Successful people usually don’t achieve success by accident. It’s often in how they think and what they do that makes a difference. After all, success isn’t just about achieving goals—it’s about cultivating the habits, mindsets and actions that lead to consistent growth and fulfillment. While the goal might be the ultimate prize, we should feel successful every step we take in the right direction.
These successful people quotes, many from high achievers and well-known leaders in various industries, can inspire and guide others on their path to success. By internalizing these messages, we can shift our perspectives, adopt more effective habits and cultivate the mindset necessary to achieve our own version of success.
Quotes on What Successful People Do
What are the things that successful people do? From planning for success to daily goal-setting, those who are high achievers take different approaches to help them get ahead. Success is more than just having a positive mindset; it’s about the actions you take and the steps you make each day. These quotes about success and growth show the steps that successful people take to reach their goals, whether in their personal or professional life.
- “The path to success is to take massive, determined action.” —Tony Robbins
- “Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.” —Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
- “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” —Elinor Smith, Aviatrix
- “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” —Coco Chanel, Believing in Ourselves: The Wisdom of Women
- “Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” —Sun Tzu, The Art of War
- “Whatever the mind can of man conceive and believe, it can achieve.” —Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice
- “If you care about what you do and work hard at it, there isn’t anything you can’t do if you want to.” —Jim Henson, It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider
- “When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” —Ellen DeGeneres, Seriously… I’m Kidding
- “Successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do occasionally. They practice daily disciplines. They implement systems for their personal growth. They make it a habit to maintain a positive attitude. ”—John Maxwell, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions
Related: “When One Door Closes, One Door Opens” Quotes for a Positive Outlook
Quotes on Business, Success and Growth from Successful People
Succeeding in business can look like a lot of different things—getting a promotion, winning a new client, receiving praise from a boss or something else. Sometimes success can be as small as remembering a task that’s slipped to the wayside. These business and success quotes will inspire you to achieve, one step at a time. They might also show you just how successful people lead as well.
- “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” —Zig Ziglar
- “If you talk about it, it’s a dream. If you envision it, it’s possible. If you schedule it, it’s real.” —Tony Robbins
- “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’ ” —Brian Tracy
- “In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” —Nikos Kazantzakis
- “If you try and lose then it isn’t your fault. But if you don’t try and we lose, then it’s all your fault.” —Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game
- “Don’t confuse poor decision making with destiny. Own your mistakes. It’s ok; we all make them. Learn from them so they can empower you!” —Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
- “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” —Robert T. Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Bulletproof Habits
How Successful People Think: Quotes to Inspire a New Mindset
Successful people cultivate mindsets that focus on growth, resilience and purpose. They view setbacks as opportunities to learn, embrace challenges as pathways to improvement and maintain unwavering belief in their goals even when faced with obstacles. These quotes on what makes a person successful show how self-reflection, gratitude practices and a commitment to lifelong learning will help you achieve. They give a few clues on how successful people think to help inspire all of us, too.
- “Your success and happiness lie in you.” —Helen Keller, Out of the Dark: Essays, Lectures, and Addresses on Physical and Social Vision
- “I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.” —Abraham Lincoln
- “At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.” —Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
- “Our greatest fear… should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” —Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
- “Persistence. Perfection. Patience. Power. Prioritize your passion. It keeps you sane.” —Criss Jami, Killosophy
- “Success, after all, loves a witness, but failure can’t exist without one.” —Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Related: 6 Qualities of Wildly Successful People
Words from Successful People: Sayings for the Keys to Success
The road to success is not always straight. It’s often bumpy, with lots of detours, sharp turns and even cliffs on one side. From these “road to success” quotes and “keys to success” sayings, we can learn that a step in the right direction is a step towards success. It might feel insurmountable, but you can’t get there without taking that first step.
- “Persistence overshadows even talent as the most valuable resource shaping the quality of life.” —Tony Robbins
- “Failures are the stairs we climb to reach success.” —Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
- “To be successful, you need friends, and to be very successful, you need enemies.” —Sidney Sheldon, The Other Side of Midnight
- “The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.” —Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
- “It is said we learn more from our failures than our successes.” —Holly Black, The Wicked King
- “To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well.” —Isaac Asimov, Foundation
SUCCESS® Exclusive Quotes from Successful Men and Women
What makes someone successful can vary from person to person; after all, we each have our own unique definitions of success. However, these exclusive quotes from SUCCESS® show some common themes among great leaders and high achievers that help highlight what it takes to be successful.
- “Of course, technical skills matter. But if you want to lead a team effectively, your emotional intelligence will make or break your success. It’s about creating an environment where vulnerability is seen as strength, where personal stories become powerful teaching tools and where facing our fears together becomes the pathway to something extraordinary.” —Amy Somerville
- “I think there’s a difference between successful and unsuccessful people in the way they particularly think about approaching something new. I think unsuccessful people, when they have a big dream and start thinking about what’s going to be required to accomplish that dream, they get very limiting in their beliefs about themselves and what’s possible.” —Brendan Burchard
- “[We’ve] all missed this hidden first step to personal growth and change…. Before you can take control of your own life, you must first stop trying to control everybody else’s.” —Mel Robbins
- “I remember when I was in a room with massively successful people, and yet I wasn’t vulnerable enough to say, ‘Hey, I don’t know this, but can you teach me this?’ Imagine if I had done that in my 20s? Imagine where I would be now. The people in that room were Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and various Hollywood celebrities.” —Daymond John
- “Success is a result of good judgment; good judgment is a result of experience, in most cases. And what about experience? Yes, experience is most often a result of bad judgment. So here’s the good news: The experience gained from bad judgment and bad decisions is unbelievably valuable—it’s priceless! —Tony Robbins
Unique Sayings on Success
If you are looking for successful people quotes to use for affirmations, check out these short quotes originally written by SUCCESS® contributors. They offer inspiration to motivate change within yourself and achieve your goals.
- The secret to success is to focus more on progress than perfection.
- Success does not come to you; you go to it.
- The only limit to your success is the belief that you can’t achieve it.
- Dream big, start small, but most importantly, start now.
- Every failure is a stepping stone to the success you’re building.
- Success is built on the lessons learned from every setback.
- Success begins the moment you decide to take the first step.
- Success is the sum of small efforts repeated daily, not a single monumental effort.
- Success requires consistency, not perfection.
- To succeed, focus on progress, not applause.
- Success is not what you get but who you become in the process.
Inspiring Success Through Words and Actions
Success is more than reaching a destination—it’s the journey of continuous growth, learning and resilience. These “success is no accident” quotes serve as powerful reminders that the path to success is paved with persistence, purpose and an unrelenting drive to keep moving forward. Let these words not only motivate you but also serve as a guide to building a life defined by meaningful progress and lasting impact.
This article was updated May 2025. Photo by Face Stock/Shutterstock