Inspirational Coaching Quotes

Every coach will tell you that everyone needs a coach.

Most coaches have a coach.

In addition to fully processing what is in our heads, everyone can benefit from these uplifting human beings. A coach will stand in your corner, to show you what you are capable of in life.

Who, exactly, seeks out a coach? If you ask a coach the answer is usually the same: Winners who want even more out of life.

Abigail Pickus, 2000

This article is a collection of quotes to inspire coaches and their clients. Quotes are usually uplifting, abundant, and helpful in the thought-provoking process of coaching.

Use these to motivate, excite, and provoke more thought for you and those around you. Let them inspire you to ignite the changes that need to be made to get you to a state of flourishing.

Best Life Coaching Quotes

We can all fall victim to self-serving bias. Life coaching allows us to be open to the connectedness between us all. Infusing positivity into intentions and actions creates more space for personal thriving and achievement in all aspects of life.

The powerful process of coaching enables the inspiration to ignite change. With all of the plentiful distractions of modern life, a great life coach will help clarity develop within their clients. Those who have clarity around purpose, personal values, and personal priorities can, in turn, interact with the world as their highest self.

A life coach does for the rest of your life what a personal trainer does for your health and fitness.

Elaine MacDonald, Canadian activist

Only when your consciousness is totally focused on the moment you are in can you receive whatever gift, lesson, or delight that moment has to offer.

Barbara de Angelis, author, TV personality, and relationship consultant

Life’s short. Live passionately.

Marc A. Pitman, author, and fundraising coach

It takes someone with a vision of the possibilities to attain new levels of experience. Someone with the courage to live his dreams.

Les Brown, motivational speaker, and leader

You can’t stop negative thoughts from coming in, but you can make sure they leave as quickly as they enter.

Nkem Mpamah, The Art of Achievement and Fulfillment, 2013

When you encourage others, you in the process are being encouraged because you’re making a commitment to that person’s life. Encouragement really does make a difference.

Zig Ziglar, author, salesman, and motivational speaker

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist, Letters, 1973

Opportunities don’t knock, they whisper. So shut up and listen.

Thomas Leonard, founding father of professional life coaching

I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.

Abraham Maslow, psychologist, Toward a Psychology of Being, 1962

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American transcendentalist, essayist, and author

These quotes ring true because life coaching is a holistic process of change. When a person can examine the changes they need to make, their whole life will be influenced. Anyone wanting to make a change could benefit from these perspectives.

Motivational Coaching Quotes

Motivation must be sparked from within. Great coaches ask broad enough questions for their clients to explore what is most important to them. Knowing that there are many different psychological theories of motivation, a well-informed coach can help clients to better understand themselves.

Higher levels of achievement will inevitably follow the hierarchy of needs, and creating goals that adhere to these various levels will better enable a client to reach what they need. With Maslow’s theory in mind, motivation can look like a checklist that opens doors to higher levels with each achievement. Action begets action.

There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.

Tom Krause, motivational speaker and author, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III, 2012

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.

Fred DeVito, VP of Mind–Body training for Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

It is action that creates motivation.

Steve Backley, Olympic athlete

In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, oh, I’m going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, wow, here’s a chance to grow.

Carol Dweck, author, and researcher, 2012

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

Neale Donald Walsh, author

Being ourselves means sometimes having to find the courage to stand alone, totally alone.

Brené Brown, author, and researcher Finding Our Way to True Belonging, 2017

A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings. Always believe in yourself.

Charlie Wardle

These quotes ring true because change is not easy, especially in the beginning. Just ask anyone starting a new workout regimen. It hurts! Motivation is so subjective, but getting out of our way and embracing that failure are parts of success that can ignite so many in moving forward.

10 Philosophical Coaching Quotes

There’s an interesting movement in self-help that is about harnessing philosophical genius to shape the lives of modern people. These quotes have stood the test of time.

They are universal and show that no matter how technologically advanced humanity becomes, progress will always depend on how Chris Peterson summarized positive psychology: “other people matter.”

Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.

Aristotle, a Greek philosopher

Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly.

Plutarch, a Greek philosopher, and a Roman citizen

I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

Henry David Thoreau, Transcendentalism, and American philosopher

He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.

Plato, a Greek philosopher

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates, a Greek philosopher

Even while they teach, men learn.

Seneca the Younger, a Roman Stoic philosopher

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Confucius, a Chinese philosopher

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.

Thucydides, a Greek philosopher

The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.

Epictetus, a Greek philosopher

A great nation is like a great man: When he makes a mistake, he realizes it. Having realized it, he admits it. Having admitted it, he corrects it. He considers those who point out his faults, as his most benevolent teachers. He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts.

Lao Tsu, Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism

These great thinkers faced dangers that modern man cannot fathom, yet they knew the value of their words. The simplicity of bravery and the understanding of greatness ring true today. For life satisfaction to improve, all humans need to embrace the deep understanding that vision, purpose, and mindful understanding of each other are necessary parts of the process of self-mastery.

10 Executive Coaching and Business Quotes

Many executives and business coaches can inspire by experience and gritty attitudes. It is widely believed that personal success comes from a place of grit.

Angela Duckworth’s work is undoubtedly inspiring, even if it has its scientific limitations. If someone seeking success can leave behind social comparison and be “gritty” in private, it will ignite progress and allow for maintained wellbeing along the path.

Success is hard work and often requires sacrifice. Being attuned to what is allowed to be sacrificed is vital to the realization of success. Defining that success is tremendously subjective and must be factored into your path to “greatness.”

Nobody wants to show you the hours and hours of becoming. They’d rather show you the highlight of what they’ve become.

Angela Duckworth, Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success, 2016

Habits are like financial capital – forming one today is an investment that will automatically give out returns for years to come.

Shawn Anchor, The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life, 2010

Incremental change is better than ambitious failure… success feeds on itself.

Tony Schwartz (as cited in Tal Ben-Shahar, Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, 2007)

If you’re not in the arena getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in or open to your feedback.

Brené Brown, Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts, 2018

Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is more often helping them to learn rather than teaching them.

John Whitmore, author, and founder of the GROW model of coaching Coaching for Performance, 2010

Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain.

Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company

Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.

Richard Branson, owner of Virgin airlines

Growth and comfort do not coexist.

Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM

Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.

Samuel Johnson

We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failures are not the opposite of success –  it’s part of success.

Arianna Huffington, CEO of Thrive Global

It is fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons from failure.

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft

The business world is tough and requires a particular type of resilience. No business mogul was made overnight. The grit that they have in going after goals usually surpasses that of the average person. The mindsets and perspectives of successful people help inspire those who are at the beginning of a business journey. Developing grit and the acceptance of inevitable pitfalls will help people reach their goals.

A Look at Quotes on Career Coaching

Finding the right fit in a career is sometimes a lifelong pursuit. While financial needs vary, finding purpose in your vocation seems to be universal. Whether you’re cleaning the hospital or providing treatment to patients, having a perspective of how much your work matters makes an overall difference in how you show up at your job.

Careers develop over time and flourish in a state of purpose. Each vocation has a path and finding one that both fulfills and pays the bills can be elusive. In any career though, knowing where you want to be will help develop stronger career goals.

The crowning fortune of a man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, whether it be to make baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statues, or songs.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a transcendentalist

Let me fall if I must fall. The one I become will catch me.

Baal Shem Tov, 18th-century Jewish philosopher

I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.

Lou Holtz, football coach, player, and analyst

Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it.

George Lucas, director, business owner, and overall film genius

The test of success is not what you do when you’re on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.

General George Patton, an American general

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.

Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-born industrialist, and philanthropist

There is the true joy of life, to be used by a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; to be thoroughly worn out before being thrown on the scrap heap; to be a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that life will not devote itself to making you happy.

George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright

When people fully realize their values, adhere to them, and pursue a career from that focus, the purpose is less elusive. Using strengths and personal values in a career will create a more fulfilling outcome. These quotes ring true for the fulfilled career seeker.

Powerful Leadership Coaching Quotes

The term natural leader is somewhat of a misnomer. Leadership is learned, and it must also be earned. There are countless leadership training options across the globe. A good leader will always adhere to the notion that leading properly is always about other people.

To build a strong team, you must see someone else’s strength as a complement to your weakness, and not a threat to your position or authority.

Christine Caine, founder of Propel Women

Good leadership isn’t about advancing yourself. It’s about advancing your team.

John C. Maxwell, American author of many books on leadership

Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

John D. Rockefeller, an American industrialist

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.

Rosalynn Carter, Former First Lady of the United States of America

In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people… they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.

Ken Blanchard, American author of over 60 books on leadership

Extraordinary people are ordinary people making extraordinary decisions.

Sharon Pearson, author of Disruptive Leadership

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

African Proverb

I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.

Alexander the Great, Macedonian and Persian military leader and king

Great leaders know how to listen, stay open to possibilities, and create trust with the people they are leading. These quotes encapsulate the essence of what a true leader does. The greatest leaders do so with integrity that never needs to be questioned.

21 of the Best Inspirational Coaching Quotes

Let’s start with a look at some great coaching quotes! Below are 21 of the best quotes I’ve found about Career, Life Coaching, and Mentoring:

1. “Coaching takes a holistic view of the individual: work, corporate values, personal needs and career development are made to work in synergy, not against one another.” British Journal of Administrative Management
2. “…coaching focuses on equipping the individual to discover their unique potential.” Brian Cagney
3. “Once used to bolster troubled staffers, coaching now is part of the standard leadership development training for elite executives and talented up-and-comers at IBM, Motorola, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and Hewlett Packard. These companies are discreetly giving their best prospects what star athletes have long had: a trusted adviser to help reach their goals.” CNN.com
4. “The benefits of coaching appear to win over even the most cynical clients within just a few weeks.” (either Money Magazine or Industry Week)*
5. “We have done lots of research over the past three years, and we have found that leaders who have the best coaching skills have better business results.” Tanya Clemens, V.P. of Global Executive & Organizational Development at IBM
6. “A coach may be the guardian angel you need to rev up your career.”  (either Money Magazine or Newsweek)*
7. “Coaching works because people learn by doing what they would have done anyway – just smarter, faster, better, and with support and feedback.” Consulting Today
8. “Using coaching instead of sending executives and managers to seminars two or three times a year can be more beneficial to ongoing career development, not to mention less expensive…” PC Week
9. “Corporate America had better heed the phenomenon…people won’t run on autopilot or by remote e-mail. No matter how much the world has changed, people on the job still need some mentoring, some monitoring, some meaningful interaction…personal coaching has earned it’s merits.” Fortune Magazine
10. “I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.” Bob Nardelli
11. “A life coach does for the rest of your life what a personal trainer does for your health and fitness.” Elaine MacDonald
12. “I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve a problem previously thought unsolvable.” John Russell, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson Europe Ltd.
13. “One of the most exciting things about coaching is the buzz you get when you push out of your comfort zone, come up with a plan and put it into action! Life takes on a whole new meaning as you re-create your life or career the way you want it.” Emma-Louise Elsey
14. “Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and the greatest things can happen.” Pete Carroll
15. “Coaching isn’t therapy. It’s product development, with you as the product.” Fast Company
16. “Simply put, Coaching is where you work with someone to connect with yourself – and what really matters. You redesign your environment, your career and/or your life and then your coach supports and challenges you as you take bold action to make it happen!” Emma-Louise Elsey
17. “A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.” Tom Landry
18. “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” John Crosby
19. “Colleagues are a wonderful thing – but mentors, that’s where the real work gets done.” Junot Diaz
20. “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” Steven Spielberg
21. “A lot of people put pressure on themselves and think it will be way too hard for them to live out their dreams. Mentors are there to say, ‘Look, it’s not that tough. It’s not as hard as you think. Here are some guidelines and things I have gone through to get to where I am in my career.’ ” Joe Jonas

Do you love Coaching Quotes?

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And here’s one more inspirational coaching quote I found:

• “Coaches are aware of how to ignite passion and motivate people. They have an energy that is contagious and know exactly how to get their team excited.” Brian Cagney

Why Use Coaching Quotes? What are the Benefits of Using Quotes in Coaching?

Quotes speak to us! Just some of the benefits of using coaching quotes are that they can:

• Be just the piece of wisdom someone needs when they’re stuck.
• Uplift and encourage us when we feel discouraged.
• Lighten or add humor to a situation.
• Confirm that we’re on the right path.
• Soothe us when we’re stressed.
• Provide a new way of looking at something – a reset or reframe.
• Set us thinking in whole new ways.

How and When to use Quotes in your Coaching Practice

Quotes can be used in a surprising number of ways in coaching. And with so many people feeling overwhelmed and busy, a short quote can be just the boost they need.

Here are 12 Specific Ways to use Coaching Quotes in your Coaching Practice:

1. Create graphics of your most commonly used coaching quotes – and share them on Social Media. TIP: Choose quotes that specifically relate to your ideal clients. This means finding coaching quotes that solve a problem your clients have or help them approach their problems in a new way. It could also quote that inspire them around their goals, values, and beliefs.
2. Use quotes about coaching to educate your fans and followers about what coaching is – and how it can help them!
3. Create a detailed blog post based on a favorite quote. Then share the quote, why you love it – and explain why you think it’s so powerful.
4. Create a blog post with a collection of quotes. Choose helpful or inspiring quotes on a particular topic.
5. Build your niche and position yourself as an expert. Use powerful quotes – and create your own – that specifically relate to your niche or area of knowledge.
6. Collect quotes on topics that come up often with your clients. Then share these relevant, poignant, or helpful coaching quotes in your coaching sessions.
7. Use inspirational quotes to build an authentic rapport with your fans and followers – show your audience who you are and what you stand for!
8. Include powerful quotes on relevant topics in your workshops, seminars, and group coaching.
9. Create a connection with your audience by sharing quotes on significant dates that are important to you. For example, Martin Luther King Jr quotes on Martin Luther King (MLK) Day or Kindness quotes during Kindness Week.
10. Use coaching quotes to anchor your presentations. TIP: Choose 1-3 quotes from people your audience might admire and use these to underline a point you’re making.
11. Include your favorite quotes in holiday or birthday cards for clients.
12. Create a holiday quote graphic for your website and social media (see all of our Holiday Quote Graphics here for ideas).

7 Ways to Find Inspirational Quotes You Love!

Yes, you can search the internet or trawl through books every time you want to illustrate a point. But I highly recommend instead that you create your own quotes document! Keep your favorite and most relevant quotes in one place – organized by topic or theme. But where do you find good coaching quotes?

Here are 7 Easy Ways to Find Quotes to Use in Your Coaching Practice

1. Think of the issues and goals your ideal clients (target market) have. What topics would help them overcome their problems and achieve their goals? Search for quotes on these topics.
2. Is there someone you admire? Then simply do a google search for “Quotes by the Dalai Lama” or Maya Angelou or Louise Hay.
3. Look in charity or thrift stores – or your local bookstore – for books with quote collections!
4. Write down short phrases and sentences you love from books as you read them! TIP: Also make a note of the author, book, and page you found it on.
5. If someone says something that inspires you, write it down (plus who they are, when/where they said it). TIP: You may want to check they’re not simply quoting someone else first, by doing a web search.
6. Take a look around on Wikiquote.
7. Look to the Greeks! The modern profession of coaching owes a great deal to Greek philosophy. This means a great place to start looking for powerful quotes is the Greek philosophers! Some of the big names include Socrates, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Plato, Epictetus, Pythagoras, Epicurus, Seneca, and Plutarch. So, simply search for “Quotes by Greek philosophers” or “Quotes by Socrates etc” – and save the ones you love!

A Take-Home Message

If at first you don’t succeed, try doing what your coach told you to do the first time.

Unknown, but funny

Coaches have a unique and special role in serving others. Quotes can be such powerful words to live by and use to develop a growth mindset. So many brilliant individuals have imparted their wisdom so that others may follow.

Quotes inspire and can shape pathways to success with unique voracity. Choose one that personally resonates and keep it with you. It can serve as a mantra for personal growth.