30 Soul-Stirring Quotes That Every Idealist Needs To Hear Right Now

29 quotes

When you're struggling to maintain your spirit in a world of pessimists, remember that the most prominent members of history were every bit as idealistic as you. 

“I'm not ready to let the youthful part of myself go yet. If maturity means becoming a cynic, if you have to kill the part of yourself that is naive and romantic and idealistic - the part of you that you treasure most - to claim maturity, is it not better to die young but with your humanity intact?”

— Kenneth Cain, amazon.com

Tagged: Cynacism, Growing Up, Idealism, Dreamer, Romantic

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say.”

— Paulo Coelho, amazon.com

Tagged: heart, Identity, Listening To Your Heart, Trust Yourself

“People will kill you. Over time. They will shave out every last morsel of fun in you with little, harmless sounding phrases that people uses every day, like: 'Be realistic!”

— Dylan Moran, amazon.com

Tagged: Realism, Idealism, Imagination, People, Negativity

“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”

— Angela Davis, amazon.com

Tagged: Transformation, Change, Reform, Oppression, Overcoming Oppression

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

— Martin Luther King Jr., amazon.com

Tagged: Love, Change, Idealism, Hate, Inspirational

“Reality is what people who lack vision see.”

— Mokokoma Mokhonoana, amazon.com

Tagged: Idealism, Change, Making Change, Reality, Realism

“Don't you understand that we need to be childish in order to understand? Only a child sees things with perfect clarity, because it hasn't developed all those filters which prevent us from seeing things that we don't expect to see.”

— Douglas Adams, goodreads.com

Tagged: Life, Understanding, Knowledge, Ignorance, Bias

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

— Oscar Wilde, amazon.com

Tagged: Idealism, Perspective, Optimism, Reality, clever

“Here’s my advice for anybody out there who is creative and scared: Shout until they fucking hear you. And then shout even louder.”

— Chris Gethard, youtube.com

Tagged: Creativity, Writing, Fear, Self-Expression

“The best thing you can possibly do with your life is to tackle the motherfucking shit out of it.”

— Cheryl Strayed, goodreads.com

Tagged: Love, Fighting, Life, Empowering

“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.”

— Frederick Buechner, goodreads.com

Tagged: Life, Fear

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

— Marianne Williamson, skdesigns.com

Tagged: Success, Empathy, Talent, Inspirational

“There are far, far better things out there than any we leave behind.”

— C.S. Lewis, amazon.com

Tagged: Change, Optimism, The future, Moving Forward, Embracing Change

“In general, people are not drawn to perfection in others. People are drawn to shared interests, shared problems, and an individual’s life energy. Humans connect with humans. Hiding one’s humanity and trying to project an image of perfection makes a person vague, slippery, lifeless, and uninteresting”

— Robert Glover, goodreads.com

Tagged: Perfection, Perfectionism, Life, Relationships, Authenticity

“You can’t just hope for happy endings. You have to believe in them. Then do the work, take the risks.”

— Nora Roberts, goodreads.com

Tagged: Happiness, Work, Taking Risks

“Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories and they will figure out how those stories apply to them.”

— Randy Pausch, goodreads.com

Tagged: Stories, Writing, Creativity, Self-Expression

“Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting.”

— Randy Pausch, goodreads.com

Tagged: People, Change, Love

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing…”

— Rob Siltanen, youtube.com

Tagged: Change, Idealism, Optimism, Challenge

“If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.”

— Austin Kleon, goodreads.com

Tagged: Creativity, Talent, Mentors, Artistic Growth

“If it were easy, everybody would do it. Hard is what makes it great.”

— Tom Hanks, brainyquote.com

Tagged: inspiration, motivation, Hard Work, Work, Change

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

— J.K. Rowling, goodreads.com

Tagged: Choices, Self-Direction, Abilities, character

“Sometimes the novel is not ready to be written because you haven’t met the inspiration for your main character yet. Sometimes you need two more years of life experience before you can make your masterpiece into something that will feel real and true and raw to other people. Sometimes you’re not fall…”

— Jamie Varon, medium.com

Tagged: Change, Life, Timing, Falling Behind, Patience

“Sometimes you have to live in precarious and temporary places. Unsuitable places. Wrong places. Sometimes the safe place won’t help you.”

— Jeanette Winterson, amazon.com

Tagged: ENFP, Change, Movement, Moving On, Places

“A good life is not a life without problems. A good life is a life with good problems. And so, despite the turbulence of the rocky waves and twisting tides, I can sometimes stare into the heart of my confusion and the crossed strains of joy and sadness, and smile and be grateful that it’s all there.”

— Mark Manson, observer.com

Tagged: The Good Life, Confusion

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.”

— Walt Whitman, amazon.com

Tagged: Sunshine, Shadows, Inspirational, Good Morning Quotes, Positivity

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when…”

— Steve Jobs, youtube.com

Tagged: Work, heart, Following Your Heart, inspiration, Passion

“Throw your heart over the fence. The rest will follow.”

— Mac Anderson, amazon.com

Tagged: Love, Relationships, Going For It, Following Your Heart, Inspirational