After being a solopreneur for more than a decade, I know that the only way to keep my business thriving versus surviving (or failing) is to put in the work. Yet still to this day, there are times when I can feel my motivation lagging. When I feel this way, I start to play the ‘what if’ game.
What if I cut my client list a little bit? Sure, it would hurt my income, but I’ll still get by, right?
What if I quit taking special projects? My clients wouldn’t turn to another writer if I said no every now and again, would they?
What if I just switched to part-time? I wouldn’t get to retire when I want, but what’s a few more years of work?
Sure, there are times when reducing your client base or cutting your time spent at work is the right choice. But I also know that, deep down, my issue at that moment is merely a lack of motivation. And I’d be incredibly mad at myself if I made any of these decisions because that won’t get me where I want to be.
If you feel this way and are starting to play the ‘what if’ game too, here are 25 motivational quotes that can help you stay the course so you can hit your solopreneurial goals and reach your career-related dreams.
- “What we actually learn, from any given set of circumstances, determines whether we become increasingly powerless or more powerful.” Blaine Lee
- “Success or failure in business is caused more by the mental attitude even than by mental capacities.” Walter Scott
- “If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been.” Robert H. Schuller
- “Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.” Philip Stanhope
- “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” Dale Carnegie
- “When times are bad is when the real entrepreneurs emerge.” Robert Kiyosaki
- “Let people advise you and lead you down paths to make smart business decisions. But trust your instinct and trust that overwhelming drive that made you put all your dreams and everything on the line.” Luke Bryan
- “Many people dream about being an entrepreneur, starting their own business, working for themselves, and living the good life. Very few, however, will actually take the plunge and put everything they’ve got into being their own boss.” Fabrizio Moreira
- “Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is. Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world. Love what you do or don’t do it.” Mark Cuban
- “If there’s one thing that’s certain in business, it’s uncertainty.” Steven Covey
- “Just like football, business is a game of inches, where the smallest advancement or advantage can mean the difference between winning and losing.” Lewis Howes
- “To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business and your business in your heart.” Thomas J. Watson
- “The common question that gets asked in business is, ‘why?’ That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, ‘why not?’” Jeff Bezos
- “What helps people, helps business.” Leo Burnett
- “Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” Theodore Isaac Rubin
- “A business like an automobile, has to be driven, in order to get results.” B.C. Forbes
- “The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is the successful people do all the things the unsuccessful people don’t want to do. When 10 doors are slammed in your face, go to number 11 enthusiastically, with a smile on your face.” John Paul DeJoria
- “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.” Elon Musk
- “In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” Harold S. Geneen
- “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.” Tom Brokaw
- “Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” Napoleon Hill
- “Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn’t always have to be their top priority.” William Arthur Ward
- “If the career you have chosen has some unexpected inconvenience, console yourself by reflecting that no career is without them.” Jane Fonda
- “You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body.” Vince Lombardi
- “People who achieve the highest levels of success – whether in business or in raising families or simply in discovering fulfillment and satisfaction and purpose in life – are those who place their focus on other people rather than themselves.” Richard M. DeVos
