99 Of The Best Motivational Quotes For Students

Being a student can be overwhelming.

That's why we want to offer some motivational quotes for students to support you through the journey of education.

You're trying to juggle work, exams, homework, making it to class on time, and having a social life.

When you're so busy, with so many demands on your time and energy, it's hard to step back and assess everything that's going on.

Only when you finally hit the wall with stress or exhaustion do you realize you may be burning the candle at both ends, making you wonder if it's all worth the effort.

Encouragement for Students

Where do you find the motivation and ambition to keep going when you feel burned out?

Sometimes you can be inspired by fellow students, a teacher or professor, or even your parents.

Having a goal for your future can give you a reason for working hard and being disciplined with your schoolwork.

But in the quiet of late night when you're alone with your thoughts and feelings, it's nice to have some words of wisdom to turn to when you're uninspired, unmotivated, or overwhelmed.

The right inspirational words at the right time can give you the boost you need to galvanize your energy and charge forward.

Here are some motivational studying quotes that you can keep handy for those times when you need a mental or emotional boost.

99 of The Best Motivational Quotes For Students

Motivational Quotes for Students' Success

Motivation and inspiration are important factors in school success. Students need to know why they are learning and feel a passion to absorb and understand the information.

Motivation is the drive that energizes a student's behavior toward success in school.

If the motivation can come from within the student, success is inevitable because of the joy and sense of satisfaction he or she will gain from learning new material.

Here are study quotes to inspire students to become intrinsically motivated to succeed.

1. “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino

2. “If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” – Thomas J. Watson

3. “You may only succeed if you desire succeeding; you may only fail if you do not mind failing.” – Philippos

4. “People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” – Tony Robbins

5. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” – Dale Carnegie

6. “To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like.” – Mike Gafka

7. “Success doesn’t come to you, you’ve got to go to it.” – Marva Collins

8. “Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” – Charles F. Kettering

9. “Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” – John Maxwell

10. “I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.” – Chinese Proverb

11. “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” – George Sheehan

12. “Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism.” – Dr. David M. Burns

13. “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

14. “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Edward Everett Hale

15. “Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.” – Virat Kohli

16. “The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.” – John C. Maxwell

17. “If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” – Nora Roberts

18. “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson

19. “If you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.” – Eric Thomas

20. “It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up.” – Vince Lombardi

21. “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

22. “Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success.” – Thomas J. Watson

23. “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn

24. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” – Vince Lombardi

Motivational Quotes for Students by Famous People

Famous people have found success and have uncovered the motivation within themselves to work toward their goals.

These motivational quotes for students from famous people can help you apply the mindsets and actions to your life as you strive to do the best you can in school.

25. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

26. “If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

27. “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success.” – James Cameron

28. “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee

29. “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

30. “I've failed over and over and over in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

31. “There will be doubters, there will be obstacles, there will be mistakes. But, with hard work, there are no limits.” – Michael Phelps

32. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller

33. “Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso

34. “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth

35. “Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel

36. “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life — think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” – Swami Vivekananda

37. “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” – David Brinkley

38. “Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey

39. “If you're not stubborn, you'll give up on experiments too soon. And if you're not flexible, you'll pound your head against the wall and you won't see a different solution to a problem you're trying to solve.” – Jeff Bezos

40. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.” – Wayne Gretzky

41. “Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash

42. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.” – Robert Collier

43. “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg

44. “Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” – John D. Rockefeller

45. “Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.” – Carl Bard

46. “Our greatest fear should not be of failure… but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.” – Francis Chan

47. “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

48. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

49. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

Motivational Study Quotes

When your friends are out having a good time, or you're just so exhausted you want to veg out in front of the TV, it's daunting to pull out the books and begin studying for hours.

Studying rarely offers immediate gratification — only long-term results. So how do you find it within yourself to buckle down and get it done? These study quotes will motivate you and get you over the hump.

50. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

51. “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

52. “Reading is to the mind, as exercise is to the body.” – Brian Tracy

53. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

54. “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

55. “Preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell

56. “Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.” – Francis Bacon


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57. “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” – Don Marquis

58. “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” – George Washington Carver

59. “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” – Stephen Hawking

60. “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” – Thomas Jefferson

61. “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” – Newt Gingrich

62. “There are no traffic jams on the extra mile.” – Zig Ziglar

63. “Believe in yourself, take on your challenges, dig deep within yourself to conquer fears. Never let anyone bring you down. You have to keep going.” – Chantal Sutherland

64. “Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.” – Stephen Hawking

65. “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” – Maria Robinson

66. “Work as hard as you can and then be happy in the knowledge you couldn’t have done any more.” – Unknown

67. “Today a reader. Tomorrow a leader.” – Anonymous

68. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi

69. “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly, a genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.” – Anonymous

70. “Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” – Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

71. “Be stronger than your excuses.” – Anonymous

72. “If people only knew how hard I’ve worked to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo

73. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar

74. “The future belongs to the competent. Get good, get better, be the best!” – Brian Tracy

Quotes for Students from Teachers

Teachers often know the best way to learn. They also know how to keep their students motivated to learn the material they are teaching.

Seeing learning from a teacher's point of view is a great way to fuel your fire to succeed in school. Here are some quotes from teachers and thought leaders on a variety of subjects that relate to motivation and success.

75. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

76. “Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life.” – Dr. APJ Kalam

77. “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer

78. “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” – Helen Hayes

79. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

80. “Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism.” – Dr. David M. Burns

81. “”The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King

82. “Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future.” – Euripides

83. “We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” – Lloyd Alexander

84. “Learning is never done without errors and defeat.” – Vladimir Lenin

85. “Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” – Chinese Proverb

86. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

87. “The real key to learning something quickly is to take a deliberate, intelligent approach to your learning.” – Lindsay Kolowich

88. “What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” – Alfred Mercier

89. “Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success.” – Shiv Khera

90. “Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up is for you alone to decide.” – Cavett Robert

91. “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” – Richard Branson

92. “Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein

93. “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” – James Joyce

94. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Confucius

95. “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited.” – Plutarch

96. “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” – Anthony J. D'Angelo

97. “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash

98. “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills

99. “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison


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How will you use these success quotes for students?

It's one thing to read these positive quotes for students, but to get the most from them, you need to find a way to put them into action. If you want these encouraging words to inspire you every day to reach your goals and succeed at school, here are some ideas:

  • Write your favorite quotes on sticky notes and post them around your room and on your desk.
  • Have a coffee mug printed with the most inspiring quote.
  • Write down your favorite quotes for students in a journal and read them daily.

No matter how you choose to use these motivational quotes for students' success, remember to let the words sink into your psyche and your heart. You can succeed beyond your wildest expectations, and these quotes should remind you of that every day.