I spend a lot of time coming up with new quotes for my materials that inspire others. Here is a collection of my best quotes throughout the years in various categories such as life, work, entrepreneurship, networking, careers, and personal branding. Feel free to use any of these quotes for your business or personal purposes, as long as you cite my name and title as “Dan Schawbel, Author of Back to Human, Promote Yourself and Me 2.0″ with a link back to this website.
On life
“Life is too unpredictable to be overconfident.”
“The world will keep dictating your life until you decide to dictate your own.”
“Life will continue to teach you the same lessons until you learn them and decide to change your behavior.”
“Kindness is free.”
“No one knows you better than yourself so start taking your own advice instead of thinking others can solve all your problems.”
“When one door closes it gives you the opportunity to unlock other doors.”
“If you’ve been through the worst you’re built for the best.”
“Don’t trick yourself into believing that something you want is actually something you need. Focus on your needs before your wants so that you prioritize what’s most important to your health, happiness, and fulfillment.”
“Be more of yourself and less of everybody else!”
“Action is a compass that points us to a better life.”
“People seek the feeling of self-improvement over the action to improve because the latter takes the courage, hard work, and sacrifice that the former doesn’t.”
“When people bully you, they are projecting their own insecurities so they don’t have to do the hard work of improving themselves. Their treatment of you has nothing to do with you, and everything to deal with their own unresolved issues.”
“Make the most of your time because you’ll never get it back. Time is our greatest asset and it is finite.”
“Your past doesn’t define who you are in the present or future. Take back control of your identity to free yourself from the pain you’ve endured and stop judging yourself so harshly.’
“You already know what you need to do so stop waiting for someone else to validate it.”
“Be kind to yourself because your life affects others.”
“You can’t change where you’re from but you can change where you’re going.”
“Your actions reveal your intentions.”
“Confidence is knowing who you are, and who you aren’t, then accepting yourself.”
“Plant seeds while watering plants. Split your time between relationships that may lead to opportunities in the future and those that can be grown today.”
“The biggest thing that gets in the way of our goals is fear. It’s only when we overcome fear that we realize there was nothing to fear in the first place.”
“If you spend too much time planning your future, you will end up regretting the time you could have spent enjoying the present.”
“Society wants us to conform, yet our differences are what shape society.”
“Don’t look for perfection in others when you aren’t perfect yourself.”
“Listen to others but do what’s in your heart.”
“We all get stuck multiple times throughout our lives. Being stuck gives you time to reflect on where you’ve been, where you are, and where you want to go. At the moment you’re frustrated but in hindsight, you’ll be thankful that it forced you to go in a new direction.”
“By creating healthy habits now it’s easier to sustain them as you age. The longer you maintain a bad habit the harder it is to break.”
“People project their own insecurities onto others, which drains and distracts them from building the relationships that would help them achieve their goals.”
“People project their pain on others as a coping mechanism. Don’t let their words hurt you because they are the ones hurting the most.”
“Hold onto some of your childhood friends because when you become successful they’ll bring you down to earth even if you feel like you’ve reached the sky.”
“How people treat you is a reflection of how they feel inside. People project their pain as a coping mechanism. That’s why we should empathize with them while standing up for ourselves.”
“Don’t judge others too harshly at the moment when they may be acting out of character due to the pain they feel but you can’t see.”
“As you grow older you have more responsibilities, and less time, so think about the people you want to have in your life in the future and invest in those relationships today.”
“Learn from the past, live in the present, and build your own future.”
“The one thing that’s certain with life is that you get out of it what you put into it.”
“Hard times test our values, remind us that we’re mortal, make us appreciate what we have, bring us closer to our loved ones, and force the change we’ve resisted.”
“Accept people for who they are not who you wish they were or what others around you think they should be.”
“Instead of dwelling on all the mistakes you made and the regrets you have, reflect on the relationships you’ve built and the experiences you’ve had.”
“Your time is extremely valuable, irreplaceable, and the greatest asset you can’t own. Don’t waste your time with people who don’t appreciate you.”
“Be the real you because everyone else is taken and replicas don’t sell for as much.”
“Life is one big pitch, so you better start practicing.”
“It’s what you do that makes you who you are and how you project that to others that makes you memorable.”
“Any new opportunity or experience can change your life.”
“In order to be successful tomorrow, you must sacrifice today.”
“You don’t need others to fail for you to succeed.”
“Don’t fear the unknown, explore it.”
“Always do the best you can in every aspect of your life so you never have any regrets and always have the satisfaction that you gave your all.”
“What you learn from your journey is as important as the result you achieve.”
“Too many people search around, failing to see the opportunity in front of them.”
“Be challenged instead of complacent.”
“If you try to please everyone you will end up not pleasing anyone, especially yourself.”
“No doesn’t mean never. No means come back at the right time with a better offer.”
“Create your own definition of success before you start living someone else’s.”
“No one ‘comes out of nowhere. You only see their success, not their struggle.”
“You have to be selfish with your time now in order to be generous with your time later.”
“You don’t find time for things, you make time for them.”
“People aren’t successful because of one specific thing but many coming together at once.”
“Say yes now for the privilege of saying no later.”
“It’s not about who wakes up earlier, or goes to sleep later, but how you use your time when you’re up.”
“Be prepared for the worst with a positive mindset that the best is yet to come.”
“It takes a while to connect the dots but you have to make the dots in order to connect them.”
“The only thing holding you back is the story you tell yourself about the past. It’s time to start a new story today!”
“Positivity is the product of doing what you love, surrounded by people who love you, in an environment that promotes love.”
“Every day is a chance to learn more about yourself, care more about others and discover something new about the world you live in.”
“The only thing holding you back is the imaginary limitations you set for yourself.”
“Each day offers you a chance to learn, grow and become a better version of yourself.”
“There is no triumph without tragedy, no success without failure, no love without pain, no accomplishment without fear, and no creativity without conflict.”
“Self-awareness is not just knowing who you are, but who you aren’t.”
“Small wins can dig you out of big ditches.”
“You can listen but not hear, touch but not feel, think but not be thoughtful and speak but not say anything. Be mindful of your senses, present in your actions, and empathetic in your conversations.”
“To get what you want in life, you need to be patient with persistence. Push as hard you can to achieve your goal, while accepting that it may take longer to achieve than you imagined.”
On careers
“Be accountable for your own career and take charge of your life.”
“Pay attention to how you feel when you describe what you do because it’s an indicator of if you should continue to do it.”
“You’re a lifetime in the making, not an overnight success.”
“No one is going to invest in your career unless in you invest in yourself first.”
“Always put your best effort into everything that you do so you’ll have no regrets and feel fulfilled in everything that you accomplish.”
“Finding your purpose doesn’t happen in a moment, you uncover and realize your purpose over the course of your life.”
“If you focus on accomplishments over the process of earning those accomplishments, you will give up too soon if you don’t get the results you desired fast enough.”
“Instead of competing with others, compete against yourself. It’s better for your relationships, can open you up to partnerships, and give you the motivation to improve.”
“The more you learn to deal with “no” the more you will appreciate “yes”.”
“We think we want someone else’s life because we see their success, not their struggles. Don’t sign up for a life you don’t truly understand, be yourself instead.”
“There are many destinations in life. No matter which road you choose, you will encounter speed bumps, dead-ends, accidents, and detours along the way. Be patient, learn from experience, and know that the next destination won’t be the last.”
“If you’re not getting rejected you aren’t trying hard enough.”
“Think of your career as a labyrinth instead of a ladder. There’s no single path to the top, you’ll encounter countless obstacles along the way and you might just end up somewhere you thought you would never be.”
“Building a career is like mining for gold. You have to keep chipping away until you discover what you’re meant to do.”
“There’s no clear path to success so create your own.”
“The more we experience, the more self-aware we become, which allows us to make better choices about what we do and why we do it.”
“Embrace change or be a victim of it.”
“Hope is NOT a good career strategy. Don’t leave your career to chance, promote yourself!”
“If you’re unwilling to put the work in, don’t be surprised when you don’t get the outcome you desired.”
“It’s far better to act now and apologize later.”
“Past success doesn’t guarantee future opportunity.”
“We are all a work in progress. Each day is an opportunity to become a better version of ourselves.”
“You can’t win a race you don’t start.”
“Listen to your inner voice instead of outer judgments.”
“A career is no longer a race up the ladder – it’s a collection of experiences. Those who have experienced the most have a competitive advantage over those who remain stagnant.”
“Create your own career, instead of letting your company do it for you.”
“Just like content is king on the internet, your experience is king when it comes to getting a job.”
“In order to succeed in the new world of work you MUST become the commander of your career.”
“If you don’t know what you bring to the table, you don’t get a seat there.”
“The first opportunities are the hardest to obtain because everyone wants to view your past performance.”
“If a resume was the deciding factor in recruitment, there would never be a need for interviews.”
“The divide between interviewing for a position and actually working at a company will close thanks to employer branding.”
“When you are passionate about your job, it becomes a hobby.”
“Gain leverage in your job by getting management to depend on you for your services.”
“There are peaks and valleys in business and in life. The valleys make you appreciate the peaks and prepare you for future valleys.”
“You should balance your time between thinking and doing. Spend too much time thinking and nothing gets done. Spend too much time doing and your work won’t be thoughtful enough.”
“The light side of doing what you love is the satisfaction of getting paid for your talent. The dark side is an addiction that consumes your time, preventing you from the fulfillment you were seeking in the first place.”
On work
“In the information economy, it was more about what you knew. In the social economy, it’s more about how connected you are. If two candidates have the same skill level, the more connected candidate should get the job.”
“Companies who care about their employees’ careers will retain them, while others will lose the battle for talent.”
“The true test of a leader is how they treat their workers during a crisis.”
“A crisis unveils the employers who actually believe that talent is their greatest asset from those who just say it.”
“Don’t use work as an excuse not to be with the people you care about because you’ll regret not being with them over work when you’re older.”
“If companies expect you to do work-related activities outside the office, then they should let you do personal-related activities inside the office.”
“Our personal lives should be part of our work schedule instead of something saved for the end of the workday.”
“The people you choose to work with are more important than the work you do. Even if you love your work, and it gives you purpose, toxic co-workers will make it unbearable.”
On personal branding
“Brand yourself for the career you want, not the job you have.”
“By focusing entirely on your personal brand, you become unemployable.”
“The only brand you can sustain is the one that is authentic to you!”
“If you want to be known for everything, you’ll be known for nothing.”
“If you don’t take ownership of your online reputation, your Google results will speak for themselves.”
“When you have passion, expertise, and a support system, you can do anything!”
“What makes you weird, makes you unique and therefore makes you stand out.”
“To succeed, you must be the best at what you do, for a specific audience.”
“You are the chief marketing officer for the brand called you, but what others say about your brand is more impactful than what you say about yourself.”
“To secure your brand, spend more of your time networking outside of your company than within.”
“When it comes to the web, you are graded based solely on what is observable.”
“Proficiency in social media is a differentiator now, but will soon be a qualifier.”
“The goal of personal branding is to be recruited based on your brand, not applying for jobs.”
“You won’t succeed in marketing a poor personal brand.”
“When you brand yourself properly, the competition becomes irrelevant.”
“Visibility creates opportunities.”
“As professional and personal lives converge, those who are authentic and transparent will triumph.”
“Social media is a career catalyst…it lets you accomplish a lifetime’s worth of work in a short period of time.”
“Lead with your brand and let the compensation follow.”
“Social media will expose people who have bad intentions and reward people who are trying to make a positive impact on the world.”
“Your personal brand is at stake wherever your name is mentioned, whether it’s by you or someone else.”
“Focus on being the best at one thing instead of being mediocre at many.”
On networking
“It’s not the size of your network, but how you use it.”
“Make your life one giant networking event.”
“The best way to become successful is to make others successful first. Put their needs ahead of yours in order to meet yours and exceed theirs.”
“The most successful networkers give value before receiving it.”
“The reciprocal nature of networking establishes a relationship instead of a one-night-stand.”
“The best time to build your network is when you don’t need it. The second-best time is today.”
“Know your values, commit to your values, and then look for those who share those values so you can be in alignment with yourself, others, and the universe.”
“When you listen before you talk, you cause the other party to be more interested in you.”
“Content is the bridge to connection. By creating content you have a reason to connect with people who share your interests and people are the gateways to career and life fulfillment.”
“Help others without asking for anything in return because smart networking isn’t a selfish act, but a generous contribution followed by potential future reciprocation.”
“When you are transactional with people, relationships aren’t formed and true value isn’t realized.”
“Give as much as possible and if the world finds value in what you have to offer you will be rewarded.”
“The quicker you help someone, the longer they’ll remember you for it.”
“The best way to help others is by being empathetic. When you can put yourself in their shoes, you’re able to understand their needs and then provide them with the most value possible in that moment.”
On entrepreneurship
“In today’s world, entrepreneurship is simply ‘personal accountability’. You need to drive your career and not wait for someone else to do it for you.”
“You’re always working for someone regardless of occupation. Employees work for managers. Entrepreneurs work for customers.”
“If you want to be a successful entrepreneur you need to be able to see problems that others don’t and have solutions that no one has thought of before.”
“You don’t need to own a business to be an entrepreneur, but you do need the entrepreneurial mindset to be successful in business.”
“You are your first customer. You have to sell yourself on an idea before convincing others.”
On relationships
“Don’t limit your life to searching for “the one”, when there are many people who share your values, beliefs, and goals.”
“Surround yourself with people who embrace you for who you are instead of judging you for who you aren’t.”
“People fade in and out of your life. Be mindful of who you let in, who stays there, and who you let go.”
“You can learn something from everyone. It could be what to do more of or what not to do at all.”
“Abundance is an illusion. There are only so many people you can share a connection with and who will reciprocate that connection.”
“Give people a chance to unveil who they are instead of judging them by who you think they are.”
“The best relationships stand the test of time. If you don’t see someone for a while and then meet up, it’s like no time has passed.”
“Instead of making assumptions about someone, have a conversation so you get to know them based on facts, not predictions.”
“When it comes to relationships, you don’t know until you know, but then you still don’t know because people are complicated.”
“Sometimes we have to drop a friend in order to make time for a friend that appreciates us more.”
“It’s only during hard times when you realize who your real friends are.”
“Good friends tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear.”
“The best relationships stand the test of time. If you don’t see someone for a while and then meet up, it’s like no time has passed.”
“Find people who share the same values so you can connect with them on a deeper level, but different opinions so you can learn through the discomfort.”
“Be grateful to those who don’t need to help you but choose to anyway.”
“You know you’re in a healthy friendship when helping them brings you joy.”
“Long-term happiness trumps short-term pain.”
On technology
“Use technology as a bridge to human connection instead of letting it be a barrier between you and the relationships you seek.”
“Not having your phone is the new vacation.”
“When we are using our devices, we can be around everyone and no one at the same time. We are physically present but not mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.”
“Being present at the moment with someone you care about is more important than capturing that moment for the purpose of getting likes and comments from people you don’t even know.”
“When you replace emotional connections with digital ones, you lose the sensation of being present and the feeling of being alive.”
“We think we need technology to solve our problems, yet our addiction to it can create even more problems.”
On education
“There is an apparent void in our education system. We attend higher education to land a job when we graduate, yet we don’t learn how to get a job.”
“Stay informed to remain relevant because the world is changing fast and it’s not going to slow down so you can catch up.”
“Colleges should invest more in their career centers if they want to help students secure internships and jobs, as well as justify high tuition rates.”
On mental health
“When you’re strong about your mental health condition, many times you don’t share it with anyone else, which causes the adverse effect of others not feeling strong because you never came out with it.”
“By being open about your issues, you give other people the safety and security to do the same.”
“Just because you think that someone “has it easy” doesn’t mean that the image they project is the full picture of their life. They may be suffering in a way that makes their life hard, but you’ll never know.”
“By removing the stigma around mental health, people are much more likely to seek the help they needed but were too afraid to ask for.”
“Your biggest weakness could be your greatest strength in disguise.”
“Stop looking for perfection in others when you yourself aren’t perfect.”