If you want to become a better man, it makes sense to start by studying the lives and words of great men who’ve lived before you. When you look at quotes from great men in history, you see some interesting trends emerge:
First, many see their success stemming from simply persevering. Not succeeding at the first try—far from it—but pushing forward even when they’re facing failure.
Second, they show us the importance of mastering the “inner game”—taming their own minds and reframing situations so they could continue to fight, innovate, or just keep charging ahead.
Third, they show us that a man earns little by trying to better than someone else: as Churchill so eloquently says, true gains happen when a man is challenged to be better than his former self…while still being gracious to his fellow man.
And finally, it’s clear that great men truly embrace the habit of taking ACTION.
Here are some of my favorite inspirational quotes on being a better man. In my humble opinion, these are words every man should live by if he wants to get the most out of life.
Inspiring Quotes Every Man Should Live By
“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”
–Winston Churchill
“If you try, you risk failure. If you don’t, you ensure it.”
–Anonymous
“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”
–William Shakespeare
“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
–Henry David Thoreau
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
–Albert Einstein
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
–Ernest Hemingway
“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”
–Theodore Roosevelt
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
–Albert Einstein
“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.”
–Tim Ferriss
“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
–Dale Carnegie
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
–Norman Vincent Peale
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
–Gandhi
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
–Mark Twain
“It takes a great man to be a good listener.”
–Calvin Coolidge
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
–Mark Twain
“Action is the foundational key to all success.”
–Pablo Picasso
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
–Babe Ruth
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
–Mark Twain
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
–Lao Tzu
Want more quotes on how to be a better man? Check out this post:
101 Motivational Quotes on Being a Gentleman
I like this from Wilde: The master reveals himself when he is shown his limitations
Thanks Ivor!
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great” – Zig Ziglar.
Always been one of my favourites.
Love that one–hadn’t heard it before. Thanks Nick!
I can’t remember who this quote is from, but it is definitely one of my favourites:
“Excellence costs, but in the long run mediocrity costs far more.”
It’s so true, isn’t it! Thanks Stephen.
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
G.B. Shaw
Great addition! Thanks Gerry!
“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
–Henry Ford
So true… Thanks Cameron!
“Be not simply good, be good for something.”- Henry David Thoreau
Thanks Caleb!
“When going through Hell…..keep going”- Winston Churchill.
Great quote! Thanks Brandon.
I love this article, thank you. I’ve been keeping a list of quotes for a few years now, so I’ll add my favourites.
Cindy Crawford once said that Luck is where opportunity meets preparedness (she was quoting Roman philosopher Senaca on the Oprah show, but when you mention Cindy Crawford you have everyone’s attention)
And while on luck, Gary Player always said “the more I practice, the luckier I get”
Others I like include:
Relax, take it slow and let the good times roll – Steve Stiffler
True wealth is to be content with little – Plato
Bones heal, pain is temporary and chicks dig scars – Evel Knievel
Be the most enthusiastic person in the room – Bear Grylls’s dad
I will add to my list Henry Ford’s “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right” and Mark Twain’s “twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
I gotta say though that I dislike Mark Twain’s “it is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” I strongly believe that you should always ask questions. No matter how stupid you think you might sound, there will always be someone with the same question but lacking the courage to ask. Sure, you should also think before you talk.
Great point about asking questions–I thoroughly agree with you. It takes a big man to admit when he doesn’t know something. And it’s the best way to learn. I also think there are times–maybe they’re rare–where you can be a complete newb and ask an innocent question that can really be thought-provoking to the person you’re asking.
I’m in the military, so I also got these:
Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. Difficulties accumulate and end up producing a kind of friction this is inconceivable unless one has experienced war. Only one factor can counter friction, and a commander and his army will not always have it: combat experience – Karl van Clausewitz
I had always found it difficult to reconcile a lieutenant’s pay with a major’s tastes – Major Robert Crisp
Theory’s main practical value is that it can assist a capable man to acquire a broad outlook whereby he may be the surer his plan shall cover all the ground, and whereby he may with greater rapidity and certainty seize all factors of a sudden situation. – Julien Corbet
Nice! Hendrik, thanks for all the great additions. Cheers!
I Think that Churchill´s quote about beeing noble is in fact from Ernest Hemingway. Can You check that?
Great catch! Fixed. Thanks Gabriel!
“We must remember than one man is much the same as another, but he is best who is trained in the severest school” – Thucydides
Nice addition, Mike!
Greatest discovery of mankind, is that; a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.
Great addition, Muzi!
These are great quotes. The key is finding those that resonate. The are millions of them out there.
“There is nothing noble about being superior to your fellow man: true nobility is being superior to your former self” Just makes you realize again, you are responsible for your own life and what happens, focus on yourself and where you are going. Do the best you can to be the best you can. Thanks for a great site! Loving it.
Thanks Vincent!
Imagination is more important than knowledge – Einstein
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be lighted – Plutarch
Those are great, Monique! I especially love the second one. Thanks for the additions.
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve”
Napoleon Hill
That’s a great addition, Sintayehu!