The Best Life Quotes and Sayings to Live By

Life quotes and sayings can give us a perspective on our own life that we may have not seen before. Life is something that we all get to experience. For some, it’s an exciting journey filled with wonder and joy. For others, it’s a long road with many setbacks and obstacles. No one really knows the meaning of life for sure but here are some quotes that will hopefully help you make yours the best experience possible. If you have any quotes about life you’d like to recommend, please add it down below. Enjoy!

“Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.”

– Hilary Cooper


“Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good.”

– Mr. Feeny (Boy Meets World)


“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”

– Oprah Winfrey

When things are going great, plenty of people will stand by you but it’s the people who will stand by you even when things aren’t going great who count. These are the people who will cheer you on and encouraging you during the toughest times. These are the types of people you want in your life.


“A day without a laugh is a wasted day.”

– Charles Chaplin

There are times to take life seriously but remember that if happiness is what you’re after, achieving it can be as easy as adding more laughter into your life.


“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

– Oprah Winfrey

Success breeds success. Happiness breeds happiness. The more you are of what you want, the more of what you want will be a part of who you are.


“Let your life mean something. Become an inspiration to others so that they may try to do more and to become more than they are today.”

– Thomas D. Willhite

All the struggles you go through to obtain your most desired goal will be worth it when you realize your success doesn’t just stop with you. It can create a ripple effect that can positively change the lives of thousands or even millions of people.


“Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time.”

– Leo Buscaglia

Life is not predetermined. Nothing is written in stone. You can make your life turn out however you want.


“Life is a game. In order to have a game, something has to be more important than something else. If what already is, is more important than what isn’t, the game is over. So, life is a game in which what isn’t, is more important than what is. Let the good times roll.”

– Werner Erhard


“A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.”

– Rita Mae Brown

Instead of waiting for life to happen to you and then reacting to it in a hectic manner, take control of it by being proactive.


“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”

– Einstein

Do good because you feel it’s the right thing to do.


“Whether we’re prepared or not, life has a habit of thrusting situations upon us.”

– Lucille Ball

Prepare for the challenges that life will throw at you. It doesn’t matter if you’re ready for it or not, it’s coming. You could be a smart student who got a bad test score because you didn’t study but in the eyes of the grader, it doesn’t matter what your excuse is. What matters is your results.


“I am living dying, when I should be dying living.”

– Kersti Bryan

You can live to 100 years old and still not truly live a day in your life. Don’t be a walking corpse waiting to be buried. Grab life and embrace it. Do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Enjoy your life while you’ve still got it.


“Every second that you live you are never going to get back. You are never going to get to change what you said, didn’t say, did, or didn’t do. Live how you want to live. Act how you want to be remembered, because you never know how long or short you are going to be here.”

– Emily Doberstein


“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”

– Will Rogers

If you had live cameras on you 24/7, how would you live your life differently?


“If you live just for today, to make today the most successful, happy day of your life, I am sure that you will have an extraordinary life. A successful life is nothing more than a series of successful days.”

– Unknown

Experiencing a happy or successful life simply comes down to having happy or successful days so focus on what you can do today to create the life that you want.


“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

– Ashely Smith

The life you experience will largely depend on what you notice and focus on. Whether good or bad, it’s up to you.


“We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.”

– Calvin & Hobbes

The present moment is all you have, all you can control, all you can really experience so learn to enjoy the now.


“Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously.”

– Og Mandino


“Love Life. Do Good. Live Well.”

Kevin Ngo

Life is truly a gift, treasure it. Make a positive difference in the world, however small. Take care of yourself physically and financially so you have the energy and the means to enjoy our life and help those around you.


“Just because you are seventy is no excuse to give up and let others make your decisions for you. The fact that you are still alive is reason enough to believe that you are here for a purpose; and that purpose is to learn, to teach, and to GIVE.”

– Thomas D. Willhite

Until the day you die, live!


“No matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be, you are special, and you still have something unique to offer. Your life, because of who you are, has meaning.”

– Barbara De Angelis


“There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.”

– Logan Pearsall Smith

Remember when you used to want the things you now have? Learn to be appreciate everything that is in your life. This doesn’t mean to be content with what you have. It just means to remember some of the things you now have in your life once excited you.


“I have noticed that folks are generally about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Happiness is a choice that you make each and every day. If you’re unhappy right now, realize that you chose to feel this way.


“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin… But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”

– Alfred Souza

Don’t let life get in the way of getting the things you want. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day errands of life and continue to put of your dreams so make an effort to stay focused on what you want.


“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”

– Mary Ann Radmacher


“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

– Tom Bodett

There’s no better teacher than life. Try. Whether you fail or succeed, it will be an experience.


“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”

– Robert Byrne

You have a choice of living an aimless life or living a purposeful life. You choose.


“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

Life can be scary at times. You can either hide in a dark corner and wait until time takes your life away or you can make the best of it while you’re still here.


“Whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery.”

– Anne Frank


“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”

– Earl Nightingale-


“The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.”

– Elbert Hubbard-

Preparation is important but it can also paralyze you. Taking action alone can teach you a lot of things by giving you experience whether good or bad.


“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

– Annie Dillard-

Your life experience is just an accumulation of your daily experiences. Want to create a more fulfilling life? Start by creating more fulfilling days.


“Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”

Anthony Robbins


“Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.”

– Corita Kent


“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”

– Danny Kaye

Life is to be experienced. Put yourself out there. Do things you’ve never done. Live a life where at the end, you will have no regrets.


“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.”

– Isak Dinesen

Most of the things people worry about are things that won’t even matter to them a few months from now.


“Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.”

– Shari R. Barr

The only thing that you can really expect out of life is that no matter what kind of person you are, there will be good times and there will be bad times.


“If you want to make life easy, make it hard.

– Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

When you are a type of person who is on top of things, who does what needs to be done, who puts in the hard work, who avoids taking the easy way out, you create a strong mentality, one that can withstand just about any blow life can throw at you. If you aren’t that type of person, even the slightness nudge from life can be enough to knock you over.


“These then are my last words to you. Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.”

– William James-


“Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it.” – Charles Swindoll

The bad things in life happen to everyone. Don’t let what happens to you determine how your life will play out. Rely on your reactions to what happens to you instead. When you’re faced with life challenges, you can either throw in the towel and spend the rest of your complaining about how unfair life has been to you or you can take action and use those challenges as fuel to fight for the life you want to live.


In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

– Lao-tzu-


“Some days life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we should dance.”

– Unknown-


“One day at a time – this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.”

– Ida Scott Taylor-


“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Life isn’t about how long you live, life is about how much fun you have while you’re living.


“Learn from the past, live for today, work for the future.”

– Stefan Rudolph-


“Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back.”

– Arthur Rubinstein

What you put out comes back to you. If you want more good in your life, do more good.


“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”

– Gerard Way

Just like how you wouldn’t want to sit through an uneventful movie, you probably wouldn’t want to reach the end of your life and realize how little of it is worth remembering. Use the time you have left, no matter how much time you may feel you have already wasted, to make the remainder of your time here worth remembering.


“Certain things in life simply have to be experienced and never explained. Love is such a thing.”

– Paulo Coelho


“Life doesn’t get better until you get better.”

– Unknown

Often times, when life isn’t going our way, we spend far too much time complaining about how life isn’t going our way and complain even more when it doesn’t magically change for the better on its own. If your life is headed in the wrong direction, don’t just sit there complaining about it. Figure out a way to turn things around. Grab the steering wheel and direct your life in the direction you want it to go.

You might also like the Life Lessons Page where you’ll find over 600 lessons submitted by people from all over the world.

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