While success looks different for everyone, there’s one constant on the path to achieving your dreams: action. You can have a comprehensive checklist or a detailed plan, but you won’t accomplish your goals if you don’t take action. Inspiring action quotes from others who have found success can give you powerful motivation to take the next step.
A sense of urgency can be one of the biggest drivers of success. Some days, action might come easily, fueled by your passion and desire to succeed. On other days, you may struggle to take the next step, especially when fear and doubt creep in.
Don’t let inaction kill your motivation―find ways to keep moving forward instead. Remember why you’ve set your goal and think about how you’ll feel when you accomplish it. You can start by exploring these actionable quotes about being ready to take initiative, overcome fears and move forward on the path to success.
“Take Action” Quotes to Motivate Your Next Steps
Without action, you can’t move forward. Taking action requires courage and perseverance, but it’s the only way to make progress toward your goals. Use these motivating “take action” quotes as inspiration to take decisive steps toward the future you want.
- “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” ―Thomas Jefferson
- “The path to success is to take massive, determined action.” ―Tony Robbins
- “Action is the antidote to despair.” ―Joan Baez
- “Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause of fear.” ―Norman Vincent Peale
- “Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” —Conrad Hilton
- “The future depends on what you do today.” —Mahatma Gandhi
- “Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.” —W. Clement Stone
- “To achieve greatness, start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.” —Arthur Ashe
Related: Quotes About Achieving Goals to Inspire and Motivate Your Journey
Actionable Quotes to Help You Move Forward With Confidence
Do you have big ideas for your business or lofty goals for your development? No matter what you want to move forward with, action can turn your dreams into reality. If you need a little push to get going, read these actionable quotes to give you motivation and confidence.
- “An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.” ―Arnold Glasow
- “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
- “There is only one proof of ability—action.” ―Marie Ebner-Eschenbach
- “Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless.” —Tim Blixseth
- “The universe doesn’t give you what you ask for with your thoughts; it gives you what you demand with your actions.” —Steve Maraboli
- “Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing.” —William Shakespeare
- “The undertaking of a new action brings new strength.” —Richard Evans
- “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.
Related: 6 Ways to Act on Your Ambition
Taking the Initiative: Quotes to Push You Out of Your Comfort Zone
It’s easy to stay in your comfort zone. But you might not know what you’re capable of achieving unless you push yourself. These “taking initiative” quotes will inspire you to go after what you want, even if it feels uncomfortable or scary. It might feel strange or hard at the moment to try something new, but you’ve got this.
- “God provides the wind, but man must raise the sails.” ―St. Augustine
- “Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission.” ―Zig Ziglar
- “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” —Lao Tzu
- “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.” —Abraham Lincoln
- “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” —Japanese proverb
- “Action is the foundational key to all success.” —Pablo Picasso
- “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
- “Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance and facing your fears.” —Gillian Anderson
Related: 50 Quotes About Strength: Words to Boost Your Inner Power
Powerful Quotes About Being Ready to Take Action
Overthinking can lead to inaction. Before you know it, years have gone by, and you’re no closer to your goals. Let these quotes motivate you to take that first step—even if you’re not entirely ready.
- “People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.” ―Lewis Cass
- “Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.” ―Baltasar Gracián
- “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” —William Butler Yeats
- “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” —John Wooden
- “The only cure for grief is action.” —George Henry Lewes
- “You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety.” —Abraham Maslow
- “Doubt can only be removed by action.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “The longer you wait for the future, the shorter it will be.” —Loesje
“Just Do It” Sayings to Reach For Success
A plan will get you far, but it won’t get you across the finish line. After all, words and plans without action won’t get the job done; success requires you to act. Sometimes we need to be ready to move at a moment’s notice so we don’t miss an opportunity. If you need a reminder to take action, turn to these quotes about taking the initiative to help drive you.
- “Let your performance do the thinking.” ―Charlotte Brontë
- “Well done is better than well said.” ―Benjamin Franklin
- “There are only two rules for being successful. One, figure out exactly what you want to do, and two, do it.” —Mario M. Cuomo
- “It is never too late to become what we might have been.” —George Eliot
- “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” —Chinese proverb
- “So many fail because they don’t get started.” —W. Clement Stone
- “You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” —Irish proverb
- “The best way to accomplish something is to just do it, and then find the courage afterward.” —George Chapman
Get Inspired To Take Action
The most successful people in history—from Charlotte Brontë to Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr.—have known that success stems from action. The next time you need a motivation boost, read through these famous action quotes to encourage yourself (or someone else) that we can’t achieve our goals without doing something. Don’t wait any longer to take that first step: you can do it. You’ll look back later and be glad you did.
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