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65 Powerful Quotes About Taking Action to Fuel Your Fire

quotes to help motivate you into action

Have you ever grappled with the clutches of procrastination or that paralyzing feeling of being stuck in inaction? We’ve all been there, and today, I’ve got your back with 65 powerful quotes about taking action to ignite that spark of inspiration to fuel your fire.

You don’t have to wait for a magical burst of motivation; discipline is the real key.

While the occasional surge of motivation is great, it’s the daily steps you take that propel you toward your goals and are the secret to ramping up your motivational mojo.

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Small Steps Is All You Need

Ever feel the buzz of accomplishment after tackling a little task? It’s like a power-up for your day.

That surge of energy is real, and as you string together these small victories, you’re making strides toward your larger goals.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, believes that it’s important for tasks to be small and more achievable because, as he puts it:

“Small measures of progress help to maintain momentum over the long-run, which means you’re more likely to finish large tasks.” (1)

So always remember to appreciate the power of progress, no matter how incremental. Use these quotes about taking action as a helpful tool. Do your best to ditch chasing perfection and instead celebrate each step forward.

Cue the wisdom of Retired U.S. Navy Admiral Seal William H. McCraven. His motivational speech emphasizes the magic of accomplishing small tasks. It’s a reminder to embrace these victories as they propel you into action. For the whole inspirational experience, check out the video of his speech below.

If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.

65 Powerful Quotes About Taking Action to Fuel Your Fire

Let’s embark on a journey with these 65 quotes about taking action. Pick a few that speak to you and use those powerful words to inspire you, help you cultivate discipline, and fuel your pursuit of goals, big or small. I hope they’ll be a small catalyst for positive change in your life.

1. Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston S. Churchill
2. Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Steve Jobs
3. A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.
Nelson Mandela
4. People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be.
Harvey MacKay
5. If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.
Bruce Lee
quotes about taking action
6. Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.
Robert Collier 
7. Magic is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, you can make anything happen.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
8. Invest in your dreams. Grind now. Shine later.
Unknown
9. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle
10. Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
Jim Ryun
11. Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.
Roy T. Bennett
12. The big secret in life is that there is no secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.
Oprah Winfrey
13. Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Harriet Tubman
14. You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream.
C.S.Lewis
15. Action is the foundational key to all success.
Pablo Picasso
16. The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into smaller manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.
Mark Twain
17.  Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh
18. Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
Benjamin Disraeli
19. The secret to getting ahead is getting started.
Mark Twain
20. If you believe it’ll work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you don’t believe it’ll work out, you’ll see obstacles.
Wayne Dyer
21. Don’t count the days, make the days count.
Muhammad Ali
22. Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.
Robert Schuller
23. You can either experience the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The choice is yours.
Unknown
24. There are people less qualified than you, doing things you want to do, simply because they decided to take action.
Jack Ma
25. Stop being afraid of what can go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right.
Tony Robbins
26. Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.
Tony Robbins
27. Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.
Bill Bradley
28. You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.
John C. Maxwell
29. Your life right now is a result of what you did a year ago. Your life a year from now will be a result of what you do right now. Act accordingly.
Steven Bartlett
30. The key to success is to start before you are ready.
Marie Forleo
31. You can have results and excuses. Not both.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
32. Nothing will work unless you do.
Maya Angelou
33. Never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.
Charles Dickens
34. The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
Vince Lombardi

Halfway Through These Impactful Quotes About Taking Action

35. Stop waiting. The time will never be perfect. Things will always pop up. The best time to start is always now.
Anonymous
36. It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs.
Jillian Michaels
37. Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you did not do than the ones you did.
Mark Twain
38. Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.
Sir Richard Branson
39. Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you.
George Whitfield
40. Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
Alexander Graham Bell
41. Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success.
Shiv Khera
quotes about taking action
42. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Helen Keller
43. All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.
Gandalf

(I’m a bit obsessed with The Lord of the Rings and had to share this one😉)

44. When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.
Zig Ziglar
45. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Thomas Edison
quotes about taking action
46. Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
Napoleon Hill
47. Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.
Dwayne Johnson
48. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
Arthur Ashe
49. A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.
Tony Robbins
50. My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had–every day I’m learning something new.
Sir Richard Branson
51. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney
52. Stick around. Don’t lose heart, just keep going, keep at it.
Mark Ruffalo
53. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
Confucius
54. Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.
Mahatma Gandhi
quotes about taking action
55. Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.
Roy T. Bennett
56. The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make a mistake.
Elbert Hubbard
quotes about taking action
57. Take action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.
Steve Maraboli
58. Those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action.
Nicholas Cage
59. You can either take action, or you can hang back and hope for a miracle. Miracles are great, but they are so unpredictable.
Peter Drucker
quotes about taking action
60. To wish for change will change nothing. To make the decision to take action right now will change everything.
Nik Vujovic
61. Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.
Peter Marshall
62. When you take action, particularly bold action, the boundaries of what you believe to be possible (your belief system) expand. Which, in turn, gives you the capacity to consider new ideas, new possibilities, and new concepts that you previously thought to be impossible.
Robert Ringer
63. Give yourself a deadline to stop planning and start taking action.
Andy Gilbert
64. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
Napoleon Hill
65. The undertaking of a new action brings new strength.
Richard L. Evans

✨For more inspiring quotes to help you check out this post, 30 Powerful Stress-Relief Quotes.

Final Thoughts: Use Quotes About Taking Action As a Tool for Change

You have the power to achieve your goals. Even when motivation wavers, cultivate good habits and discipline yourself to take small daily steps – that’s the momentum that transforms into motivation.

So use these quotes about taking action as a helpful tool to inspire positive change in your life.

Ditch the worry about mistakes and don’t let fear steer your actions. Seize opportunities, and, above all, have faith in yourself!

Taking daily action is about creating and living a life you love, no matter how that looks. I’m here to help you along your journey, and I hope these brought a little inspiration into your day.

Related Article: 5 Easy Steps to Making Positive Life Changes

quotes about taking action

References:

1. Procrastination: A Scientific Guide On How To Stop Procrastinating

Photo credit

Martha Correa

Martha Correa, founder and content creator of Joyful State Of Mind, blends over 18 years of experience as a former Registered Social Worker with her role as a mom of two. A mental health advocate and encourager by nature, she’s dedicated to helping readers go from merely surviving to building a life they love through self-compassion, self-care, and simple mindset shifts.

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27 Comments

  1. What a great post! Action can be hard these days especially with the pandemic, but it’s nice to see motivation here and there to help spring you into action. Thanks for this!

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Jenny, glad you enjoyed the post!

      Reply

  2. This is the perfect post to kick off a new month! That speech is so powerful! I do feel like I’ve started the day on the right foot and have accomplished something right away when I make my bed. Love all of these quotes, especially the last one! I’m pinning this!

    Jill – Doused in Pink

    Reply

    1. I know I love that speech so much! Really glad you enjoyed these quotes, Jill:)

      Reply

  3. So many of these quotes resonate with me and such a positive way to start the month! I agree that motivation isn’t always there, but taking those small daily steps creates momentum as you said!

    Reply

    1. I wanted to start this month off on a positive note and these quotes are some of my faves! Those small steps each day are so necessary. Thanks, Yadi.

      Reply

  4. Those are all great quotes. One thing I struggle with is fear and procrastination – and it is taking those small steps to keep moving forward – and not seeing anything as a failure with regret – but to keep trying. I hope you have a great Monday!

    Lisa @ Daily Style Finds

    Reply

    1. I hear you. Procrastination because of fear is a big one for many people! Thanks, Lisa, and I hope you had a great week:)

      Reply

    1. Aww, thanks Kathrine, glad they will come in handy for your journalling!

      Reply

    1. Thanks, my friend:-)

      Reply

    1. Glad you enjoyed these, thanks for stopping by Molly!

      Reply

    1. You go, girl! That’s what I want to hear;-)

      Reply

  9. Such fantastic quotes, my friend! Love that you put all of these together in one place. When I used to have an office space at work back in the day, I would print off inspiring and motivational quotes and pin them all around my space. It was super helpful!

    Make Life Marvelous

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the kind words, my friend! I love inspirational quotes for decor too!

      Reply

    1. Thanks very much, Lovely!

      Reply

    1. Hi Marta, thanks for the support will pop by:)

      Reply

  12. I always loved the one about making your bed. And 9 times out of 10 I really do make it right after getting up! It does help you feel more accomplished. Love all of these quotes. Great job putting them together!

    Reply

    1. It is an excellent way to start your day. Since working at home, I’ve been very consistent with making the bed first things and it does make a difference! Thanks so much, Laura! I enjoyed putting them together for everyone:)

      Reply

    1. Thanks for stopping by Lee, I appreciate it!

      Reply

  14. Wow! That’s so inspiring! #4 got me smiling big!! Thank you so much for such a beautiful motivation boost!

    Reply

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