150 Empowering Quotes to Inspire You to Make a Change

Need a reminder that you’re in control of your destiny?

The empowering quotes below will refuel your motivation and get you back on track. 

When’s the last time you felt empowered? 

Life is a constant cycle of ups and downs whether it’s in work, relationships, family, or social life.

When we’re feeling down, an inspirational quote can help you reevaluate your mindset and get you on the path towards success. 

Today, we have compiled quotes from a variety of bright minds including philosophers, authors, spiritual leaders, and musicians.

Gaining inspiration from the quotes below can help you find the strength to persevere through any of life’s struggles. 

Take a look at the below and learn from the great minds of many. 

Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.

Short empowering quotes

1. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill

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2. “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

3. “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” – W. Clement Stone

4. “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

5. “Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” – Albert Schweitzer

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

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

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8. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

9. “Begin anywhere.” – John Cage

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10. “Make yourself proud.” – Peter W. Smith

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11. “You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” – Rumi

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12. “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning” – Meister Eckhart

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13. “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” – Ben Spock

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14. Do today what others won’t so tomorrow you can do what others can’t.” – Jerry Rice

15. “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth

Empowering quotes about happiness

16. “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

17. “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” – William Arthur Ward

18. “If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.” – Carlos Santana

19. “Be happy for this moment. This moment in your life.” – Omar Khayyam

20. “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” – Benjamin Disraeli

21. “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” – Hugh Downs

22. “Those who move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out.” – Gordon B. Hinkley

Empowering quotes about life

23. “Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.” – Jon Bon Jovi

24. “You cannot explore the universe if you think that you are the center of it.” – Joshua Suya Pelicano

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25. “On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.” – Jules Renard

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

27. “Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.” – Marsha Norman

28. “Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

Empowering quotes about overcoming obstacles

29. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

30. “Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.” – Edwin Markham

31. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton

32. “The greatest act of faith some days is to simply get up and face another day.” – Amy Gatliff

33. “Most obstacles melt away when we make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” – Orison Swett Marden

34. “My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again.” – Richard Branson

35. “Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask yourself if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra

36. “Failure is a bend in the road, not the end of the road. Learn from failure and keep moving forward.” – Roy T. Bennett

37. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

38. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie

39. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

40. “The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.” – Bernard Baruch

41. “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” – Rabindranath Tagore

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Empowering quotes about finding your purpose

42. “Overcome the notion that you must be regular. It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary” – Uta Hagen

43. “Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso

44. “Find your purpose and fling your life out to it. Find a way or make one. Try with all your might. Self-made or never made. – Orison Swett Marden

45. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

46. “If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas Edison

47. “The degree of responsibility you take for your life determines how much change you can create in it.” – Celestine Chua

48. “Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

49. “As fast as each opportunity presents itself, use it! No matter how tiny an opportunity it may be, use it!” – Robert Collier

50. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry Thoreau

Empowering quotes to unleash your true power

51. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” ― Charlotte Brontë

52. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” ― Coco Chanel

53. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” ― Nora Ephron

54. “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” ― Jane Austen

55. “If you always attach positive emotions to the things you want, and never attach negative emotions to the things you don’t, then that which you desire most will invariably come your way.” ― Matt D. Miller

56. “Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” ― Rumi

57. “You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” ― Toni Morrison

58. “It’s not always necessary to be strong, but to feel strong.” ― Jon Krakauer

59. “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” ― Coco Chanel

60. “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” ― Steve Maraboli

Empowering quotes to boost your confidence

61. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” ― Maya Angelou

62. “You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” ― Stephen King

63. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” ― Ayn Rand

64. “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.” ― Malala Yousafzai

65. “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it, the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” ― Arianna Huffington

66. “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” ― Gloria Steinem

67. “We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” ― J.K. Rowling

68. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ― Anaïs Nin

69. No one ever became a success without taking chances… One must be able to recognize the moment and seize it without delay.” ― Estée Lauder

70. “You could certainly say that I’ve never underestimated myself. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.” ― Angela Merkel

Powerful Empowering Quotes To Keep You Motivated

71. “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” — Sylvester Stallone

72. I will not let anyone scare me out of my full potential.” — Nicki Minaj

73. Embrace the glorious mess that you are.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

74. “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.” — Sir Francis Bacon

75. “A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.” — Madonna

76. “We have to let go of who we think we should be and embrace what is.” — Achea Redd

77. You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.” — Deepak Chopra

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

79. “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts today.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt

80. “We need to take risks. We need to go broke. We need to prove them wrong, simply by not giving up.” — Awkwafina

Empowering Quotes To Make You Successful in Life

81. “Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.” ― Erica Jong

82. “Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

83. “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” ― Harriet Beecher Stowe

84. “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” ― Beyonce Knowles

85. “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” ― Diane Ackerman

86. “It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” ― Marianne Williamson

87. “My best successes came on the heels of failures.” ― Barbara Corcoran

88. “When I’m trusting and being myself as fully as possible, everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily, often miraculously.” ― Shakti Gawain

89. “When you realise that you possess within your self everything you need to promote your own success, the feeling is one of empowerment.” ― Jim Fixx

90. “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” ― Marianne Williamson

Empowering Quotes To Give You Courage

91. “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” ― Desiderius Erasmus

92. “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” ― J.K. Rowling

93. “What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds.” ― Dr.Wayne Dyer

94. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ― Anais Nin

95. “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

96. “Whatever you are, be a good one.” ― Abraham Lincoln

97. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

98. “Authentic empowerment is the knowing that you are on purpose, doing God’s work, peacefully and harmoniously.” ― Wayne Dyer

99. “My goal is not to be better than anyone else..but to be better that I used to be.” ― Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

100. “An idea is never given to you without you being given the power to make it reality. You must, nevertheless, suffer for it.” ― Richard Bach

Empowering Quotes For Women

101. “It’s not about how many times you get rejected or fall down or are beaten up, it’s about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going.”— Lady Gaga

102. “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” — Maya Angelou

103. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” — Rosa Parks

104. “I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.” — Dolly Parton

105. “Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe you must become its soul.”

— Coretta Scott King

106. “Women don’t need to find a voice, they have a voice, and they need to feel empowered to use it, and people need to be encouraged to listen.” — Meghan Markle

107. “Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” — Amelia Earhart

108. “There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.” — Rihanna

109. “A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values and uses all of her gifts.” — Nancy Rathburn

110. “A strong woman is a woman determined to do something that others are determined not to be done.” — Marge Piercy

Empowering Quotes To Overcome Obstacles

111. “For me, the process of embodying confidence was less about convincing myself of my own worth and more about rejecting and unlearning what society had hammered into me.” — Lindy West

112. “When life hands you a difficult situation where you feel undervalued and disrespected, be bold and brave enough to know your worth.” — Yai Vargas

113. “I raise up my voice — not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard… we cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” — Malala Yousafzai

114. “Don’t be afraid if things seem difficult in the beginning. That’s only the initial impression. The important thing is not to retreat: You have to master yourself.” — Olga Korbut

115. “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” — Michelle Obama

116. “Don’t be afraid.  Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.” — Michelle Obama

117. “Only I can change my life.  No one can do it for me.”  — Carol Burnett

118. “Everything you want is just outside of your comfort zone.” — Robert Allen

119. “Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it.  believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it.  Believe in yourself.  — Gordon B Hinckley

120. “Remember, every pro was first an amateur. Start your dream now.” — Marie Forleo

Empowering Quotes To Start Your Day

121. “’Woman Up’ is a fun female empowerment song.” ― Ashley Roberts

122. “Ultimately what I end up writing about is helplessness and the flipside of that, empowerment.” ― Joss Whedon

123. “Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.” ― Guy Fieri

124. “Empowerment is a word that comes with liberty.” ― Karol G

125. “I feel such a sense of empowerment being a mom. But I do wonder: How do they/we do it all?” ― Kourtney Kardashian

126. “The first step in empowerment is taking control of your health, respecting yourself and understanding and celebrating the value you bring to your family and society.” ― Milind Soman

127. “Three components – education, equality and empowerment – play an important and pivotal role in moving the country forward in every aspect.” ― Manushi Chhillar

128. “The process of spotting fear and refusing to obey it is the source of all true empowerment.” ― Martha Beck

129. “Empowerment of individuals is a key part of what makes open source work, since in the end, innovations tend to come from small groups, not from large, structured efforts.” ― Tim O’Reilly

130. “Technology is the foundation of the empowerment economy.” ― Elise Stefanik

Empowering Quotes For Work And Life

131. “There’s a lot of activism that doesn’t deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.” ― Talib Kweli

132. “Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.” ― Gloria Steinem

133. “Autonomy leads to empowerment. We work hard to maintain a balance between collaboration and cooperation and independence.” ― Bobby Kotick

134. “Education remains the key to both economic and political empowerment.” ― Barbara Jordan

135. “The gift of writing is to be self-forgetful, to get a surge of inner life or inner supply or unexpected sense of empowerment, to be afloat, to be out of yourself.” ― Seamus Heaney

136. “The Transportation Empowerment Act paves the way for better roads, easier commutes, and more family time.” ― Tom Graves

137. “To me, Microsoft is about empowerment… we are the original democratizing force, putting a PC in every home and every desk.” ― Satya Nadella

138. “As an independent artist, you control the means of production, which is the ultimate form of empowerment.” ― K. Flay

139. “Truth, honesty, empowerment – it’s what I want for myself and my readers.” ― Rupi Kaur

140. “Washing dishes gave me the sense of empowerment and feeling that I control my destiny.” ― Shahid Khan

141. “If you want a new tomorrow, then make new choices today.” ― Tim Fargo

142. “Fear will do one thing and one thing only: hold you back.” ― Kya Aliana

143. “You will never choose love greater than what you believe you deserve and what other insecure people tell your lack of self esteem to have faith in.” ― Shannon L. Alder

144. “Enjoy your dreams and empower others to live theirs.” ― Joseph Ash

145. “As much as we strive towards the light, we still want to be embraced by the shadow.” ― Zoran Drvenkar

146. “We choose what and how we believe, and our beliefs are tools that we then use to make things happen … or not.” ― Sophia Amoruso

147. “When you let another steal your joy you give them power over you. Don’t let anyone steal your smile.” ― Tammy Ms. Marie Johnson

148. “The gift of knowledge is empowering, but the gift of wisdom is life-changing.” ― A.D. Posey

149. “There are miracles and glory in every child. Our glory lies in empowering them to flourish their glory.” ― Amit Ray

150. “Sometimes we have to reach rock bottom before we’re willing to rise up and overcome our trials.” ― Dana Arcuri

How do you use inspirational quotes in your daily life? 

If you find yourself compelled by a particular quote, put it somewhere you will see it often.

For example, write it on a sticky note and stick it to your laptop screen.

When you are confronted with stress, you can quickly remind yourself of your favorite quote and refocus. 

When we are in the middle of a difficult situation, it is easy to believe we are alone in our emotions.

Reading inspirational quotes can remind us that many people have walked the path we are currently on.

They have come out on the other side of it all, and we can as well. 

Which of these empowering quotes and sayings are you planning to share?

What other quotes would you add to the list?

Tell us it all down below!