15 awesome inspirational quotes by amazing speakers (that you can use in your presentation)

Sometimes an inspirational quote by someone notable is worth more than blustering on about a point.

There are some awesome inspirational quotes out on the web that can make a huge difference to your presentation.

I have also included 15 of my favorite inspirational quotes to get the creative juices flowing:

1) Work harder on yourself than you do on your job – personal growth is the key to business success

No-one ever got rich by just clocking in day in and day out and doing the same job over and over again. Becoming successful is about acquiring the knowledge and skills that will get you there.

2) Effective communications is 20% what you know and 80% of how you feel about what you know

This quote is from super communicator Dale Carnegie and demonstrates that the passion you feel for your subject matter is the key to being a successful presenter. This concept goes beyond just presenting. If someone is passionate about their work, they will be a success. Their passion translates into results.

3) They can because they think they can

This quote from the philosopher Virgil is about self-belief. If you believe that you can do something, the chances are that you will succeed because your self-belief will drive you forward and prevent you from failing. Believe in yourself and you will be able to do great things.

4) If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude

This quote is from Maya Angelou, who is an author and inspiration to many people around the world. This quote is along the lines of Ghandi’s ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ – powerful stuff.

5) You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do

Henry Ford penned this gem referring to that old adage ‘actions speak louder than words’. A great business reputation is built on successful actions and not big talk.

6) The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity

Ayn Rand is an existential author who wrote ‘Atlas Shrugged’ and ‘The Fountainhead’. This quote is awesome because it drives home the point that opportunities need to be grabbed – success does not come to those who sit waiting for things to happen, it comes to those who make the most out of their circumstances and the opportunities that present themselves.

7) Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence

Vince Lombardi was onto something here. Continually striving for excellence is a cornerstone of success.

8: I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big

Donald Trump is the master of doing things in a big way and he has succeeded because he wasn’t afraid to continually think of bigger and better things all the time.

9) Business has to be involving, it has to be fun and it has to exercise your creative instincts

Brit Richard Branson is the poster child for making a success from nothing but despite his massive success, he has not lost his enthusiasm for what he does. This is something we can all learn from.

10) Hire character, train skill

Peter Schultz is saying that you should surround yourself with people who have the character traits you are looking for. Skills can be acquired and knowledge can be picked up but if the personality doesn’t fit, you might as well choose someone else.

11) It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent but the one most responsive to change

Charles Darwin may have said this decades ago but it applies to business today. The modern economic climate has put many businesses under pressure and the ones that are surviving and prospering are the ones that are able to change.

12) It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed
the lessons of failure

Love him or hate him, Bill Gates still has some good things to say and this is one of them. Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. Don’t get hung up on your failures but use them to grow and develop.

13. Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games

Babe Ruth had it right when he said this. The past is over and done with, the focus should be on today and what is happening now.

14) If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses

Henry Ford went outside of the box when he created the first motor vehicle. Sometimes thinking about the unconventional is the way to go.

15) You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down and it has made all the difference in my life

Steve Jobs certainly trusted something when he took a leap of faith all those years ago with Apple. Perhaps the lesson here is that business is not only numbers and sales skills, but also a little bit of magic.

Credit: Nicole Perez

I hope that these quotes have got you thinking and that you will be able to use one of them in a presentation soon.

Enjoy and be a presenter impossible…today :)