We’ve all been taught to play nice, smile, and nod when what we really want to do is flip the table and say, “No, thank you!” Well, I’m over it, and if you’re reading this, you probably are too.
Life’s too short to tiptoe around other people’s feelings while you ignore your own. So, consider this your permission slip to stop being the “nice one” all the time and start being the real one.
I’ve handpicked 49 life quotes to help you live on your terms. These quotes are for those of us who are done with the nonsense and ready to take the wheel. No fluff, no over-the-top motivational nonsense—just real talk from some of the world’s most iconic people.
So, buckle up, it’s time to shake things up.
Living Your Truth
- “To thine own self be true.” — William Shakespeare
- “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” — Louisa May Alcott
- “Don’t compromise yourself—you’re all you’ve got.” — Janis Joplin
- “It’s better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” — André Gide
- “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde
- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” — Gloria Steinem
- “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs
- “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” — Dolly Parton
- “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” — Brené Brown
- “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” — Lewis Carroll
Having Courage To Take Risks
- “Do one thing every day that scares you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Fortune favors the bold.” — Virgil
- “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anaïs Nin
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky
- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — Mark Twain
- “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” — Muhammad Ali
- “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” — T.S. Eliot
- “Courage is grace under pressure.” — Ernest Hemingway
- “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” — John A. Shedd
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart
- “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.” — John Wooden
Inspire You to Let Go The BS In Your Life
- “Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” — Buddha
- “The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.” — Dale Carnegie
- “Let it go. Let it roll off your back. It’s water off a duck’s back.” — Julie Andrews
- “You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.” — Louise Smith
- “When you let go, you create space for better things to enter your life.” — Unknown
- “Resentment is like setting yourself on fire and expecting the other person to die from smoke inhalation.” — Anne Lamott
- “Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie
- “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela
- “You have to learn to let go. If you hold on too tight, you lose your ability to move forward.” — Richard Branson
- “Letting go doesn’t mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be.” — Unknown
- “It is not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” — Lena Horne
- “Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.” — Hermann Hesse
Dare To Live Fearlessly and Boldly
- “Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.” — Rumi
- “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Christopher Columbus
- “Fear is stupid. So are regrets.” — Marilyn Monroe
- “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” — Katharine Hepburn
- “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” — Alice Walker
- “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
- “You are enough just as you are.” — Meghan Markle
- “Don’t be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin.” — Grace Hansen
- “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” — Mother Teresa
- “Don’t die with your music still in you.” — Wayne Dyer
- “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” — George Addair
- “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw
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