190 Preparation Quotes to Help You Reach Your Goals

These quotes about preparation and planning will motivate you to achieve greatness.

When you set goals for yourself and form a plan of action, your path to success will become more clear.

These preparation quotes will motivate you to work hard and get your life in order.

Why is preparation important to success?

If you’re prepared for anything, you will never be surprised or overwhelmed.

Read these quotes about preparedness to learn more about how to be ready for anything.

This collection of quotes about preparation and planning can open up your mind to new ideas.

If you take the advice from these inspirational quotes to heart, you can shift your perspective and become a more successful person.

There are many areas of life where it pays off to be prepared.

Whether you’re looking to succeed in your relationship, career, or personal development, you’ll love these preparation quotes. 

Also, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily wisdom. 

See the rest of our quote database for even more inspirational ideas and thoughts

Preparation quotes to help you reach your goals

1. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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

3. “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey

4. “A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success.” – Joyce Brothers

5. “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” – Bobby Unser

6. “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe

You will also enjoy our article on opportunity quotes.

7. “Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.” – Robert H. Schuller

8. “Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation, while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality.” – Eliyahu Goldratt

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of good luck quotes for when you are feeling ill-fated.

9. “Talent is to actors what luck is to card players. It’s not really anything; it’s just a fictitious word that people have created and labeled things. Talent is like, you know, I never really believed in talent, I believed in drive and determination and preparation, but talent is sort of like luck.” – Shia LaBeouf

10. “You had better live your best and act your best and think your best today; for today is the sure preparation for tomorrow and all the other tomorrows that follow.” – Harriet Martineau

You will also enjoy our article on Lao Tzu quotes.

Preparation quotes to motivate you to achieve greatness

11. “Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” – Paul Theroux

12. “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre.” – Gail Godwin

13. “Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It’s about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your people and heart. Winning is the result.” – Joe Torre

14. “You hit home runs not by chance but by preparation.” – Roger Maris

15. “Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend. To understand the things that are at our door is the best preparation for understanding those that lie beyond.” – Hypatia

You will also enjoy our article on The 100 quotes.

16. “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell

You will also enjoy our article on Sun Tzu quotes.

17. “I think more about preparation than numbers. If I’m well prepared, there will be results.” – Ada Hegerberg

You will also enjoy our article on Personal Growth Quotes.

18. “Good luck is a residue of preparation.” – Jack Youngblood

You will also enjoy our article on theatre quotes.

19. “I do find that there’s a fine balance between preparation and seeing what happens naturally.” – Timothee Chalamet

20. “Preparation is everything.” – David Robinson

Preparation quotes about how to be ready for anything

21. “I believe success is preparation because opportunity is going to knock on your door sooner or later but are you prepared to answer that?” – Omar Epps

22. “A winning effort begins with preparation.” – Joe Gibbs

23. “In the sports arena, I would say there is nothing like training and preparation. You have to train your mind as much as your body.” – Venus Williams 

24. “I’ve always considered myself to be just average talent and what I have is a ridiculous insane obsessiveness for practice and preparation.” – Will Smith

25. “My preparation is about precision. It is a science.” – Conor McGregor

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of Conor McGregor quotes from the iconic fighter.

26. “I believe that people make their own luck by great preparation and good strategy.” – Jack Canfield

27. “I don’t really think about the degree of difficulty or the possibility of making a mistake. I just try to relax and let my preparation and training take over.” – Simone Biles

28. “Life is a long preparation for something that never happens.” – William Butler Yeats

29. “Some people are making such thorough preparation for rainy days that they aren’t enjoying today’s sunshine.” – William Feather

30. “There is no short cut to achievement. Life requires thorough preparation – veneer isn’t worth anything.” – George Washington Carver

Preparation quotes to motivate you to get your life in order

31. “You rewind. You think of your preparation. You think of everything you did throughout the week, your life, the practices, the intensity. Everything flashes and you come right back to that point. And it’s like, game on.” – D’Brickashaw Ferguson

32. “Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.” – John Dewey

33. “In missionary work, as in all else, preparation precedes power. Encouragement to prepare while still very young can make a tremendous difference.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

34. “Preparation for old age should begin not later than one’s teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled on retirement.” – Dwight L. Moody

35. “If you really want to be world-class – to be the best you can be – it comes down to preparation and practice.” – Robin S. Sharma

36. “I believe that reading widely is the best preparation for writing.” – Kathryn Lasky

37. “The five steps in teaching an employee new skills are preparation, explanation, showing, observation and supervision.” – Bruce Barton

38. “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation, there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius

39. “For one human being to love another; that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.” – Rainer Maria Rilke 

40. “I’m a big believer in the fact that life is about preparation, preparation, preparation.” – Johnnie Cochran

If you’re enjoying these quotes, read our collection of retirement quotes, celebrating the end of your professional career.

Preparation quotes to get you ready

41. “To each his own, but my process of preparation is based on conditions, not opposition.” – Rohit Sharma

42. “Hibernation is a covert preparation for a more overt action.” – Ralph Ellison

43. “For me, it’s always been about preparation, and the more prepared I can be each week, the less pressure I feel and the more confident I am. As your confidence grows, it’s only natural that the pressure you feel diminishes.” – Aaron Rodgers

44. “My own position is so far on the obsessive side of preparation and professionalism that I fear my point of view is not going to be shared by anyone.” – Jonny Wilkinson

45. “It’s that preparation that goes into each week. We have a term: ‘Trust your training, trust your teammate, and trust yourself.’” – Dan Quinn

46. “Whether it’s learning to hit a backhand in tennis, learning high school chemistry, or getting better at ski racing, I really believe with hard work and analytic preparation, you can skip a few steps and find the faster way.” – Mikaela Shiffrin

47. “There is no shorter road to defeat than by entering a war with inadequate preparation.” – Charles Lindbergh

48. “Wisdom is nothing but a preparation of the soul, a capacity, a secret art of thinking, feeling and breathing thoughts of unity at every moment of life.” – Hermann Hesse

49. “You have to rely on your preparation. You got to really be passionate and try to prepare more than anyone else, and put yourself in a position to succeed, and when the moment comes you got to enjoy, relax, breathe and rely on your preparation so that you can perform and not be anxious or filled with doubt.” – Steve Nash

50. “The preparation is what allows the success to happen naturally.” – Jake Arrieta

More preparation quotes and sayings

51. “I have written a song that says: If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words, “They’re gone,” and they’ll come back.” – Prince

52. “But life is just a party, and parties weren’t meant to last.” – Prince

53. “Real music lovers are actually my favorite kind of people because they like to know, rather than just be told what to think.” – Prince

54. “When I want to hear new music, I make it.” – Prince

55. “What’s missing from pop music is danger.” – Prince

56. “There’s not a lot of pop music in the mainstream that makes you feel scared, that makes you wonder what’s happening.” – Prince

57. “Everything has changed for me since I’ve changed my name. It’s one thing to be called Prince but it’s better to actually be one. I have such a reverence for life.” – Prince

58. “Hard to say what’s right when all I wanna do is wrong.” – Prince

59. “Just sharing music with each other – that’s cool. It’s the selling that becomes the problem.” – Prince

60. “Well, my musicians are my friends.” – Prince

Preparation Quotes To Help You Take Up Most Opportunities In Life

61. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin

62. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”― Abraham Lincoln

63. “I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” ― Abraham Lincoln

64. “Opportunity does not waste time with those who are unprepared.” ― Idowu Koyenikan

65. “We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.” ― Thomas A. Edison

66. “Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.” ― George S. Clason

67. “Dream big dreams, but be prepared to pay the price” ― Fela Bank-Olemoh

68. “A successful tomorrow will always demand the preparation of today.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough

69. “If you don’t prepare you will repair” ― Bernard Kelvin Clive

70. “Preparedness is not always about getting it super perfect. Its about getting into a positive habit and building discipline” ― Janna Cachola

Preparation Quotes To Motivate and Inspire You Everyday

71. “Preparation for life is so important. Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Opportunity is all around us. Are you prepared?” — Earl Nightingale

72. “If you prepare yourself at every point as well as you can…you will be able to grasp the opportunity for broader experience when it appears.” —  Eleanor Roosevelt.

73. “Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance.” — Sun Tzu.

74. “Before entering any occupation, diligent preparation is to be undertaken.” — Cicero.

75. “Unless you have prepared yourself to profit by your chance, the opportunity will only make you ridiculous.” — Orison Swett Marden.

76. “Behind every brilliant performance, there were countless hours of practice and preparation.” — Eric Butterworth.

77. “Victory is the child of preparation and determination.” —  Sean Hampton.

78. “The foundation of confidence in virtually every field is preparation.” — Brian Tracy.

79. “I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky.” ― Oprah Winfrey.

80. “Every race is like training and preparation.” — Nino Schurter.

Preparation Quotes To Get You Ready For Anything

81. “He who is best prepared can best serve his moment of inspiration.” ― Samuel Taylor Coleridge

82. “Success is when persistence meets preparation.” ― Sherrilyn Kenyon

83. “Expect the best, Prepare for the worst.” ― Muhammad Ali Jinnah

84. “Anything worthy of your passion, should be worthy of your preparation.” ― Sue Enquist

85. “What I do is prepare myself until I know I can do what I have to do.” ― Joe Namath

86. “The man who attracts luck carries with him the magnet of preparation.” ― Clifton Fadiman

87. “Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.” ― Denis Waitley

88. “Luck is opportunity meeting up with preparation. So you must prepare yourself to be lucky.” ― Dick Gregory

89. “The mind can only see what it is prepared to see.” ― Edward de Bono

90. “The best possible preparation of success is empower yourself with trust in self capabilities.” ― Anil Sinha

Preparation Quotes To Help You Achieve Success

91. “You see, success doesn’t just suddenly occur one day. For that matter, neither does failure. Each is a process. Every day of your life is merely preparation for the next.” ― John C. Maxwell

92. “Expecting results, will inspire you to prepare for the situation that you are expecting. By preparing, you have already practiced what it will feel like when the situation arrives.” ― Huni Hunfjord

93. “You were born to win, but to be the winner you were born to be, you have to plan to win and prepare to win. Then and only then can you expect to win.” ― Zig Ziglar

94. “I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” ― Denzel Washington

95. “Preparation is what allows the teacher to truly inspire. Preparation is in knowing exactly how the lesson plan will flow. It’s in knowing what questions to ask and what answers to give.” ― Shawn L. Anderson

96. “Remember, any change in behavior requires preparation and a plan that you will keep your awareness and commitment high throughout the change.” ― K. Collins

97. “You cannot move forward in any project, or task, career, relationship or changing a habit unless you plan. And, preparation is not the end but only the beginning.” ― Byron Pulsifer

98. “While others are dreaming and talking, you can be taking action and preparing for opportunities that are just over the horizon.” ― Catherine Pulsifer

99. “One’s goals will quickly be considered unrealistic if he’s not adequately prepared to meet them.” ― Jessica Minty

100. “The better you’re prepared, the better chance you’ll have at staying on top of everything that is coming your way.” ― Colin Adams

Preparation Quotes To Get You Ready for Success

101. “Fundamental preparation is always effective. Work on those parts of your game that are fundamentally weak.” ― Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

102. “Preparation is the biggest key right now.” ― Vince Young

103. “Great opportunity is only as good as your preparation to take advantage of it.” ― Tom Black

104. “The best preparation for work is not thinking about work, talking about work, or studying for work: it is work.” ― William Weld

105. “Through humble prayer, diligent preparation, and faithful service, we can succeed in our sacred callings.” ― Thomas S. Monson

106. “Luck is preparation multiplied by opportunity.” ― Seneca the Younger

107. “Meditation is not an escape from life… but preparation for really being in life.” ― Nhat Hanh

108. “I think I’ve always tried to be very professional to how I approach the game, my preparation. Every game is important.” ― Tom Brady

109. “My routine is all about preparation.” ― Victor Cruz

110. “Any design, any city, any kind of craziness or tragedy, it all comes from a long time of preparation.” ― Ai Weiwei

Preparation Quotes To Have Your Mind Settled

111. “Another way to be prepared is to think negatively. Yes, I’m a great optimist. But, when trying to make a decision, I often think of the worst-case scenario.” ― Randy Pausch

112. “Our whole life is taken up with preparations for living so that we really never live at all.” ― Leo Tolstoy

113. “It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” ― Les Brown

114. “The meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call luck.” ― Tony Robbins

115. “Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.” ― Amelia Earhart

116. “The preparation for dark days must always begin during the brightest ones.” ― Lia Leendertz

117. “To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated.” ― James P. Carse

118. “Preparation is responding to the demands required to turn expectations to manifestations.” ― Benjamin Suulola

119. “There is always a part of my mind that is preparing for the worst, and another part of my mind that believes if I prepare enough for it, the worst won’t happen.” ― Kay Redfield Jamison

120. “If a person does not prepare for their success when their opportunity comes, it will only make them look foolish.” ― Alexcious Mwathi

Preparation Quotes To Give You Confidence

121. “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

122. “The most prepared are the most dedicated.” ― Raymond Berry

123. “To be ready to fail is to be prepared for success.” ― Jose Bergamin

124. “If you’re prepared, then you’re able to feel confident.” ― Robert J. Ringer

125. “The key is not the ‘will to win’…everybody has that, It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” ― Boby Knight

126. “Good preparation makes for intelligent, entertaining remarks, builds self-confidence, relaxes the audience, and helps eliminate fear.” ― Dick Enberg

127. “In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.” ― Louis Pasteur

128. “A tremendous amount of preparatory work and continuous training is necessary in order to turn your vague wish into professional excellence.” ― Aleksandr Tairov

129. “The best preparation for the future is the present well seen to, and the last duty done.” ― George Macdonald

130. “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” ― Mark Twain

Preparation Quotes About Planning To Achieve Your Goals

131. Achievement is talent plus preparation.” ― Malcolm Gladwell

132. “We follow instructions to my destination, a chamber for my preparation.” ― Suzanne Collins

133. “Profound hearts, wise minds, take life as God makes it; it is a long trial, and unintelligible preparation for the unknown destiny.” ― Victor Hugo

134. “We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear.” ― Veronica Roth

135. “Sudden shifts and changes are no bad preparation for political life.” ― Charles Dickens

136. “So many years of preparation, for what was called adult life: was it for this?” ― Hilary Mantel

137. “Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

138. “Life is rather a state of embryo, a preparation for life; a man is not completely born till he has passed through death.” ― Benjamin Franklin

139. “The preparation, commitment and desire to win will be no less than the last time I drove a grand prix car in anger.” ― Nigel Mansell

140. “Believe in the hard work. Believe in the preparation. It’s not a matter of if it’ll work; it’s a matter of when.” ― Tony Sparano

Preparation Quotes to Get You Ready to Achieve

141. “Science is the outcome of being prepared to live without certainty and therefore a mark of maturity. It embraces doubt and loose ends.” — A.C. Grayling

142. “Love is the spiritual essence of what we do. Technique is the manifestation of the preparation and investment as a result of the love.” — Wynton Marsalis

143. “So many actors have sheer guts, will, and determination; they just need some preparation.” — John Ratzenberger

144. “To become a champion requires a good mental attitude toward preparation. You have to accept the most tedious task with pleasure.” — Bruce Lee

145. “My favorite part of any project is the preparation. It’s where you get to meet the people, the experts.” — Jason Clarke

146. “I really have a great deal of humility in that department, and a great deal of respect for people who spend their lives learning how to make these amazing preparations.” — Ted Allen

147. “In all matters, before beginning, a diligent preparation should be made.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero

148. “None of us suddenly becomes something overnight. The preparations have been in the making for lifetime.” — Gail Godwin

149. “Intuition is critical in virtually everything you do. But, without relentless preparation and execution, it is meaningless.” — Tim Cook

150. “We are here for experience, and experience is a preparation to know the Truth when we meet it.” — Henry Ford

Insights and Inspiration from Preparation Quotes

151. “Don’t prepare. Begin. Our enemy is not lack of preparation. The enemy is resistance, our chattering brain producing excuses. Start before you are ready.” — Steven Pressfield

152. “But to me the bottom line is the more education you can give yourself, and the more preparation you can do, the less chance of failing.” — Stuart Pearce

153. “Winning is what happens when commitment, desire, talent, preparation, hard work, and leadership all come together.” — Tom Coughlin

154. “In moments of crisis, the initiative passes to those who are best prepared.” — Charlie Morton

155. “The surest way to get a thing in this life is to be prepared for doing without it, to the exclusion even of hope.” — Jane Welsh Carlyle

156. “If you will be humble and ask God what to do, I promise you that he will always prepare a way for your deliverance.” — Henry B. Eyring

157. “The best possible preparation for the future is a well lived present.” — George H. Brimhall

158. “You cannot underestimate the importance of preparation.” — Ray Mears

159. “There is no substitute for work. Worthwhile results come from hard work and careful planning.” — John Wooden

160. “Thorough preparation must lead to success. Neglect nothing.” — Arthur Currie

Preparation Quotes Showing It Is The Key to Performance

161. “Preparing to live your dream is postponing it. You are either living it, or not.” ― Alan Cohen

162. “That’s the one thing you can always depend on; as we’re fighting one war, we’re always preparing for the next one.” ― Max Brooks

163. “It is not very often that an opportunity comes knocking. But when it does, you better be bathed and dressed and ready to answer its call.” ― Jyoti Arora

164. “Preparation breeds professionalism, and professionalism enhances leadership competencies.” ― Noel DeJesus

165. “It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day (attributed to Matthew Henry)” ― Francis Chan

166. “If you had duct tape, you were prepared for anything.” ― Annie Barrows

167. “Traveling can never be taken for granted, no matter how meticulous the preparations.” ― Eugene Linden

168. “Success comes from preparation.” ― E’yen A. Gardner

169. “When you prepare, regularly work hard, create value, help others get what they want, and persevere… the life of your dreams is INEVITABLE.” ― Matthew Loop

170. “If I have to choose between opportunity and preparation, I’d choose preparation, without it opportunity is useless.” ― Saji Ijiyemi

Preparation Quotes to Keep You on the Right Track

171. “Preparation doesn’t assures victory, it assures confidence.” ― Amit Kalantri

172. “To perform you need practice, to practice you need passion.” ― Amit Kalantri

173. “With homework, school prepares students for overtime. With reports, it prepares them for payday.” ― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

174. “Intellectual death is endemic in areas where people are not prepared to gain new information for development. Learning is the intervention!” ― Israelmore Ayivor

175. “We may be born equal but we do not prepare equally…” ― Garrett McCoy

176. “In league with being graced by greatness, prepare to be greeted, by all that is beneath you.” ― Justin K. McFarlane Beau

177. “Be disciplined and disciple to thrive in every situation and keep cleaved to your plans.” ― Israelmore Ayivor

178. “When the evening comes, prepare yourself for the morrow” ― Donald Pillai

179. “The more prepared you are, the less pressure you feel.” ― Orrin Woodward

180. “Be prepared before you begin. You save yourself from delay if you are fully prepared. Preparation sets you for excellence.” ― Israelmore Ayivor

181. “The sum and substance of the preparation needed for a coming eternity is that you believe what the Bible tells you, and do what the Bible bids you.” ― Thomas Chalmers

182. “There was more happiness in the process, in the build, in the preparation. The winning was almost phoned in.” ― Lance Armstrong

183. “Excellence without effort is as futile as progress without preparation.” ― William Arthur Ward

184. “I don’t believe in luck. Luck is just preparation meeting the moment of opportunity.” ― Oprah Winfrey

185. “Success is that place in the road where preparation meets opportunity.” ― Branch Rickey

186. “Greatness is in the preparation, not in the performance.” ― Jack Hyles

187. “Stretching was a major part of my preparation.” ― Edwin Moses

188. “Victory is the child of preparation and determination.” ― Sean Hampton

189. “By all means take thought for the tomorrow, yes, careful thought and planning and preparation. But have no anxiety.” ― Dale Carnegie

190. “Proper preparation is the key to our success. Our acts can be no wiser than our thoughts. Our thinking can be no wiser than our understanding.” ― George S. Clason

What are your favorite motivational quotes about preparedness?

Preparation is the secret to success in all areas of life.

You can reach your goals if you make a plan and thoroughly prepare for your journey.

These preparation quotes highlight the importance of order, control, and organization.

If you need encouragement to live a more prepared life, refer back to these quotes about preparation and planning.

What are preparation skills?

Knowing how to efficiently prepare for any scenario is a skill that can be improved with practice.

If you want to learn how to better prepare for any circumstance in life, read this collection of quotes about preparedness.

When you prepare to win, you open yourself up to success and opportunity.

Share these preparation quotes with your friends and family to offer them encouragement.

What are your favorite planning and preparation quotes that offer you encouragement?

Let us know in the comment section below.