Have you ever wondered what the secret is to make your dreams come true and to be successful in life?
Some people would say that all you need to do is work really hard to achieve what you really want in life. Others think that it’s all about whom you know and using that connection to achieve success. Some feel that there are just people who are born lucky and get all the breaks.
What if I tell you that all of them got it wrong?
Regardless of how hard you work, if you're focusing on the wrong things, then all that effort will lead to nowhere. Imagine how disappointing that would be.
Furthermore, you have to know what's actually truly important to you. For instance, when you understand your “why” (or purpose in life), it becomes easier to succeed in all your endeavors. Put simply: When you know where you want to go, it becomes much easier to get there.
That's why the most successful people have a simple formula for how they run their lives:
Goals + Daily Action = Achieving Your Dream
Is the equation simple? Yes.
Is it easy? Not necessarily.
It all depends on how well you define your goals and your level of commitment.
By having clear goals, you have an idea of what exactly you want to achieve and how to go about doing it.
More importantly, having commitment means that you are willing to work hard despite the obstacles in your path in order to make your dreams a reality.
Today’s post features a collection of 157 quotes about setting and achieving goals to manifest your dreams. These quotes come from different individuals who are considered the greatest in their fields. They achieved their dreams by adhering to the formula for success.
I hope you will be inspired to manifest your heart’s desire through quotes about setting goals; quotes about achieving goals and working hard; quotes about achieving success and staying focused on goals; quotes about achieving goals and overcoming obstacles; and quotes about goals, getting started and investing time in your dreams.
Having a goal serves as a compass to know exactly where you’re headed. Let’s start our journey on the road to success with quotes about setting goals.
Quotes About Setting Goals
- “It’s harder to stay on top than it is to make the climb. Continue to seek new goals.”– Pat Summitt
- “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”– Albert Einstein
- “One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.”– Michael Korda
- “Begin with the end in mind”– Stephen Covey
- “If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time.”– Source unknown
- “It’s important to set your own goals and work hard to achieve them.”– Yuichiro Miura
- “You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for.”– Ted Turner
- “The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”– Michelangelo
You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for.”– Ted Turner
- “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”– Zig Ziglar
- “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.”– Bill Copeland
- “In all things that you do, consider the end.”– Solon
- “In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.”– Author Unknown
- “Reach high, for stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream, precedes the goal.”– Rabindranath Tagore
- “If you’re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals.”– Lou Holtz
If you’re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals.”– Lou Holtz
- “I am always more interested in what I am about to do than what I have already done.”– Rachel Carson
- “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”– Tony Robbins
- “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”– Andrew Carnegie
- “It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.”– Benjamin E. Mays
Quotes About Working Hard to Achieve Your Goals
Do the quotes above motivate you to identify the exact things you want to achieve?
Before we dive into the next series of quotes, let’s talk about hard work.
When channeled correctly — that is, when we know why we’re working hard — it generates guaranteed success.
Hard work teaches us discipline, ups our chances of being noticed for our work habits, builds our confidence, and opens our hearts to gratitude.
(Side note: One way to work hard is to develop critical skills related to your goals. And a great resource to help you do this is Skillshare. If you'd like to learn more about this site, check out the above link or read our Skillshare review here.)
The following quotes about achieving goals and working hard tell us what we can reap from giving our best effort.
- “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is nightmare.” -Japanese Proverb
- “Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.”– Brian Tracy
- “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
- “In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed.”– Sid Caeser
- “Envision, create, and believe in your own universe, and the universe will form around you.”– Tony Hsieh
- “You can always find a solution if you try hard enough.”– Lori Greiner
- “A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement.”– Bo Bennett
- “The going is the goal.”– Horace Kallen
- “A good goal is like a strenuous exercise — it makes you stretch.”– Mary Kay Ash
- “Dream don’t work unless you do.”– Unknown
- “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “Most impossible goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them and going full speed ahead as if they were routine.”– Don Lancaster
Most impossible goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them and going full speed ahead as if they were routine.”– Don Lancaster
- “There are only two rules for being successful. One, figure out exactly what you want to do, and two, do it.”– Mario Cuomo
- “Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless.”– Tim Blixseth
- “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”– Henry David Thoreau
- “One part at a time, one day at a time, we can accomplish any goal we set for ourselves.”– Karen Casey
Quotes about Staying Focused on Your Goals
Too often, we expend precious energy on issues that have nothing to do with what we truly want in our lives. It’s like being in a race and constantly looking at the side mirror to see if the other car is gaining rather than focusing on what’s going on in front of you.
Having a vision of what you want to achieve in life is necessary if you ever want to arrive somewhere.
The next series of quotes about achieving success and staying focused on the goals reminds you of this.
- “Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.” – Viktor Frankl
- “The great glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live with purpose.”– Michel de Montaigne
- “Your goal should be just out of reach, but not out of sight.”– Denis Waitley and Remi Witt
- “Intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.”– Andy Andrews
- “A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”– Bruce Lee
A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”– Bruce Lee
- “However brilliant an action may be, it should not be accounted great when it is not the result of a great purpose.”– Francois de la Rochefoucauld
- “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”– Jim Rohn
- “If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, but never the goal.”– Unknown
- “Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right.”– Aldous Huxley
- “In the end, people will judge you anyway, so don’t live our life impressing other — live your life impressing yourself.”– Eunice Camacho Infante
- “A good archer is known not by his arrows but by his aim.”– Thomas Fuller
- “Go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will see farther.”– Orison Swett Marden
Go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will see farther.”– Orison Swett Marden
- “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”– Jim Rohn
- “Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.”– J. Howes
- “Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.”– David Ogilvy
- “It is not enough to take steps which may someday lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.”– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.”– Earl Nightingale
- “To reach a port, we must sail — Sail, not tie at anchor — Sail, not drift.”– Franklin Roosevelt
- “Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.”– Theodore Roosevelt
Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.”– Theodore Roosevelt
Quotes About Achieving Goals and Overcoming Obstacles
Have you ever thought about giving up on a dream when the challenges you face in achieving it seem insurmountable?
I have.
And many others have thought about quitting, too.
But the German philosopher Nietzche was correct in his observation that things that do not kill us tend to make us stronger.
Our commitment is put to the test every time a roadblock appears on the road to our dreams. It is so easy to turn back sometimes.
However, when you face and overcome challenges, you build your character and discover what you’re really made of. You will understand what kind of mindset you possess and see if it is a factor or a deterrent for success. It brings out the most authentic you.
You’d be surprised at what you are capable of.
The following quotes about achieving goals and overcoming obstacles all came from people who have valiantly faced the proverbial dragons in their own lives and came out as victors.
- “Winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try.”– Dennis DeYoung
- “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”– Theodore Roosevelt
- “If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.”– Elon Musk
- “One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.”– Jack Penn
One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.”– Jack Penn
- “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.”– Elbert Hubbard
- “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”– Steve Jobs
- “You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you have to overcome to reach your goals.”– Booker T. Washington
- “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”– Robert H. Schuller
- “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”– John Wooden
- “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”– John D. Rockefeller
- “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”– Samuel Beckett
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”– Samuel Beckett
- “Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying.”– Amelia Earhart
- “It’s better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than at the top of the one you don’t.”– Stephen Kellogg
- “The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.”– Mark Caine
- “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”– Edmund Hillary
- “Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”– Joshua Marine
Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”– Joshua Marine
Quotes about Goals, Getting Started, and Investing Time in Your Dreams
Why should you go after your dreams?
Each one of us has a unique gift that we can share with the rest of humanity. The world is a better place when you have made a difference, no matter how small you think it is.
Aside from the benefits to humanity, going after what you truly want brings a deeper meaning to your personal life. You become truly alive.
May the following quotes about goals, getting started, and investing time in your dreams give you the courage to give it a shot.
- “You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.”– Stephen King
- “It is never too late to be who you might have been.”– George Eliot
- “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”– Author Unknown
- “A goal without a timeline is just a dream.”– Robert Herjavec
- “If you have a dream, you can spend a lifetime studying, planning, and getting ready for it. What you should be doing is getting started.”– Drew Houston
- “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”– Confucius
- “Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.”– Liz Smith
Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.”– Liz Smith
- “Don’t rush the process. Good things take time.”– Unknown
- “A river cuts through a rock, not because of its power but its persistence.”– Unknown
- “Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you.”– George Whitefield
- “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”– Ernest Hemingway
- “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”– Sam Levenson
- “A year from now you may wish you had started today.”– Karen Lamb
- “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”– Bruce Lee
- “Goals are dreams with deadlines.”– Diana Scharf
- “I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”– Diane Ackerman
- “I know how it looks. But just start. Nothing is insurmountable.”– Lin-Manuel Miranda
- “You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.”– C.S. Lewis
- “To sit back and let fate play its hand out and never influence it is not the way man was meant to operate.”– John Glenn
- “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” —Earl Nightingale
- “There’s nothing better than achieving your goals, whatever they might be.” – Paloma Faith
Goals are dreams with deadlines.”– Diana Scharf
- “Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.” – LL Cool J
- “You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change.” – Les Brown
- “Goals transform a random walk into a chase.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- “To win big you sometimes have to risk big things.” – Bill Gates
- “You can do anything if you set goals. You just have to push yourself.” – RJ Mitte
- “Everyone’s dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard.” – Serena Williams
- “If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.” – Les Brown
- “The significance of a man is not in what he attains but in what he longs to attain.” – Kahlil Gibran
- “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” – Fitzhugh Dodson
- “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals—that is, goals that do not inspire them.” – Tony Robbins
- “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” – Confucius
- “If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.” – Jim Rohn
- “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” – Napoleon Hill
- “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive.” – Robert H. Schuller
- “Without some goals and some efforts to reach it, no man can live.” – John Dewey
- “All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.” – Orison Swett Marden
- “I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.” – Og Mandino
- “When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.” – Napoleon Hill
When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.” – Napoleon Hill
- “To the person who does not know where he wants to go there is no favorable wind.” – Seneca
- “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success.” – James Cameron
- “Without dreams and goals, there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here.” – Mark Twain
- “My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose – somehow we always win out.” – Ronald Reagan
- “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them.” – Og Mandino
- “All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.” – Norman Vincent Peale
- “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” – Tina Fey
- “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn
If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn
- “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Stephen A. Brennan
- “In life, the first thing you must do is decide what you really want. Weigh the costs and the results. Are the results worthy of the costs? Then make up your mind completely and go after your goal with all your might.” – Alfred A. Montapert
- “Where are the people who don't have goals headed? Those per cent end up working for the three percent.” – Shiv Khera
- “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.” – Greg S. Reid
- “A man should have any number of little aims about which he should be conscious and for which he should have names, but he should have neither name for, nor consciousness concerning, the main aim of his life.” – Samuel Butler
- “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
- “This one step—choosing a goal and sticking to it—changes everything.” – Scott Reed
- “You need lofty goals. Then cement it with a great work ethic.” – Jerry West
- “In order to know where you're headed, you must be aware of your own personal goals.” – Brian Cagneey
- “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” – Robert Browning
- “You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things — to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.” – Edmund Hillary
- “A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” – Walt Disney
- “It always seems impossible until it's done.” – Nelson Mandela
- “The real value of setting and achieving goals lies not in the rewards you receive but in the person you become as a result of reaching your goals.” – Robin Sharma
- “No desired achievement is gained without any goal setting.” – Wayne Chirisa
- “Every minute you spend in planning saves minutes in execution; this gives you a , percent return on energy!” – Brian Tracy
- “Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal.” – Elbert Hubbard
- “If you don’t know what you want, you’ll never find it.” – Ryū Murakami
- “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Edmund Hillary
- “Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success.” – David Joseph Schwartz
- “Stop setting goals. Goals are pure fantasy unless you have a specific plan to achieve them.” – Stephen Covey
- “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.” – Burmese Saying
Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.” – Burmese Saying
- “Just pick a goal and stick to it―no big complicated secret.” – Richelle B. Goodrich
- “The virtue lies in the struggle, not in the prize.” – Richard Monckton Milnes
- “We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
- “By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.” – Mark Victor Hansen
- “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Pablo Picasso
- “The world’s greatest achievers have been those who have always stayed focused on their goals and have been consistent in their efforts.” – Roopleen
- “Life is short, fragile and does not wait for anyone. There will NEVER be a perfect time to pursue your dreams and goals.” – Author Unknown
- “Rowing harder doesn’t help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.” – Kenichi Ohma
- “Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs.” – Mario Andretti
Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs.” – Mario Andretti
- “Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before.” – Polybius
- “There are two things to aim at in life; first, to get what you want, and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.” – Logan Pearsall Smith
- “Dream your own dreams, achieve your own goals. Your journey is your own and unique.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals.” – Seth Godin
- “You can't hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can't catch a fish unless you put your line in the water. You can't reach your goals if you don't try.” – Kathy Seligman
- “He who would arrive at the appointed end must follow a single road and not wander through many ways.” – Seneca
Final Thoughts on These Goal Setting Quotes
Well, we hope you enjoyed these goals quotes. Perhaps they inspired you to take action in your life and get results.
If you'd like to discover additional information on this topic, then I suggest you check out the following articles:
- The Difference Between Process and Outcome Goals
- 27 Examples of Short-Term Goals
- 25 Examples of Long-Term Goals
- 30 Affirmations for Achieving Goals
- A TED Talk by Tim Ferriss on Why “Fear Setting” is More Important Than Goal Setting
We would love to hear from you about your experiences in pursuing your dreams. Also, was there any quote that made you want to take action and start setting goals right now? Please share them in the comments below.
If any of the artworks resonated with you, a share through your favorite social media platform is greatly appreciated.
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then watch this free video that details the 7-minute habit for planning your day to focus on what's truly important to you..
Wow Awesome quotes, this is my favorite quote by Jim Rohn: “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”