Everyone loves meaningful and/or inspiring quotes. People hang great quote signs on their walls or post them on Facebook. I tend to write quotes that really grab me in my journal and reference them often in work situations, small groups, personal interactions, etc.
If you Google “great quotes” you’ll get 722M results. The same action with “inspiring quotes” and “leadership quotes” yields 47M and 70M, respectively.
I looked back through hundreds of quotes in my journal to find those most meaningful to me. I tried to narrow down to those quotes that go beyond offering a temporary burst of inspiration, but rather have led to real changes in my behavior. In no particular order here is my list, which could broadly be categorized by leadership, business, family and faith (and many of the quotes go across multiple categories).
“Something is fundamentally dismantling when you say the right things but have the wrong actions. That is, talk like a leader, but act like an anchor.” Kevin Myers. I find this quote applicable in work, family, friendship and faith.
“When those who are the closest to you and know you the best, love and respect you the most.” John Maxwell on the definition of success. This quote has greatly reshaped how I think about the question “what is success?”
“Quality time comes at the most unusual moments. You never know when it will happen. It usually makes an appearance somewhere in the realm of quantity time.” Steve Farrar. This quote always reminds me to be present with my family.
“Every time you make a choice you are turning the control part of you, the part that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, you are slowly turning this control thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature.” CS Lewis. Lewis was a master of packing deep content into everything he wrote.
“My fully exploited strengths will always offer more to the organization than my marginally enhanced weaknesses.” Andy Stanley. I find I most often apply this quote in a business environment.
“It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.” Billy Graham. This quote all to frequently reminds me that I focus too much on the two former jobs and not enough on the latter one.
“Idealism increases in direct proportion to one’s distance from the problem.” John Galsworthy. Anyone who has worked for a large company and takes direction from afar is familiar with this. So is a stay-at-home mom trying to manage a household with a traveling husband’s input.
“Someone living close to us will take no notice of any attempts to tell them about Christ if our lives are not demonstrating the truth of the message we claim to believe.” Unknown. A constant gut check for how I am living.
“Materialism begins where your income ends.” And “Envy begins where your influence ends.” Ed Young (I believe?). Who came into your mind first? How often do we simply need to look in the mirror?
“I doubt when I get all hung up on what is unexplainable and lose sight of what is undeniable.” Andy Stanley. Just a great quote on doubt and faith.
“A good apology has three components. (1) It’s specific. (2) Forgiveness is asked for. (3) There is no whining about the consequences.” Craig Groeschel. My children can quote this one too by now!
“God, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.” David Brainerd. A great quote to help me think bigger about what I might offer.
“Someday is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.” Tim Ferriss. I have many friends who have contemplated leaving corporate America and becoming entrepreneurs. Many suggest the timing isn’t right but it will be someday. When the right timing keeps getting pushed out, this quote often comes to mind.
“The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you probably made a hiring error or a seat error.” Jim Collins. I constantly apply this quote in the work environment.
“The interest rate on culture debt is crushingly high.” Unknown. This thought goes through my head any time I’m hiring someone, especially in a small company environment where one wrong hire can tank the entire culture.
Incidentally, none of the quotes in my list appear in the Top 100 Inspirational Quotes as determined by Forbes and Quoto. Regardless, I hope some of these inspire you and you find a place to apply them in your life.
What are your favorites quotes (i.e., the real difference makers) and why?
David McNeill 
“It is not what you look at that matters, but what you see!” Henry David Thoreau
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman; I love this quote and use it often when working with my students. So many of them think they need to be “doctors” or “lawyers” because that’s a career that their parents respect and/or because it’s a career where they will make a lot of money. But, I often try to ask them…what do you really LOVE to do?
Great post David! My favorite quote is below. Got it from my sensei years ago. This quote is right in line for me with my goal and His commandment to win people over with Christ’s love.
“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
― Stephen Grellet
“It doesn’t matter what happens, it only matters how you react to what happens.”
David, I loved all of you chosen quotes. I could have put several of them to good use in my younger days, but many of them hadn’t been formulated that far back!! I look forward to receiving your future messages, and we will make every attempt to connect with you when we visit Costa Rica.