My Top 50 Quotes for Inspiration and Motivation

I am on a mission in 2019 is to create and build brave, courageous, compassionate and kind leaders and leadership. With the start of another year upon us, I thought I’d share my pick of fifty of my favorite quotes that get me fired up and ready to ROCK IT, and hopefully, they do the same for you! So I have found a great mix of people and favorite leaders I’ve quoted from; CEOs to political figures, even some celebrities – and I’ve included a few of my own personal quotes as well.

1. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt
2. Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. Winston Churchill
3. Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. John Wayne
4. We become what we think. The Buddha
5. I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. Albert Einstein
6. Lead with courage. Lead with compassion. Lead with character. Sonia McDonald
7. Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present. Albert Camus
8. In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different. Coco Chanel
9. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Winston Churchill
10. Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. Muhammad Ali
11. Change the frame, and you change the game. Sonia McDonald
12. Comparison is the thief of joy. Theodore Roosevelt
13. Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. Abraham Lincoln
14. Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo. Jon Sinclair
15. Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live. Anne Sweeney, Walt Disney
16. The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you. William Jennings Bryan
17. Confidence is the sexiest outfit you can wear. Blake Lively
18. Your vibe attracts your tribe. Lou Fitzgerald
19. Ninety percent of everything is crap. Sturgeon’s Law
20. Vulnerability is not the same thing as weakness. Brené Brown
21. You have everything you need to build something far bigger than yourself. Seth Godin
22. Gratitude opens the door to the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude. Deepak Chopra
23. People think that successful people don’t feel like frauds. The opposite is more likely to be true. Mike Cannon-Brookes, CEO of Atlassian
24. When you stop learning, I believe you are dead. Jack Nicholson
25. LEADERSHIP IS AN ATTITUDE. Sonia McDonald
26. I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through these moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough. Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo
27. You only live once but if you live right, once is enough. Mae West
28. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. The Dalai Lama
29. When you learn, teach. When you get, give. Maya Angelou
30. Sometimes you just have to put on lip gloss and pretend to be psyched. Mindy Kaling
31. Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence. Sheryl Sandberg
32. It took me a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I’m not going to be silent. Madeleine Albright
33. A lot of people put pressure on themselves and think it will be way too hard for them to live out their dreams. Mentors are there to say, ‘Look, it’s not that tough. It’s not as hard as you think. Here are some guidelines and things I have gone through to get where I am in my career.’ Joe Jonas
34. You can’t give up! If you do, you’re like everybody else. Chris Evert
35. The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday. Unknown
36. My parents taught me to do whatever makes you happy – follow your bliss. That’s why I don’t make a lot of movies. I’m very meat and potatoes when it comes to work, putting in eight hours each day. I only do what I love. Mike Myers
37. To an extent, leadership is like beauty: it’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Warren Bennis
38. What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing. Pablo Picasso
39. Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses. Marilyn Vos Savant
40. Your Brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room. Jeff Bezos, CEO & founder of Amazon
41. Your time is limited; so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own voice. Steve Jobs
42. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela
43. Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot
44. The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. Coco Chanel
45. Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate. Jon Bon Jovi
46. We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve. Bill Gates
47. Who exactly seeks out a coach? Winners. Chicago Tribune
48. Give more to others. Mentor and coach others. If you are successful, don’t forget to send the elevator down for others to ride up in. Sonia McDonald
49. I have a dream; I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King

Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.

― Mahatma Gandhi

I’d love to know which of these quotes resonated you, or what your favorite motivational quote is if I haven’t listed it, so comment below or send me a message about my Quotes. I hope you all have a fantastic year – kick those goals and smash those dreams!

Lead with Kindness Always! Sonia x

Author – Sonia McDonald.

Sonia McDonald is one of Globe’s leading leadership executive coaches and keynote speakers, as well as an advisor, thought leader, and author. She’s also CEO and founder of LeadershipHQ and has been named as one of the Top 100 Australian Entrepreneurs and Top 250 Influential Women in the world. Her company LeadershipHQ are leading the way in leadership and work with Organisations and Businesses such as Qantas, Thiess, Super Retail Group, Brickworks, Kane Constructions, Bartons, EY, Maurice Blackburn, Grant Thorton, and Minter Ellison,

Sonia has worked, coached and spoken in front of people around the world, encouraging them to succeed by reaching their full potential and inspiring leadership greatness.

Sonia has written several books on leadership: Leadership Attitude, Just Rock IT! and Neuroscience of Leadership, and she writes regularly for publications such as The Australian, HRD Magazine, Smart Healthy Women and Women’s Business Media. She has been published in BBC Capital, The Australian, HRD Magazine, Business Insider and Richtopia. She has spoken at numerous leading conferences, companies, and events across the world with her vision to create authentic, kind and courageous leaders and organizations.

Phone 1300 719 665   www.soniamcdonald.com.au