100 Inspirational Quotes To Motivate Employees At Work

From the dreaded ‘Sunday scaries’ and taunting deadlines to the grueling daily grind, work can feel like a never-ending marathon that may leave employees feeling a little less invincible.  

Put dreary coffee breaks and dragging feet to an end with 100 inspirational quotes for the workplace. Choose from this list to ramp up employee engagement, motivation and productivity. 

Whether employees are gearing up for a major presentation, facing a project deadline, or working towards ambitious achievements, the bases are covered. These quotes touch on essential themes to inspire greatness, including preparation, confidence, success, and more. When stress and burnout lurk in the workplace, there’s also quotes that highlight the importance of rest and well-being.  

An empowered and motivated team begins with a single spark, and these quotes could be the spark that ignites an unstoppable spirit!

Motivational Quotes About Preparation

1. “If I had nine hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first six sharpening my axe.” — Abraham Lincoln 

2. “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” — Bobby Unser 

3. “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” — Stephen Keague 

4. “A strong, positive self—image is the best possible preparation for success.” — Joyce Brothers 

6. “Excellence without effort is as futile as progress without preparation.” — William Arthur Ward 

7. “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” — Oprah Winfrey 

8. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” — H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 

9. “Prepare while others are daydreaming.” — William Arthur Ward. 

10. “Long—range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.” — Peter F. Drucker.

Inspirational Quotes About Taking Risks

11. “All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.” — Michael John Bobak 

12. “No risk it, no biscuit.” — Andy Reid 

13. “Taking risks doesn’t mean shirking responsibility, but embracing possibilities.” — Vick Hope 

14. “The only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” — Mark Zuckerberg 

15. “Take risks. If you win, you’ll be happy. If you lose, you’ll be wise.” — unknown 

17. “A ship in a harbour is safe, but it’s not fulfilling its potential.” — Susan Jeffers 

18. “A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing grows there.” — John Assaraf 

19. “If you haven’t made any mistakes lately you must be doing something wrong.” — Susan Jeffers 

20. “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” — Abraham Maslow

Affirming Quotes About Rest

21. “If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” — Banksy 

22. “There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” — Alan Cohen 

23. “Real rest feels like every cell is thanking you for taking care of you. It’s calm, not full of checklists and chores. It’s simple: not multitasking; not fixing broken things.” — Jennifer Williamson 

24. “Rest and be thankful.” ― William Wadsworth 

26. “A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” ― Roald Dahl 

27. “Taking time to do nothing often brings everything into perspective.” ― Doe Zantamata 

28. “Almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.” ― Anne Lamott 

29. “Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” ― Hermann Hesse 

30. “I think it’s important to try to be present with whatever it is you’re doing. And if you can’t be present, take a break.” ― Emily Giffin

Empowering Quotes About Overcoming Obstacles

31. “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” — Moliere 

32. “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” — Chinese proverb 

33. “Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly, you’re doing the impossible.” — Francis of Assisi 

34. “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” ― George Bernard Shaw 

36. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. 

37. “Some fish love to swim upstream. Some people love to overcome challenges.” 
    ― Amit Ray 

38. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” — Bernice Johnson Reagon

39. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” — Milton Berle 

40. “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” — Henry Ford

Inspirational Quotes About Success

41. “Action is the foundational key to all success.” — Pablo Picasso 

42. “We are what we repeatedly do.” — Aristotle 

43. “The individual who says it is not possible should move out of the way of those doing it.” — Tricia Cunningham 

44. “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier 

46. “Don’t aim for success if you want it, just do what you love and believe in and it will come naturally.” — David Frost 

47. “Always work hard and have fun in what you do because I think that’s when you’re more successful. You have to choose to do it.” — Simone Biles 

48. There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed. — Ray Goforth 

49.  “Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” — Joyce Brothers 

50. Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. — Albert Einstein

Encouraging Quotes About Confidence

51. “With confidence, you have won before you have started.” — Marcus Garvey 

52. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

53. “If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” — Vincent van Gogh 

54. “Experience tells you what to do. Confidence allows you to do it.”— Stan Smith 

55. “Self—confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” — Samuel Johnson 

56. “You, yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserves your love and affection.” — Buddha 

57. “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” — Helen Keller 

59. “Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” — Peter T. Mcintyre 

60. “Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” — Laozi

Strengthening Quotes About Mindset

61. “Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges.” — Bryant McGill 

62. Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. — Henry Ford 

63. “Fixed mindset makes you concerned with how you’ll be judged; the growth mindset makes you concerned with improving.” — Carol S. Dweck 

64. “The mind is just like a muscle — the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand.” — Idowu Koyenikan 

66. “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein 

67. “Act as if it was, and it will be.” — Lailah Gifty Akita 

68. “The mind is everything. What you think you become.” — Buddha 

69. “Men search all their lives for power and fame without attaining either, because they do not recognize that the real source of both is within their own minds.” — Napoleon Hill 

70. “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” — Albert Einstein

Motivational Quotes About Hard Work

71. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” — Tim Notke 

73. “I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.” — Margaret Thatcher 

74. “You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.” — Alan Alda 

75. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” — Pele 

76. “Nothing will work unless you do.” — Maya Angelou 

77. “Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” — Donovan Bailey 

78. “The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” — Oprah Winfrey 

79. “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”  — Sam Ewing 

80. “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.” — Stephen King 

81. “Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” — Harvey Mackay

Uplifting Quotes About Goals

82. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis 

83. “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” — Tony Robbins 

84. 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 

85. “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals—that is, goals that do not inspire them.” — Tony Robbins 

87. “Goal setting is the secret to a compelling future.” — Tony Robbins 

88. “Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive.” — Robert H. Schuller 

89. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” — Albert Einstein 

90. “Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.” — Brian Tracy

Empowering Quotes About Health & Well-Being

91. “Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit — the realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of well—being.” — Greg Anderson 

92. “Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it.” — Heather Morgan 

93. “Our bodies are our gardens — our wills are our gardeners.” — William Shakespeare 

94. “No time for your health today, no health for your time tomorrow.” — Thibaut 

96. “The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic or hospital.” — Mark Hyman 

97. “Happiness is the highest form of health.” — Dalai Lama 

98. “Deep breathing is our nervous system’s love language.” — Dr. Lauren Fogel Mersy 

99. “Wellness seeks more than the absence of illness; it searches for new levels of excellence. Beyond any disease—free neutral point, wellness dedicates its efforts to our total well—being — in body, mind, and spirit.” — Greg Anderson 

100. “To ensure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.” — William Londen

Conclusion 

Sending these quotes could be as simple as incorporating them into daily communication channels, like emails, instant messaging, or team newsletters. Share a quote of the day to kickstart mornings or integrate them in meetings to uplift spirits and set the tone for success. 

For a more tangible impact, print and display these quotes throughout the workplace. Place them on bulletin boards, breakroom walls, or individual desk spaces. Let them be a constant reminder of each team member’s strength. 

Motivation is contagious. Sharing these quotes creates a ripple effect of positivity and enthusiasm, empowering the team to achieve their full potential. Witness how a simple gesture can make a profound impact!