To celebrate my birthday, I want to share something that means a lot to me. 45 quotes that have truly changed my life.
If you know me, you know I love a good quote. There's a magic in how a few words can hold so much wisdom. They offer a peek into another person's view of the world. The beauty of a quote is in its simplicity and depth—what it means can change depending on who you are and where you are in life.
These quotes come from all sorts of people, from different walks of life. Each one holds power. Each one has helped me find clarity or strength. Whenever I'm faced with challenges, I look for quotes that speak to that moment. The ones that resonate, I write down. They become part of my journal, my notebook, my life.
I have so many I wanted to share but these are the ones that really stood out.
45 Quotes that have inspired me over the last 45 years.
“Logic and imagination will get you from A to B, Imagination will take you everywhere.”
— Albert Einstein
"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new."
— Socrates
“The best way to create the future is to create it.”
— Abraham Lincoln
“There is no remedy for love, but to love more.”
— Henry David Thoreau
“Less but better.”
— Greg McKoewn
“Simplicity. Patience. Compassion. These are your greatest treasures.”
— Lao Tzu
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
— Hans Hoffmann
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
— Gautama Buddha
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
— Aristotole
“There is still art. There is still hope.”
— Bob and Roberta Smith
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
— Dolly Parton
“I took a walk in the woods and can out taller than the trees.”
— Henry David Thoreau
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
— Hellen Keller
“We delight in the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
— Maya Angelou
“In the midst of darkness, light persists.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“We can only love others as much as we love ourselves.”
— Brené Brown
“Wisdom begins in Wonder.”
— Socrates.
“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.”
— William Plomer
“Instructions for living life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”
— Mary Oliver
“Creativity does not wait for that perfect moment.
It fashions it own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.”
— Bruce Garrabrandt
“The more you are like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which make you unique.”
— Walt Disney
“Remember wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”
— Paul Coelho
“What you seek is seeking you.”
— Rumi
“The future depends on what you do today.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
— Aristotle
“Our lives are the sum total of the choices we’ve made.”
— Wayne Dyer
“All you need is love.” The Beatles
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
— Coco Chanel.
“Less is more.”
— Ludwig Miles Van Der Rohe
“Reading is a means of thinking with another person’s mind;
it forces you to stretch your own.”
— Charles Scribner
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
— Vivian Greene
“There is only two ways to live your life. One as if everything is a miracle.
The other as though everything is a miracle.”
— Albert Einstein.
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”
— Dr Seuss
“Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path.”
— Zen Proverb
“Success is liking yourself. Liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
— Maya Angelou
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
— Maya Angelou
“Freedom lies in being bold.”
— Robert Frost
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The best think about memories is making them.”
— Unknown
“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”
— Neil Gaiman
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.”
— Ambrose Redmoon
“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions. So, what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”
— Mark Victor Hansen
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
— George Bernard Shaw
“In the end, just three things matter. How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go.”
— Jack Kornfield
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."
— Arthur Ashe
“Greatness isn’t about the big things; it’s about the small things done well.”
— Rick Rubin
"An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."
— Henry David Thoreau
These words have guided me. I hope they inspire you too.
Over the years, I've found joy in writing my own inspiring words and turning them into art with meaning. My latest creative challenge is making me see these words in a new way. I'm excited to create new art soon. Watch this space.
Thank you for reading. I write to learn, and I hope you learnt something too.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
You can now order my book Wonder Journey Joy - A simple guide to live with intention, clarity and confidence.
P.S. Inspiration from my notebook.
Welcome to the space where curiosity sparks confidence and creativity opens a new world. I'm Judy, your guide on this vibrant journey. An optimist at heart, I wear many hats—Agency Founder. Creative Director. Artist. Writer—I write to think. I create to inspire. Here, I distil insights on cultivating confidence, clarity of purpose, setting intentions, harnessing creativity, and personal branding into an inspiring blend. Want a nudge towards your best, most creative self? Subscribe today. Join me on a journey of wonder.
Happy birthday! 🎉 Great quotes!
Happy Birthday and thanks for these - some old favourites and some new ones for me. Loving the crochet backgrounds too!