80+ Best Action Quotes To Motivate You Into Action

Monisha Kochhar
Dec 12, 2023 By Monisha Kochhar
Originally Published on Jan 11, 2021
Boy riding on roller skates at outdoor skate park

Some days we stagnate at work or school, can’t drag ourselves to the gym, or cook a healthy dinner.

Whether you’re on the fence about getting into a new line of business or simply need the motivation to complete an unfinished project, you can find them in the wise words of many, many individuals. Some lack of action quotes and sense of urgency quotes might do you good.

They knew how important it was to walk the walk. Their action inspirational quotes have probably been ringing vaguely at the back of your head every time you procrastinate over an assignment.

Their call to action is familiar, and when you’re stuck in a rut, some powerful taking chance quotes are always useful.

You may also check actions speak louder than words quotes for a quick kick of motivation. Here are some powerful action quotes that will help you drag yourself out of whatever hole you’ve dug to hibernate and send you snowballing into action!

Powerful Quotes

Some quotes to take action resonate with us so deeply, they can redirect all our passive energies into one giant rampage of work. Here are our quotes about taking action now, that will encourage you to get on with whatever is binding you.

1.“He who fears he will suffer, already suffers because he fears.”

— Michel De Montaigne

2.“Action is the antidote to despair.”

— Joan Baez

3.“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.”

— Peter Marshall

4. “Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.”  

— G.K. Nielson

5. “No one builds a legacy by standing still.”

― Oscar Auliq-Ice

6.“Either you run the day or the day runs you.”

— Jim Rohn

7.“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”

— Thomas Edison

8.“Good luck is another name for tenacity of purpose.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

9.“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

—Mahatma Gandhi

Motivational Quotes

Whether you need to get out of bed for a meeting, for a school project pitch, or simply to convince your mother you’re being proactive, here are some brilliant motivational quotes about taking action, to get you moving.

10.“Motivation gets you going and habit gets you there.”

—Zig Ziglar

11.“Stop complaining and do something... Shut up! Rise up! Grow up! And show up! See you at the top!”

― Israelmore Ayivor

12.“Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.”  

—Baltasar Gracian

13.“Put a grain of boldness into everything you do”    

—Baltasar Gracian

14.“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.”

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

15.“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”

— Muhammad Ali

16.“I never lose. Either I win or learn.”

— Nelson Mandela

17. “Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.”

—Benjamin Disraeli

18.“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”

— Alexander the Great

19. “Effort increases action. Action creates momentum. Momentum creates success.”

—Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

Call To Action Quotes

Even if you’re prepared to take action as a Spartan getting to the battlefield, your brain might be waiting for the bugle blasts before you attack. Here are some cool quotes about words and actions now that will help you jump right into your work.

20.“The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.”

— Jacob Bronowski

21.“Your genuine action will explain itself, and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

22.“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

— Chinese Proverb

23.“Wealth does not count; words do not count; actions count!”

― Dada J. P. Vaswani

24. “If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”

— Jim Rohn

25. "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do."

— Leonardo da Vinci

26."Nothing will work unless you do."

— Maya Angelou

27."Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”

— Thomas Jefferson

28. “A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”

— Confucius  

29.“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put the plan into action.

— Napoleon Hill

30.“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.”

— John F. Kennedy

31.“You don’t get results by focussing on results. You get results by focussing on the actions that produce results.”

— Mike Hawkins

Encouraging Action Quotes

When you’re trying, failure is inevitable sometimes. The truth is, success is often the lesser brick that paves the path to your goals. But that means there’s all the more reason to keep going—  and we’re ready to furnish you with encouragement! Here are some quotes to encourage action that might fire you up.

32.“Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

33.“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

34.“Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, sauté it, whatever. MAKE.”

— Joss Whedon

35.“Failure is the tuition you pay for success.”

–Walter Brunell

36.“Thoughts do more. Words to much. Actions do much more.”

― Israelmore Ayivor

37.“Just as any gem is polished by friction, I am certain to become more valuable through this day's adversities”

—Og Mandino

38."What other people label or might try to call failure, I have learned is just God's way of pointing you in a new direction"

—Oprah Winfrey

39.“As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears.”

— Rumi

40.“Doubt can only be removed by action.”

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

41.“There is no substitute for hard work. Never give up. Never stop believing. Never stop fighting.”

— Hope Hicks

42. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

— Lao Tzu

43.“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”

— John F. Kennedy

44.“People judge you on your performance, so focus on the outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

—Steve Jobs

Inaction Quotes

There’s a theory somewhere that a little bit of salt helps sugar taste sweeter. Sometimes, we need to hear about the negative consequences so we’re motivated to stay on track and take action.

Inaction is poison— especially if it leaves you lethargic and stagnated to get on with your work. Don’t fall prey to it, and we’ll tell you why. Here are some quotes about not taking action that should inspire you to take action!

45.“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”

— Zig Ziglar

46.“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

— Dale Carnegie

47. "You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind."

— Irish Proverb

48.“A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”

— Tony Robbins

49.“When the actions becomes frequent than the words, success becomes heavier than the dreams. Do more, say less.”

― Israelmore Ayivor

50. “Impossible is just an opinion.”

—Paulo Coelho

51.“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.”

—Lemony Snicket, 'The Ersatz Elevator'.

52.“Words are meaningless, when actions are worthless”

― Christine E. Szymanski

53.“It’s your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you”

— Rumi

54.“Words may show a man’s wit, but actions his meaning.”

— Benjamin Franklin

55.“The perils of overwork are slight compared to the dangers of inactivity.”

— Thomas Edison

56.“Men will lie on their backs, talking about the fall of man and never make an effort to get up.”

—Henry David Thoreau, 'Life Without Principle'

57.“The fears we don’t face become our limits.”

— Robin Sharma

58.“Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.”

—Mark Twain

Quotes About Inspiration

So you have motivation; but are you biting your nails wondering what to do, now that you know how? Well, here are some quotes about actions over words from those who found inspiration, as words mean nothing without action.

Truth be told, some of them were bonkers, so don’t be too worried if you find yours in a dumpster fire.

Besides, inspiration cannot be separated from habit when it comes to action, so don’t let it become an excuse for inaction. Here are some inspirational quotes about taking action for you to read.

59.“Repetition is the mother of skill.”

—Tony Robbins

60.“He who has put forth his total strength in fit actions, has the richest return of wisdom.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

61. “What should move us to action is human dignity: the inalienable dignity of the oppressed, but also the dignity of each of us. We lose dignity if we tolerate the intolerable.”    

— Baltasar Gracian

62.“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

— Walt Disney

63. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

― Helen Keller

64.“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”  

— James Sherman

65.“I want to put a dent in the universe.”

— Steve Jobs

66. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

— Aristotle

67.“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

— Michael Jordan

68.“One way to remember who you are is to remember who your heroes are.”

— Steve Jobs

Quotes About Trying

Aren’t we all trying? No matter what we do, success and failure are only brief stretches of rest on the long journey that is trying.

But many claim that the journey’s the reward, and so far, we don’t dispute it. Here are some amazing quotes for taking action that will remind your why it’s important to keep trying— no matter what.

69. "You’ll miss 100% of the shots if you don’t take any.”

— Wayne Gretzky

70. “Preach! Write! Act! Do anything, save to lie down and die!”

— Hester, Chapter 17, 'The Scarlet Letter'

71.“Take action, an inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.”

— Steve Maraboli

72.“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”

— Ralph Waldo

73.“If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can’t hear them anymore.”

— Michele Ruiz

74.“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried but you’ve actually been planted.”

— Christine Caine

75.“Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you did not do than the ones you did.”

— Mark Twain

76.“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.”

— Jim Rohn

77. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

— William James

78.“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.”

—Seneca

79.“Joy lies in the fight, in the attempt, in the suffering involved, not in the victory itself.”

—Mahatma Gandhi

80.“A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake.”

— Confucius

81.“Whatever the mind of a man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”  

-Napoleon Hill, 'Think And Grow Rich'

This action quote is perhaps one of the best quotes of all times. It encourages, inspires, and motivates the reader to do and finally achieve anything and everything that one sets the mind on.  

Here at Kidadl,we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy. If you liked our suggestions for 80+ Quotes To Motivate You Into Action, then check out Winning quotesand You Got This quotes. We’re sure you’ll love them as well!

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Written by Monisha Kochhar

Bachelor of Arts Hons specializing in Modern Languages (French and Spanish)

Monisha Kochhar picture

Monisha KochharBachelor of Arts Hons specializing in Modern Languages (French and Spanish)

A Modern Languages graduate from the University College London, Monisha with a passion for travel and exploring different cultures. She is fluent in French and Spanish and is currently learning Hindi. Monisha enjoys discovering new foods and is an avid sports fan, following soccer and Formula 1. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis and watching TV shows.

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