Need some wise and inspiring words about the importance of core values?
We’ve got just the thing for you with today’s collection of core value quotes.
Knowing your core values is essential if you want to live a satisfying, meaningful life. These are the root beliefs that become your guide in everything you do.
Core beliefs are the basis of every decision—big or small—you make each day.
In this article, we’re sharing 65 quotes about core values gathered from various people influential in their fields.
There are quotes that succinctly describe the benefits of living according to your core values, while others serve as dire warnings about the consequences of living life in opposition to one’s core values.
Read on and see which quotes resonate the most with you.
- “Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “There are some values that you should never compromise on to stay true to yourself; you should be brave to stand up for what you truly believe in even if you stand alone.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “I think self -knowledge is a key to happiness. We can build happy lives only on the foundation of our own natures, our own values, and our own interests.” – Gretchen Rubin
I think self -knowledge is a key to happiness. We can build happy lives only on the foundation of our own natures, our own values, and our own interests.” – Gretchen Rubin
- “I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated, and helping those in need. To me those are traditional values.” – Ellen DeGeneres
- “It is not until you change your identity to match your life blueprint that you will understand why everything in the past never worked.” – Shannon L. Alder
- “Create a life that feels good on the inside, not one that just looks good on the outside.” – Anonymous
- “Your values create your internal compass that can navigate how you make decisions in your life.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “My definition of success: When your core values and self-concept are in harmony with your daily actions and behaviors.” – John Spence
- “A highly developed values system is like a compass. It serves as a guide to point you in the right direction when you are lost.” – Idowu Koyenikan
- “Understanding your motivation for a decision helps you stay committed to it.” – Brant Menswar
- “It's very important for people to know themselves and understand what their value system is, because if you don't know what your value system is, then you don't know what risks are worth taking and which ones are worth avoiding.” – Benjamin Carson
- “A clear purpose will unite you as you move forward, values will guide your behavior, and goals will focus your energy.” – Kenneth H. Blanchard
- “A quiet conscience makes one strong.” – Anne Frank
- “When you know something to be true in your very core, there is no need to shout it from the rooftops.” – Basetsana Kumalo
- “If you stay true to your principles, you have confidence, conviction, purpose, values – in other words, you have a future.” – Mike Klepper
- “If you don’t stick to your values when they are being tested, they’re not values, they’re hobbies.” – Job Stewart
- “My beliefs run through everything I do. My beliefs, my values are my anchor and when people try to drag me, as I know they will, it is to that sense of right or wrong, that sense of who I am and what I believe, to which I will always hold.” – Ed Miliband
- “We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” – Jimmy Carter
We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” – Jimmy Carter
- “Contribution is a silent measure of our life philosophy and core value; it is the unspoken gesture of what we believe and value in life, an investment with divine returns.” – Dr. Lucas D. Shallua
- “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson
- “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” – Roy E. Disney
- “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “If you compromise your core values, you go nowhere.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Peace of mind produces right values, right values produce right thoughts. Right thoughts produce right actions.” – Mark Richardson
- “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
- “Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values.” – Dalai Lama
- “Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Core values serve as a lighthouse when the fog of life seems to leave you wandering in circles; when you encounter that moment where every decision is a tough one and no choice seems to clearly be the better choice.” – J. Loren Norris
- “Your attitude is an expression of your values and expectations.” – Zabid Abas
- “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” – Victor Hugo
- “Living with integrity means… behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values.” – Barbara De Angelis
- “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” – Aristotle
- “The American dream comes from opportunity. The opportunity comes from our founding principles, our core values that's held together and protected by the Constitution. Those ideas are neither Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, white, or black. Those are American ideologies.” – Ted Yoho
- “Your personal core values define who you are.” – Tony Hsieh
- “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
- “When making a decision, big or small, choose in favor of your values. Your values will always point you to the life that holds the most meaning and happiness.” – Rob Kaiser
- “Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values.” – Joshua L. Liebman
- “I cannot throw my core values into a dustbin as some do for the sake of power and position. What kind of a politician that would make me then?” – Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
- “If we lose our human values by having everything mechanized, then machines will dictate our lives.” – Dalai Lama
- “Perfect wisdom has four parts: Wisdom, the principle of doing things aright. Justice, the principle of doing things equally in public and private. Fortitude, the principle of not fleeing danger, but meeting it. Temperance, the principle of subduing desires and living moderately.” – Plato
- “A value driven life minimises limitations and maximises achievements.” – Tandar Tanavoli
A value driven life minimises limitations and maximises achievements.” – Tandar Tanavoli
- “Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.” – Toni Blair
- “If we disregard our values, we’ll open our eyes one day and won’t be able to recognize ‘our world’ anymore.” – Frank Sonnenberg
- “When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused and character is strengthened.” – John C. Maxwell
- “Let us, then, be what we are; speak what we think; and in all things keep ourselves loyal to truth.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- “Dedicate yourself to a core set of values. Without them, you will never be able to find personal fulfillment, and you will never be able to lead effectively.” – Kenneth I. Chennault
- “Good moral values are mostly molded from a place where love, faith, and hope exist.” – Arsenio V. Manalo, Jr.
- “Though my principles are not many, yet I am very loyal to every one of them.” – Sameh Elsayed
- “I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.” – Sidney Poitier
- “Let your thoughts be ruled by principle, and then live up to your thoughts.” – Wallace D. Wattles
- “Life is too short and too precious to waste it living out someone else’s values. We must find our own.” – John Norman
- “Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values.” – Ayn Rand
- “It is a simple tale, but its message is an enduring one: virtue and generosity will be rewarded in ways that one cannot know.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Good values are like a magnet – they attract good people.” – John Wooden
- “Principles are like seeds; they are little things which do much good, if the mind that receives them has the right attitudes.” – Seneca The Younger
- “Life is good when you live from your roots. Your values are a critical source of energy, enthusiasm, and direction. Work is meaningful and fun when it’s an expression of your true core.” – Shoshana Zuboff
- “The moment you give up your principles, and your values, you are dead, your culture is dead, your civilization is dead. Period.” Oriana Fallaci
- “A person could resist popular belief and stand up for personal principles, and though there may be consequences, not everything would necessarily be lost. In fact, something important might be gained, if only within oneself.” – Jean M. Auel
- “Real values can have meaning to man only when he steps on to the spiritual path, a path where negative emotions have no use.” – Sai Baba
- “An army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.” – Thomas Paine
An army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.” – Thomas Paine
- “People who live a life of purpose have core beliefs and values that influence their decisions, shape their day-to-day actions, and determine their short- and long-term priorities.” – Frank Sonnenberg
- “Principles are the territory. Values are maps.” – Stephen Covey
- “He that always gives way to others will end in having no principles of his own.” – Aesop
- “Define your priorities, know your values and believe in your purpose. Only then can you effectively share yourself with others.” – Les Brown
- “Take courage and work on. Patience and steady work — this is the only way. Go on; remember – patience and purity and courage and steady work…. So long as you are pure, and true to your principles, you will never fail.” – Swami Vivekananda
Final Thoughts on Core Values Quotes
There you have it—core values quotes to inspire you as you live life more authentically.
Perhaps a quote from this collection will become a personal favorite of yours!
If you enjoyed this collection on the subject of core values, you might also want to check out some online quizzes to determine your own core values, or this extensive list of core values to find out which ones resonate with you the most.
And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 41 Focus on Yourself Quotes
- 77 Integrity Quotes to Build Your Character
- 95 Be Yourself Quotes to Stay True Your Values
- How to Find and Define Your Family Core Values
- 5 Reasons Why Personal Core Values are Important
