8 Motivational Quotes for 2016 Maimonides, Mark Twain, Walt Disney. Whose words will be your personal guide?
By Zach Cutler Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The new year brings new ideas, new ventures and a fresh start. But it also brings new challenges and struggles to overcome to achieve these new goals.
Related: 50 Inspirational Quotes to Motivate You
Kickstart your own new year with a little motivation to get you started breaking through barriers and reaching your objectives in 2016:
1. 'Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it."
-- Charles R. Swindoll
Everyone is dealt a very different hand of cards. There are things that no one can control, but how the cards are played is up to each individual. Success in life is not about measuring the things that cannot be controlled, but rather about how people handle these situations and what they do in response. Plans change, unexpected disasters arise, but successful entrepreneurs control their reactions, take charge and take action.
2. 'If you can dream it, you can do it.'
-- Walt Disney
Humans possess the divine gift of creativity. We are not just actors, we are playwrights. There is nothing that can stop someone from achieving the seemingly impossible, so long as they dream it and truly believe that they can turn that dream into reality. The most successful business leaders act on those dreams, bringing their visions to life.
3. 'Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly.'
-- Proverb
The darkest part of the night comes right before the dawn. Before the light, we experience darkness; before success, we experience struggle and pain. To succeed, entrepreneurs must be broken to build themselves back up. In the same way that muscles are damaged and repaired to become stronger, hearts and souls are hurt before they can mend and improve.
4. 'Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear.'
-- Mark Twain
Fears cannot be buried -- they will always exist. But the most successful people take action in spite of those fears. Entrepreneurs charge forward, face their fears and come out on the other side stronger and better for it.
Related: 12 Ways to Find Inspiration
5. 'Where there is love there is life.'
-- Mahatma Gandhi
At the end of the day, success and achievements will not bring happiness without love. There is more to life than work, and there should be a balance between personal achievements and those that benefit others. Love your neighbors, love your friends, love your soulmate -- with all your heart. That is life.
6. 'Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.'
-- Jim Ryun
At the beginning of a project or venture, there's a flash of inspiration and then the motivation to take action. But the initial excitement will run out. Bringing an idea to reality requires intensive work, and it's not always motivating or inspired. But with an established process and patience, the work gets done. Small habits make up the larger goal.
7. 'The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.'
-- Maimonides
Life is constant motion -- we must never stagnate or freeze. But decisions can seem so big and important that we never make a decision at all, and we come to a standstill.
Making the wrong decision is better than making no decision at all. Learn from your wrong decisions to make better ones in the future, and keep moving forward.
8. 'The wound is the place where the light enters you.'
-- Rumi
Pain leads to healing, and challenges lead to strength and improvement. Parts of us must be shattered to build ourselves stronger and better than before. Although it may not always be apparent, struggles bring growth and, eventually, success.
What quotes will propel you through the new year?
Related: 30 Inspirational Quotes for Entrepreneurs (Infographic)
