Even though a picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes the right words or an inspirational quote is just what you need to make it through the day, to inspire your team or to change your perspective. Since there are others who have dealt with the same leadership challenges you face and have written to tell about it, there are many motivational leadership quotes to lean on whenever you need them. Keep this list handy throughout the year and it will feel like you have the counsel of some of the world’s best leaders—past, current, musicians, poets, artists and even fictional characters—by your side.

Adversity

“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” —Dalai Lama

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” —Albert Einstein

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” —George Addair

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” —Helen Keller

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” —Henry Ford

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

Leaders

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.” —John C. Maxwell

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” —Mother Teresa

“Nothing will work unless you do.” —Maya Angelou

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” —Arnold H. Glasow

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” —Ray Kroc

“Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” —Orrin Woodward

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” —Jim Rohn

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” — William Arthur Ward

Management

“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”—Eleanor Roosevelt

“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” —Henry Ford

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” —Maya Angelou

“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.” —Steve Jobs

“Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” —Bill Bradley

“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” —George Patton

Success

“What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” —Bob Dylan

“Think little goals and expect little achievements. Thing big goals and win big success.” —David Joseph Schwartz

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” —Albert Einstein

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” —Ayn Rand

“Do or do not. There is no try.” —Yoda

Attitude/Mindset

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” —Les Brown

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” —Plutarch

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” —Theodore Roosevelt

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” —Napoleon Hill

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” —Henry Ford

“Leadership is a choice, not a position.” —Stephen Covey