Who said it best

Words have great power to motivate and move us and sometimes the perfect quote resonates and becomes a lifelong ally when times are tough. Here are some of our favourite confidence boosting words of wisdom to inspire you to be bold.

Sometimes the best quotes, that have stood the test of time, seem deceptively simple. But putting together the perfect combination of words can create a powerful idea that strikes a chord deep within us. When Eleanor Roosevelt said “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” it was a strong reminder that we own our own power. Similarly, there was such a flow of passion and drive behind the quote by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr when he declared: “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” 

The wonderful thing about powerful words is that they don’t always have to come from the famous or the intellectual - ordinary people sometimes say extraordinary things. We might all have our own favourite lifelong mantras but taking time out to read inspirational quotes on a regular basis can open our minds to new possibilities and resonate with how we are feeling at that moment in time. We hope you enjoy our favourite confidence wordsmiths.

“On the first day of school, my father told me I’d be the most popular girl and everyone would love me and want to be my friend. It wasn’t so, but it gave me an enormous amount of confidence.”

Maeve Binchy

"I must undertake to love and respect myself and to respect myself as if my life depends upon self-love and self-respect." 

Maya Angelou.

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” 

Eleanor Roosevelt 

“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.” 

Rosa Parks 

“Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause of fear.” 

Norman Vincent Peale

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” 

Paulo Coelho 

“Act the way you would like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” 

Leonard Cohen

“Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.”
J.K Rowling

“I don’t go by the rule book.”
Princess Diana 

“Personality begins where comparison leaves off. Be unique. Be memorable. Be confident. Be proud.”
Shannon L. Alder

"It is confidence in our minds, bodies and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures." 

Oprah Winfrey

"To guarantee success, act as if it were impossible to fail." 

Dorothea Brande

"With realisation of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world." 

Dalai Lama

"Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings." 

Samuel Johnson

"The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it."

J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan

"Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her."

Lao Tzu

"Believe you can, and you're halfway there."

Theodore Roosevelt

"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."

Sylvia Plath

"Remember, you have been criticising yourself for years, and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens." 

Lousie Hay

The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique." 

Walt Disney