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71 Mindset Quotes That Will Inspire You to Greatness

Updated: Apr. 04, 2024

A growth mindset is your most powerful tool, and these quotes about achieving the right frame of mind will help you get there

Wayne Gretzky mindset quote
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Growth mindset quotes to motivate you

Mindset quotes are pearls of wisdom that are focused on positivity, growth, success and change. Reading growth mindset quotes can not only inspire and motivate you, but they can also boost your happiness and productivity in all areas of life—because your frame of mind is one of the most powerful tools you have to enact change in your life.

What is a growth mindset?

Your mindset is a set of beliefs that dictates your current attitude, feelings and overall approach to the world, which is why these life-changing quotes are so powerful. Having a positive mindset is the belief that hard work, smart planning, a positive attitude and resilience can affect:

    • Your attitude
    • Your feelings
    • Your perspective
    • Your day-to-day actions
    • Your ability to adapt to change
    • Your motivation
    • Your productivity
    • Your overall happiness

While some mindset business quotes and success quotes focus specifically on the professional realm and can help you zero in on your career goals, all the positive mindset quotes below can be applied to any situation in your life, big or small, to give you that extra boost of optimism and energy you want to make change happen.

E. E. Cummings mindset quote
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The best quotes about mindset

Just as reading confidence quotes can boost your self-esteem, these quotes about mindset can instantly shift your perspective. Not only are positive mindset quotes inspiring, they make for great personal mantras too—so tell yourself a few of these growth mindset quotes anytime you need to hit the reset button on your attitude.

1. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” —Wayne Gretzky

2. “I never lose. I either win or learn.” —Nelson Mandela

3. “Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” —Joshua J. Marine

4. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” —Thomas H. Palmer

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

6. “All things are difficult before they are easy.” —Thomas Fuller

7. “What you get by reaching your goals is not nearly so important as what you become by reaching them.” —Zig Ziglar

8. “The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.” —Arnold Palmer

9. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” —E.E. Cummings

10. “Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” —Richard Branson

11. “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” —Truman Capote

12. “Keep trying until you have no more chances left.” —Aimee Carter

13. “It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.” —Confucius

14. “You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.” —C.S. Lewis

15. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” —Thomas Edison

Barbara Corcoran mindset quote
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Growth mindset quotes

Having a growth mindset is all about perseverance when chasing after your goals, which is why “dream big” quotes—like these growth mindset quotes about overcoming failure and seeing setbacks as opportunities—can help you stay focused.

16. “You don’t lose if you get knocked down; you lose if you stay down.” —Muhammad Ali

17. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” —Nelson Mandela

18. “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.” —Jim Rohn

19. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” —Theodore Roosevelt

20. “The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” —Michelangelo

21. “You can use the stumbling blocks to build your success.” —Lailah Gifty Akita

22. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” —Judy Garland

23. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” —Charles Swindoll

24. “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” —Winston Churchill

25. “Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.” —Samuel Johnson

26. “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” —Tina Fey

27. “I am always doing what I cannot do yet in order to learn how to do it.” —Vincent van Gogh

28. “A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.” —Vernon Howard

29. “It’s your game; make up your own rules.” —Barbara Corcoran

30. “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” —Julie Andrews

Dalai Lama mindset quote
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Positive mindset quotes

Uplifting quotes can help you get unstuck and shift into a growth mindset when you’re feeling down.

31. “I’m going to use all my tools, my God-given ability and make the best life I can with it.” —LeBron James

32. “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” —Dolly Parton

33. “Nothing is impossible; the word itself says I’m possible.” —Audrey Hepburn

34. “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” —Henry Ford

35. “When you walk with purpose, you collide with destiny.” —Beatrice Berry

36. “Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are.” —Beyonce

37. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” —Michael Jordan

38. “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” —Stephanie Bennett-Henry

39. “Mistakes aren’t mistakes, they are lessons!” —Israelmore Ayivor

40. “Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.” —Roger Crawford

41. “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” —Robin Williams

42. “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” —Captain Jack Sparrow

43. “Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.” —Dalai Lama

44. “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

45. “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” —Winston Churchill

46. “You aren’t lost, you’re just in an uncomfortable state of your life/ here your old self is gone but your new self isn’t fully born yet.” —Marcos Alvarado

John C. Maxwell mindset quote
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Inspiring mindset quotes

We all rely on Monday motivation quotes once in a while, but to kickstart some real action and change, lean on these growth mindset quotes that take inspiration to the next level.

47. “You can’t go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand-new ending.” — James R. Sherman

48. “Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.” —Christopher Morley

49. “A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.” —Ray Davis

50. “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.” —Harry Golden

51. “If a goal is worth having, it’s worth blocking out the time in your day-to-day life necessary to achieve it.” —Jill Koenig

52. “Dreams don’t work unless you do.” —John C. Maxwell

53. “Don’t give up at half time. Concentrate on winning the second half.” —Bear Bryant

54. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever.” —Mahatma Gandhi

55. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'” —Muhammad Ali

56. “Intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.” —Andy Andrews

57. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the ones you did.” —Mark Twain

58. “Don’t be too timid and too squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

59. “If you quit once it becomes a habit. Don’t Quit.” —Michael Jordan

60. “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” —Jack Ma

61. “The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” —Oprah Winfrey

Marilyn Monroe mindset quote
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Mindset business quotes

From leadership quotes that’ll inspire to quotes about mindset that’ll help you turn your failures into opportunities for success, when the going gets tough professionally, these mindset business quotes can help you stay strong and refocus on what’s next.

62. “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” —Steve Jobs

63. “You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for.” —Ted Turner

64. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” —Robert Collier

65. “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” —Frank A. Clark

66. “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of being.” —John Wooden

67. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” —Albert Einstein

68. “Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything.” —Marilyn Monroe

69. “Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.” —Theodore Roosevelt

70. “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” —Niels Bohr

71. “Success isn’t always about ‘greatness.’ It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” —Dwayne Johnson