Motivation Quotes
Top 40 Motivation
Quotes
No 1 (Best quote!)![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-townsend.jpg)
You can’t motivate people. That door is locked from the inside. You can create a climate in which most of your
people will motivate themselves to help the company to reach its objectives.,
- Robert (Bob) Townsend, pictured right, in Up the
Organization (1970).
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-herzberg.jpg)
Frederick Herzberg, pictured right, said something similar
in his 1968 Harvard Business Review article, One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?:
It is only when one has a generator of one’s own that we can talk about motivation. One then needs no outside
stimulation. One wants to do it.
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-mcgregor.jpg)
This is Douglas McGregor’s, pictured right, idea of Theory
Y, as summarized by William (Bill)
Hewlett (1919-2001), pictured right below, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard:
Men and women want to do a good job and, if they are provided the proper environment, they will do
so.![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-hewlett.jpg)
No 2![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-plato.jpg)
Man - a being in search of meaning,
- Plato (427-347 BC), Greek philosopher,
pictured right.
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-jung.jpg)
Carl Jung (1875-1961), pictured right ,
the Swiss psychiatrist, agrees:
The least of things with a meaning is worth more than the greatest of things without it.
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-thomas-acquinas.jpg)
St. Thomas Aquinas
(1225-74), the Italian philosopher, pictured right , puts it this way:
All human beings by nature desire to know (the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said something similar)
No 3![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-freud.jpg)
All that matters is love and work.
- Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Austrian
psychiatrist, pictured right.
No 4![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-mussabini.jpg)
You can’t put in what God left out.
- Sam Mussabini (1867-1927), pictured right above, coach of the English sprinter and 1924
Olympic gold medallist, Harold Abrahams, pictured right below, as seen in the film, Chariots of Fire.
No 5![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-shakespeare.jpg)
He is well paid that is well satisfied.
(Portia in The Merchant of
Venice)
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616),
English playwright, pictured right.
Remember the mid-twentieth century saying:
If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys
Four great quotes say money isn’t enough on its own:
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-smith.jpg)
It is not for its own sake that men desire money, but for the sake of what they can purchase with it
(from the 1776 book The Wealth of Nations)
- Adam Smith (1723-90),
Scottish philosopher, pictured right.
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-morita.jpg)
People need money, but they also want to be happy in their work and proud of it.
- Akio Morita (1921-1999), co-founder of Sony,
pictured right
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-gladwell.jpg)
It's not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It's whether or not our
work fulfils us.
- Malcolm Gladwell, pictured right, in Outliers
(2008)
Most things free-born will submit to anything for a salary.![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-bronte-charlotte.jpg)
(Rochester in Jane Eyre)
- Charlotte Brontë (1816-55),
English writer, pictured right
No 6![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-waterman.jpg)
People... need to feel that their organization stands for something important.
- Robert (Bob) Waterman, pictured right,in The Frontiers of
Excellence (1994) – What America Does Right (in America)
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-andrews.jpg)
So Kenneth Andrews, pictured right, in his book, The Concept
of Corporate Strategy (1971), says:
Purpose, especially if considered worth accomplishing, is the powerful incentive to accomplishment.
No 7![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-seneca.jpg)
The artist finds a greater pleasure in painting than in having completed the picture.
- Seneca (4BC-65AD), Greek
philosopher, pictured right.
No 8![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-marx.jpg)
From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
- Karl Marx (1818–83), German
philosopher, pictured right.
No 9![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-covey.jpg)
Trust is the highest form of human motivation.
- Stephen Covey, pictured right, in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People (1989)
No 10
Man shall not live by bread alone.
(Matthew 4:4 in the Bible)
- Jesus (c4 BC-c30 AD), founder of
Christianity![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-maslow.jpg)
But Abraham
Maslow (1908-70), pictured right, the American psychologist, adds:
Humans live by bread alone – when there is no bread.
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-blanchard.jpg)
No 11
People who feel good about themselves produce good results.![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-johnson-spencer.jpg)
- Kenneth Blanchard, pictured right above, and
Spencer Johnson, pictured right, in The One Minute Manager
(1982),
No 12![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-maslow.jpg)
Gratified needs are not active motivators.
- Abraham Maslow
(1908-70) American psychologist, pictured right.
No 13![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-bright.jpg)
Force is not a remedy.
- John Bright (1811–89), English politician, pictured right.
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-shakespeare.jpg)
The Duke in Shakespeare's, pictured right Measure for Measure agrees:
In time the rod becomes more mocked than feared.
No 14![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-mann.jpg)
The object of punishment is prevention from evil; it never can be made impulsive to good,
- Horace Mann (1796–1859), American educationist, pictured right.
No 15![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-tolkien.jpg)
The praise of the praiseworthy is above all reward.
(Faramir in The Lord of the
Rings)
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), English writer, pictured right.
![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-james.jpg)
William James (1842-1910),
pictured right the American psychologist and philosopher, agrees:
The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated
No 16![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-dickens.jpg)
Self-preservation is the first law of nature,
(referring to Oliver’s experience of pickpocketing in the 1838 novel Oliver Twist)
- Charles Dickens (1812-70),
pictured right, English writer.
No 17![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-cadbury-george.jpg)
Men do not want to be patronized. They want justice.
- George Cadbury (1839-1922), English chocolate
manufacturer, pictured right.
No 18![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-branson.jpg)
My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable, challenges and trying to rise above
them.
- Richard Branson (1950- ), founder of the British
company, Virgin, pictured right.
No 19![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-townsend.jpg)
Rewarding outstanding performances is important. Much more neglected is the equally important need to make sure
that the underachievers don’t get rewarded.
- Robert (Bob) Townsend, pictured right, Up the Organization
(1970)
No 20![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-greenleaf.jpg)
The work exists for the person as much as the person exists for the work,
- Robert Greenleaf, pictured right, in Servant Leadership
(1977)
No 21![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-ruskin.jpg)
In order that people may be happy in their work, three things are needed: They
must be fit for it; they must not do too much of it; and they must have a sense of success in it.
- John Ruskin
(1819-1900), English writer and artist, pictured right .
So Ruskin also comments:
The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they
become by it.
No 22![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-rowling.jpg)
Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are
open,
(Dumbledore in Goblet of Fire)
- J.K. Rowling (1965- ), English writer,
pictured right
No 23![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-adams-scott.jpg)
Employees like to feel that their contributions are
being valued. That’s why managers try to avoid that sort of thing. With value comes self-esteem and with
self-esteem comes unreason.
- Scott
Adams, pictured right, The Dilbert
Principle (1996)
Less cynically, Adams also says in the same book:
Keep your people fresh, happy and efficient. Set a target, then get out of the
way...sometimes idiots can accomplish wonderful things.
No 24![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-shakespeare.jpg)
Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.
(Iago in Othello)
- William
Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright, pictured right
Muhammad Ali (1942- ), the American boxer, pictured right, also
says:
The will must be stronger than the
skill
No 25![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-branson.jpg)
The absolute key to success is being able to motivate people and looking for the
best in people.
- Richard Branson
(1950- ), English founder of Virgin (pictured right).
No 26![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-maslow.jpg)
What a man can be, he must be.
- Abraham Maslow (1908-70), American
psychologist, pictured right.
No 27![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-monty.jpg)
Battles are won in the
hearts of men.
- Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) British World
War Two general, pictured right.
No 28![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-roosevelt-ted.jpg)
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work
worth doing.
- Theodore
Roosevelt (1858-1919), pictured right, American president.
No 29![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-cadbury-george.jpg)
Machinery creates wealth but destroys men.
- George Cadbury
(1839-1922), pictured right, English chocolate manufacturer.
No 30
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
- Walt Disney
(1901-1966), American film maker, pictured right.
No 31
Real happiness lies in the completion of work, using your own brain and
skills.
- Soichiro Honda
(1906-91), Japanese co-founder of Honda (pictured right).
No 32
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
- Steve Jobs (1955-
2011), American co-founder of Apple, pictured right
No 33
We try to use the talents we do have to express our deep feelings, to show our
appreciation of all the contributions that came before us, and to add some thing to that flow. That's what has
driven me.
- Steve Jobs (1955-
2011), American co-founder of Apple, pictured right
No 34![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-morita.jpg)
Create a family-like feeling within the corporation, a feeling that employees and
managers share the same fate.
- Akio Morita
(1921-1999), co-founder of Sony, pictured right
No 35
When love and skill work together expect a masterpiece,
- John Ruskin
(1819-1900), pictured right, English writer and philosopher
No 36![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-aristotle.jpg)
Man is a social animal.
- Aristotle (384-322 BC), Greek philosopher (pictured
right).
Aristotle also comments:
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work
No 37
Benefits should be conferred gradually, and in that way they will taste
better.
- Niccolo
Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian philosopher, pictured right.
No 38![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-voltaire.jpg)
What makes people unhappy is being made to do things against their
will.
- Voltaire (1694-1778), French writer and philosopher,
pictured right.
No 39
The actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money
machine.
- Marilyn
Monroe (1926-1962), American movie star, pictured right.
No 40![Motivation Quotes Motivation Quotes](images/quotes-drucker.jpg)
What we need is to replace the externally imposed spur of fear with an internal
self-motivation for performance.
-Peter Drucker, pictured right ,
in The Practice of Management
(1954)
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