Image by: sharyn morrow
By Michael Sterling

Everyone needs a little dose of inspiration in the morning, especially when you’re dealing with the fast-paced life of business. When there’s so many negative voices around you, it can be difficult finding some solace inside yourself. Take a moment to read these motivational work quotes, and remind yourself of your worth. 

• #1) Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. –Steve Jobs

Many times, as businessmen, we compare our career to others when we should really be focused on creating out own path. No man has gained success by being a copycat. Be the one who gets emulated, not the one doing the emulating.

• #2) Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein

Talent matters more than data. It is the talent, the passion, and the enthusiasm which create our foundation in any industry. It’s what our consumers, coworkers, and colleagues remember us by. If we want to be a man that is worked well for and with, we must know our worth. .

• #3) You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. –Wayne Gretzky

When there’s no risk, there’s no discovery. Playing it safe is only for the weak-minded. It takes strength and courage to take your own path. Too many times, we are told that “this is how things ought to be,” when in reality, it should only be a blue print towards creating a new trajectory.

• #4) Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. –Babe Ruth

It’s impossible to succeed without failing at something. It’s in failure that we learn, grow, and ripen our skills. Unless you’ve failed, you will have direction towards a more correct pathway.

• #5) If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. –Tony Robbins

Repeating the same mistakes is a common thing all professionals do. When something isn’t working, we must try a new strategy. Those who continue to play on a losing ticket will forever remain just that, a loser. Branch out new horizons. Calculate what it was that failed, and start anew.

• #6) Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. –Pablo Picasso

Being in the adult world will often make things more intellectual than they need to be. In reality, no one gets anywhere by thinking too much. Creativity is stemmed from intuition, not intellect. The more we are able to tap into this attribute, the more likely we are to attain powerful, new, and original ideas.

• #7) 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

Our actions speak louder than words. This is the basic idea behind empathy. Unless we’re striving towards making our coworkers and consumers feel appreciated and acknowledged, our work becomes selfish, and no one grows their company when they’re focused on themselves.

• #8) Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. –George Addair

It takes courage to fight your fear. This is the definition of bravery. Self-doubt is an epidemic that is floating around in the business world, and it’s slowly bringing down the brightest men with the most potential. If we live in fear, someone else is going to eventually take our ideas as their own, and we’ll be left where we’ve been all along.

• #9) When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. –Lao Tzu

No one defines you but you. Your strategy, your work ethic, and your skills are what makes you unique. Industries change every single day, and we must change along with them. Never settle for being a 2-dimensional person.

• #10) The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. –Walt Disney

The first step in creating productivity is to write the first sentence. The opening to anything is the hardest thing to start, but once it’s there, the seed will be planted and everything else will naturally reveal itself. Don’t let great ideas bubble inside your head for too long. Make the first move.