Every coach will tell you that everyone needs a coach.
Most coaches have a coach.
Coaching allows us to fully process what is in our heads, and everyone can benefit from these uplifting human beings. A coach will stand in your corner and show you what you are capable of in life.
Who, exactly, seeks out a coach? If you ask a coach the answer is usually the same: Winners who want even more out of life.
Abigail Pickus, 2000, para. 15
This article is a collection of quotes to inspire coaches and their clients. Quotes are usually uplifting, abundant, and helpful in the thought-provoking process of coaching.
Use these to motivate, excite, and provoke more thought for you and those around you. Let them inspire you to ignite the changes that need to be made to get you to a state of flourishing.
Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free. These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.
We can all fall victim to self-serving bias. Life coaching allows us to be open to the connectedness between us all. Infusing positivity into intentions and actions creates more space for personal thriving and achievement in all aspects of life.
The powerful process of coaching enables the inspiration to ignite change. With all of the plentiful distractions of modern life, a great life coach will help their clients develop clarity. Those who have clarity around purpose, personal values, and personal priorities can, in turn, interact with the world as their highest self.
A life coach does for the rest of your life what a personal trainer does for your health and fitness.
Elaine MacDonald
Only when your consciousness is totally focused on the moment you are in can you receive whatever gift, lesson, or delight that moment has to offer.
Barbara de Angelis
Life’s short. Live passionately.
Marc A. Pitman
It takes someone with a vision of the possibilities to attain new levels of experience. Someone with the courage to live his dreams.
Les Brown
You cannot stop negative thoughts from coming into your mind, but you can make sure they leave as quickly as they enter.
Mpamah, 2013, p. 133
When you encourage others, you in the process are being encouraged because you’re making a commitment to that person’s life. Encouragement really does make a difference.
Zig Ziglar
Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes.
Jung, as cited in Adler & Jaffe, 1973, p. 33
Opportunities don’t knock, they whisper. So shut up and listen.
Thomas Leonard
I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
Maslow, 1966, pp. 15-16
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
These quotes ring true because life coaching is a holistic process of change. When a person can examine the changes they need to make, their whole life will be influenced. Anyone wanting to make a change could benefit from these perspectives.
Motivational Coaching Quotes
Motivation must be sparked from within. Great coaches ask broad enough questions for their clients to explore what is most important to them. Knowing that there are many different psychological theories of motivation, a well-informed coach can help clients to better understand themselves.
Higher levels of achievement will inevitably follow the hierarchy of needs, and creating goals that adhere to these various levels will better enable a client to reach what they need. With Maslow’s theory in mind, motivation can look like a checklist that opens doors to higher levels with each achievement. Action begets action.
There are no failures–just experiences and your reactions to them.
Krause, 2012, p. 257
If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.
DeVito, as cited in Sudbrink, 2015, p. 115
It is action that creates motivation.
Steve Backley
In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, “Oh, I’m going to reveal my weaknesses,” you say, “Wow, here’s a chance to grow.”
Dweck, 2012
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Walsh, 2010, introduction
Being ourselves means sometimes having to find the courage to stand alone, totally alone.
Brown, 2017, para. 3
A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings. Always believe in yourself.
Charlie Wardle
These quotes ring true because change is not easy, especially in the beginning. Just ask anyone starting a new workout regimen. It hurts! Motivation is subjective, but getting out of our own way and embracing failure as part of success can ignite so many in moving forward.
There’s an interesting movement in self-help about harnessing philosophical genius to shape the lives of modern people. These quotes have stood the test of time.
They are universal and show that no matter how technologically advanced humanity becomes, progress will always depend on how Chris Peterson summarized positive psychology: “Other people matter.”
Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
Aristotle, as cited in Bacon, 1858, p. 289
Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly.
Plutarch, as cited in Maxwell & Dornan, 2013, p. 64
I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Thoreau, 1892, pp. 498-499
He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.
Plato, 2022
The unexamined life is not worth living.
Socrates, 1979, p. 217
Even while they teach, men learn.
Seneca the Younger, as cited in Adair, 2011, p. 265
The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.
Thucydides, as cited in Templeton, 2008, p. 3
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
Epictetus
A great nation is like a great man: When he makes a mistake, he realizes it. Having realized it, he admits it. Having admitted it, he corrects it. He considers those who point out his faults, as his most benevolent teachers. He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts.
Lao Tsu, as cited in Ji, 2016, p. 61
These great thinkers faced dangers that modern people cannot fathom, yet they knew the value of their words. The simplicity of bravery and the understanding of greatness ring true today.
For life satisfaction to improve, all humans need to embrace the deep understanding that vision, purpose, and mindful understanding of each other are necessary parts of the process of self-mastery.
10 Executive Coaching and Business Quotes
Many executives and business coaches can inspire from experience and gritty attitudes. It is widely believed that personal success comes from a place of grit.
Angela Duckworth’s work is undoubtedly inspiring, even if it has its scientific limitations. If someone seeking success can leave behind social comparison and be “gritty” in private, it could ignite progress and allow for maintained wellbeing along the path.
Success is hard work and often requires sacrifice. Being attuned to what is allowed to be sacrificed is vital to the realization of success. Defining that success is tremendously subjective and must be factored into your path to “greatness.”
Nobody wants to show you the hours and hours of becoming. They’d rather show the highlight of what they’ve become.
Duckworth, 2016, p. 135
Habits are like financial capital – forming one today is an investment that will automatically give out returns for years to come.
Achor, 2010
Incremental change is better than ambitious failure. … Success feeds on itself.
Schwartz, as cited in Ben-Shahar, 2007, p. 9
If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in or open to your feedback.
Brown, 2018, p. 20
Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.
Whitmore, 2017
Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain.
Henry Ford
Business opportunities are like buses. There’s always another one coming.
Branson, as cited in Guillebeau, 2016, p. 21
Growth and comfort don’t coexist.
Rometty, as cited in Nusca, 2014, para. 1
Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.
Samuel Johnson
We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes–understanding that failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of success.
Huffington, as cited in Newman, 2019, p. 27
It is fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
Gates, as cited in Newman, 2019, p. 27
The business world is tough and requires a particular type of resilience. No business mogul was made overnight. Perhaps the grit that they have in going after goals surpasses that of the average person.
Regardless, the mindsets and perspectives of successful people can help inspire those who are at the beginning of a business journey. Developing the grit and the acceptance of inevitable pitfalls can help people reach their goals.
A Look at Quotes on Career Coaching
Finding the right fit in a career is sometimes a lifelong pursuit. While financial needs vary, finding purpose in your vocation seems to be universal. Whether you’re cleaning a hospital or providing treatment to patients, having a perspective of how much your work matters makes an overall difference in how you show up at your job.
Careers develop over time and flourish in a state of purpose. Each vocation has a path, and finding one that both fulfills and pays the bills can be elusive. In any career though, knowing where you want to be can help you develop stronger career goals.
The crowning fortune of a man, is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, – whether it be to make baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statues, or songs.
Emerson, 1866, p. 422
Let me fall if I must fall. The one I become will catch me.
Baal Shem Tov
I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.
Holtz, as cited in Williams & Denney, 2008, p. 87
Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it.
Lucas, as cited in Demetrakis, 2010, p. 42
The test of success is not what you do when you’re on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.
General George Patton
If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.
Andrew Carnegie
This is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
Shaw, as cited in Smith, 2005, p. 165
When people fully realize their values, adhere to them, and pursue a career from that focus, the purpose is less elusive. Using strengths and personal values in a career can create a more fulfilling outcome. These quotes ring true for the fulfilled career seeker.
17 Top-Rated Positive Psychology Exercises for Practitioners
Expand your arsenal and impact with these 17 Positive Psychology Exercises [PDF], scientifically designed to promote human flourishing, meaning, and wellbeing.
The term natural leader is somewhat of a misnomer. Leadership is learned, and it must also be earned. There are countless leadership training options across the globe. Good leaders often adhere to the notion that leading properly is about other people.
To build a strong team, you must see someone else’s strength as a complement to your weakness, and not a threat to your position or authority.
Caine, 2016
Good leadership isn’t about advancing yourself. It’s about advancing your team.
John C. Maxwell
Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.
Rockefeller, as cited in Erçetin, 2018, p. 285
A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.
Carter, as cied in Goldin, 2018, para. 2
In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people … they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.
Blanchard, as cited in Antal, 2021, p. 27
Extraordinary people are ordinary people making extraordinary decisions.
Sharon Pearson
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
African proverb
I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.
Alexander the Great, as cited in Chambers, 2019, p. 114
Great leaders know how to listen, stay open to possibility, and create trust with the people they are leading. These quotes encapsulate the essence of what a true leader does. The greatest leaders act with integrity that never needs to be questioned.
Top 10 quotes on coaching - Gracious Quotes
A Take-Home Message
If at first you don’t succeed, try doing what your coach told you to do the first time.
Unknown, but funny
Coaches have a unique and special role in serving others. Quotes can be powerful words to live by and used to develop a growth mindset. Many brilliant individuals have imparted their wisdom so that others may follow.
Quotes inspire and can shape pathways to success with unique voracity. Choose one that personally resonates and keep it with you. It can serve as a mantra for personal growth.
Achor, S. (2010). The happiness advantage: How a positive brain fuels success in work and life. Currency.
Adair, J. (2011). The John Adair lexicon of leadership: The definitive guide. Kogan Page.
Adler, G., & Jaffé, A. (Eds.). (1973). Letters of C. G. Jung. Volume 1, 1906–1950. Routledge.
Antal, J. (2021). Leadership rising. Casemate.
Bacon, F. (1858). Of friendship. In R. Whatley (Ed.), Bacon’s essays: With annotations (4th ed.). John W. Parker and Son.
Ben-Shahar, T. (2007). Happier. McGraw Hill.
Brown, B. (2017, September 11). Finding our way to true belonging. Retrieved May 14, 2021, from https://ideas.ted.com/finding-our-way-to-true-belonging/
Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. Random House.
Caine, C. [@ChristineCaine]. (2016, February 5). To build a strong team you must see someone else’s strength as a complement to your weakness not a threat to your position or authority [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/ChristineCaine/status/695680295236870144.
Chambers, A. (2019). Lead yourself to success: Ordinary people achieving extraordinary results through self-leadership. Wiley.
Demetrakis, C. L. (2010). Faith to conquer fear: Inspiration to achieve your dreams. iUniverse.
Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner.
Dweck, C., (Guest). (2012). The right mindset for success (No. 283) [Audio podcast episode]. In HBR IdeaCast. Harvard Business Review.
Emerson, R. W. (1866). The complete works of Ralph Waldo Emerson comprising his essays, lectures, poems, and orations (vol. II). Bell & Daldy.
Erçetin, S. S. (Ed.). (2018). Chaos, complexity and leadership 2016. Springer.
Goldin, K. (2018, October 1). Great leaders take people where they may not want to go. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/karagoldin/2018/10/01/great-leaders-take-people-where-they-may-not-want-to-go/.
Guillebeau, C. (2016). Born for this: How to find the work you were meant to do. Crown Business.
Ji, L. L. (2016). Ancient Chinese wisdom. UB Tech.
Krause, T. (2012). Inspirations. In J. Canfield, M. V. Hansen, & K. Kirberger (Eds.), Chicken soup for the teenage soul III: Simon and Schuster.
Maslow, A. H. (1966). The psychology of science: A reconnaissance. Harper & Row.
Maxwell, J. C., & Dornan, J. (2013). How to influence people: Make a difference in your world. Maxwell Motivation.
Mpamah, N. (2013). The art of achievement and fulfillment: Fundamental principles to overcome obstacles and turn dreams into reality! Balboa Press.
Newman, A. (2019). Building leadership character. SAGE.
Nusca, A. (2014, October 7). IBM’s Rometty: ‘Growth and comfort don’t coexist.’ Fortune. https://fortune.com/2014/10/07/ibms-rometty-growth-and-comfort-dont-coexist/
Pickus, A. (2000, December 17). A coach in your corner. Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-12-17-0012170504-story.html.
Socrates. (1979). Plato’s apology of Socrates: An interpretation, with a new translation (T. G. West, Ed. & Trans.). Cornell University Press.
Smith, D. (2005). To be of use: The seven seeds of meaningful work. New World Library.
Sudbrink, L. (2015). Leading with Grit: Inspiring action and accountability with generosity, respect, integrity, and truth. Wiley.
Templeton, J. M. (2008). Wisdom from world religions: Pathways toward heaven on earth. Templeton Foundation Press.
Thoreau, H. D. (1892). Walden (vol. 2). Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
Walsch, N. D. (2010). Neale Donald Walsch’s little book of life: A user’s manual. Hampton Roads.
Whitmore, J. (2017). Coaching for performance (5th ed.). Nicholas Brealey.
Williams, P., & Denney, J. (2008). The pursuit: Wisdom for the adventure of your life. Regal.
About the author
Kelly Miller is a graduate of the Flourishing Center’s CAPP program and published author of Jane's Worry Elephant. She is currently the owner of A Brighter Purpose, LLC, a provider in positive psychology coaching services. When she isn’t gleefully helping humans move toward flourishing, she enjoys National Park hikes and spending quality time with her adventurous family.
Every coach will tell you that everyone needs a coach.
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