life comes from finding your true purpose and aligning it with what you do every single day.” —Anthony Robbins

“Finding your purpose may be a lifelong pursuit or you may have discovered it when you were 5 years old. There’s no absolute timeline for anyone. That’s a good reason never to give up, to keep on discovering things every day.” —Donald Trump

“Growth is the only evidence of life.” —John Henry Newman

“All great leaders have understood that their number one responsibility is cultivating their own discipline and personal growth. Those who cannot lead themselves cannot lead others.” —John C. Maxwell

Inspirational Quotes About Competition and Effort

“Competition is a by-product of productive work, not its goal. A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.” —Ayn Rand

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious effort.” —Henry David Thoreau

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.” —Theodore Roosevelt

“But I have always thought the only genius that’s worth anything is the genius for hard work.” —Kathleen Winsor

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” —Colin Powell

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious effort.” —Henry David Thoreau

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