Quotes about inspiration
48 quotes from 44 people
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis1929–1994Written on a card for an exhibit which travelled around the US when the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston was first opening (1979), quoted in Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1989) edited by Suzy PlattThe world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape.
Bonoborn 1960PENN Address (2004)
Hunter S. Thompson1937–2005Gonzo Papers, Vol. 1: The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979)
Indira Gandhi1917–1984Speech presenting Martin Luther King’s Nehru Award to Coretta Scott King, New Delhi (24 January 1969)Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.
Steve Jobs1955–2011Address at Stanford University (2005)
Jack London1876–1916“Getting into Print”, first published in 1903 in The Editor magazine
Aleister Crowley1875–1947The Book of the Law (1904), I:3
D. H. Lawrence1885–1930Song of a Man who has Come Through (1917)You are a miracle, and everything you touch could be a miracle.
Thích Nhất Hạnh1926–2022Episode of the National Public Radio program Speaking of Faith: “Brother Thay: A Radio Pilgrimage with Thich Nhat Hanh” (2003)You’re only given a little spark of madness and if you lose that, you’re nothin’.
Robin Williams1951–2014A Night at the Roxy (1978)Recreate the world in your own image and make it better for your having been here.
Ray Bradbury1920–2012Speech at Brown University (1995)When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable for others.
Anaïs Nin1903–1977February 1954 The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 5 as quoted in Woman as Writer (1978) by Jeannette L. Webber and Joan Grumman, p. 38Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.
Jane Goodall1934–2025With Love (1999)
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry1900–1944Pilote de Guerre (1942) (translated into English as Flight to Arras)- MOMary Oliver1935–2019House of Light (1990), “The Ponds”