All Time Famous Denis Waitley Quotes

Denis E. Waitley (born 1933), is an American motivational speaker, writer, and consultant. He has been recognized as the best-selling author of the audio series, The Psychology of Winning and books such as “Seeds of Greatness” and “The Winner’s Edge”. Waitley has been inducted into the International Speakers’ Hall of Fame.

Denis Waitley Quotes

1. “It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not.”
— Denis Waitley

2. “The results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort you apply.”
— Denis Waitley

3. “A good life is a collection of happy memories.”
— Denis Waitley

4. “The real risk is doing nothing.”
— Denis Waitley

5. “Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward, toward finding the answer.”
— Denis Waitley

6. “Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time, and energy needed to develop yourself.”
— Denis Waitley

7. “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”
— Denis Waitley

8. “Give your best effort, because you are worth your best effort.”
— Denis Waitley

9. “Losers let it happen; winners make it happen!”
— Denis Waitley

10. “Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.”
— Denis Waitley

11. “There are no mistakes or failures, only lessons.”
— Denis Waitley

12. “The truth is, you don’t break a bad habit; you replace it with a good one.”
— Denis Waitley

13. “The most important three words you can say to yourself: Yes I can!”
— Denis Waitley

14. “Motivation is motive in action.”
— Denis Waitley

15. “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”
— Denis Waitley

16. “No one is born with self-confidence. Self-confidence is learned and earned with experience.”
— Denis Waitley

17. “Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.”
— Denis Waitley

18. “When you visualize, then you materialize.”
— Denis Waitley

19. “Happy people plan actions, they don’t plan results.”
— Denis Waitley

20. “Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”
— Denis Waitley

21. “Time And health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.”
— Denis Waitley

22. “View life as a continuous learning experience.”
— Denis Waitley

23. “The greatest communication skill is paying value to others.”
— Denis Waitley

24. “When you visualize, then you materialize. If you’ve been there in the mind you’ll go there in the body.”
— Denis Waitley

25. “Commitment is that turning point in your life when you seize the moment to alter your destiny.”
— Denis Waitley

26. “It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.”
— Denis Waitley

27. “The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval.”
— Denis Waitley

28. “Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.”
— Denis Waitley

29. “Don’t wait for an employer, friend, or mentor to show appreciation for your work. Take pride in your own efforts on a daily basis.”
— Denis Waitley

30. “The greatest achievement is to outperform yourself.”
— Denis Waitley

31. “A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.”
— Denis Waitley

32. “Chase your passion, not your pension.”
— Denis Waitley

33. “Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.”
— Denis Waitley

34. “Opportunities are problems in search of solutions.”
— Denis Waitley

35. “A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with the realization that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences. You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make.”
— Denis Waitley

36. “The less you try to impress, the more impressive you are.”
— Denis Waitley

37. “Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success.”
— Denis Waitley

38. “Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.”
— Denis Waitley

39. “Pessimists see a problem behind every opportunity. Optimists see an opportunity behind every problem.”
— Denis Waitley

40. “A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future.”
— Denis Waitley

41. “Happiness, wealth, and success are by-products of goal setting, they cannot be the goal themselves.”
— Denis Waitley

42. “Listening without bias or distraction is the greatest value you can pay another person.”
— Denis Waitley

43. “Accept yourself as you are right now; an imperfect, changing, growing, and worthy person.”
— Denis Waitley

44. “If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won’t, you most assuredly won’t. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.”
— Denis Waitley

45. “Most people spend their entire lives on a fantasy island called ‘Someday I’ll.’”
— Denis Waitley

46. “I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.”
— Denis Waitley

47. “We learn by observation, imitation, and repetition.”
— Denis Waitley

48. “To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.”
— Denis Waitley

49. “Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.”
— Denis Waitley

50. “Doubters don’t win, winners don’t doubt.”
— Denis Waitley

51. “Real power comes by empowering others.”
— Denis Waitley

52. “Your attitude is a choice you make.”
— Denis Waitley

53. “Live each day as if was your last, not in the future, not in the past. You may not get what you want, but, in the long run, you will get what you expect.”
— Denis Waitley

54. “Self-esteem is that deep-down inside the skin feeling you have of your own self-worth.”
— Denis Waitley

55. “Imagination plus innovation equals realization.”
— Denis Waitley

56. “The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”
— Denis Waitley

57. “All of the top achievers I know are life-long learners. Looking for new skills, insights, and ideas. If they’re not learning, they’re not growing and not moving toward excellence.”
— Denis Waitley

58. “No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself.”
— Denis Waitley

59. “I would rather fail trying than succeed at doing nothing.”
— Denis Waitley

60. “The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am.”
— Denis Waitley

61. “Habits are like comfortable beds. They are easy to get into, but difficult to get out of.”
— Denis Waitley

62. “God’s Law of Cause and Effect: Your rewards in life will always be equal to the amount and quality of service rendered, in the long run.”
— Denis Waitley

63. “Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep.”
— Denis Waitley

64. “Everything that is past is either a learning experience to grow on, a beautiful memory to reflect on, or a motivating factor to act upon.”
— Denis Waitley

65. “Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise. View life as a continuous learning experience.”
— Denis Waitley

66. “Your attitude is either the lock on or the key to the door of your success.”
— Denis Waitley

67. “You must learn from your past mistakes, but not lean on your past successes.”
— Denis Waitley

68. “There is a direct relationship between joy and effort. The joy of success is in ratio to the amount of effort expended to achieve it.”
— Denis Waitley

69. “Touch is the magic wand of intimacy. Love is keeping in touch.”
— Denis Waitley

70. “Relentless, repetitive self-talk is what changes our self-image.”
— Denis Waitley

71. “Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
— Denis Waitley

72. “Choose a career you love and you will never have to go to work.”
— Denis Waitley

73. “A dream is a vision, a goal is a promise. You can keep your promises to yourself by remaining flexible, focused, and committed.”
— Denis Waitley

74. “Motivation is an inner force that compels behavior.”
— Denis Waitley

75. “Habits are like submarines; they run silent and deep.”
— Denis Waitley

76. “Success is not the destination; it’s a way to travel.”
— Denis Waitley

77. “The only limits on human achievement are self-imposed.”
— Denis Waitley

78. “If you’re not networking, you’re not networking.”
— Denis Waitley

79. “You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler.”
— Denis Waitley

80. “Achievers can almost literally taste success because they imagine their goals in such vivid detail. Setbacks only seem to add spice and favor to the final taste of victory.”
— Denis Waitley

81. “Champions never brag, never shout, never have to go to extremes to build themselves up for others or put others down. They let their actions, deeds, and results speak for them.”
— Denis Waitley

82. “We don’t get what we want, we get what we expect.”
— Denis Waitley

83. “Darren Hardy proves with The Compound Effect that common sense-when applied-yields amazingly uncommon results. Follow these simple steps and become who you were meant to be!”
— Denis Waitley

84. “Get excited and enthusiastic about your own dream. This excitement is like a forest fire – you can smell it, taste it, and see it from a mile away.”
— Denis Waitley

85. “You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization.”
— Denis Waitley

86. “Positive self-direction is the action plan that all winners in life use to turn imagination into reality, fantasy into fact, and dreams into actual goals.”
— Denis Waitley

87. “Goals are like stepping stones to the stars. They should never be used to put a ceiling or a limit on achievement.”
— Denis Waitley

88. “The world is a mirror and reflects back your expectations. What you get is what you see.”
— Denis Waitley

89. “You must continue to gain expertise, but avoid thinking like an expert.”
— Denis Waitley

90. “A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.”
— Denis Waitley

91. “Perseverance does not always mean sticking to the same thing forever. It means giving full concentration and effort to whatever you are doing right now.”
— Denis Waitley

92. “You can only do good if you feel good.”
— Denis Waitley

93. “Your habits will determine your quality of life.”
— Denis Waitley

94. “The greatest choice we have is to think before we act and then take action toward our life goals every day. Our problems result not only from our lack of action but from our action without thought.”
— Denis Waitley

95. “Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating.”
— Denis Waitley

96. “The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do.”
— Denis Waitley

97. “Time is the most precious element of human existence. The successful person knows how to put energy into time and how to draw success from time.”
— Denis Waitley

98. “By thinking and acting affirmatively in this minute, you will influence the hour, the day, and in time, your entire life.”
— Denis Waitley

99. “What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. Your answers lie inside of you.”
— Denis Waitley

100. “A failure is like fertilizer; it stinks to be sure, but it makes things grow faster in the future.”
— Denis Waitley

101. “Time changes everything, but with patience, we can keep our desires relatively constant. If we can just hang on long enough, time will eventually create for us the conditions in which we can succeed.”
— Denis Waitley

102. “Put up the dream. Put in the knowledge. Put out the effort.”
— Denis Waitley

103. “Highly motivated achievers are looking not to receive but to contribute. They are looking for problems that are personally satisfying to solve.”
— Denis Waitley

104. “You are an uncut gemstone of priceless value. Cut and polish your potential with knowledge, skills, and service and you will be in great demand throughout your life.”
— Denis Waitley

105. “Failures do what is tension relieving, while winners do what is goal achieving.”
— Denis Waitley

106. “The truly successful person inspires others to do more than they have thought possible for themselves.”
— Denis Waitley

107. “Never follow the crowd in what you do; the crowd has never produced anything of lasting quality, value, or beauty.”
— Denis Waitley

108. “The primary success factor is knowing how to learn from others and rely on yourself.”
— Denis Waitley

109. “The winner’s edge is not in a gifted birth, a high IQ, or in talent. The winner’s edge is all in the attitude, not aptitude. Attitude is the criterion for success.”
— Denis Waitley

110. “Winning is all in the attitude!”
— Denis Waitley

111. “No gift can ever replace the value of being there in person.”
— Denis Waitley

112. “SMILE! In every language, in every culture – it is the light in your window that tells people there’s a caring, sharing individual inside and it’s the universal code for “I’m O. K. – You’re O. K., too!””
— Denis Waitley

113. “Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes in a day.”
— Denis Waitley

114. “Virtually nothing on earth can stop a person with a positive attitude who has his goals clearly in sight.”
— Denis Waitley

115. “When you kill time, you kill your opportunities for success.”
— Denis Waitley

116. “The two greatest fear busters are knowledge and action.”
— Denis Waitley

117. “Real motivation is that drive from within: You know where you are going because you have a compelling image inside, not a travel poster on the wall.”
— Denis Waitley

118. “Always give more in service, than you receive in payment, and customers will beat a path to your door.”
— Denis Waitley

119. “What you leave in your children, is more important than what you leave to them.”
— Denis Waitley

120. “The season for enjoying the fullness of life – partaking of the harvest, sharing the harvest with others, and reinvesting and saving portions of the harvest for yet another season of growth.”
— Denis Waitley

121. “As long as we persist in our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow.”
— Denis Waitley

122. “By staying focused and flexible, you will meet and exceed your major life-forming goals. Success is not a resting place – it is a launching pad.”
— Denis Waitley

123. “Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.”
— Denis Waitley

124. “Real success comes in small portions day by day. You need to take pleasure in life’s daily little treasures. It is the most important thing in measuring success.”
— Denis Waitley

125. “People who seek attention, need all the help they can get.”
— Denis Waitley

126. “The greatest limitations you will ever face will be those you place on yourself.”
— Denis Waitley

127. “The most important key to the permanent enhancement of self-esteem is the practice of positive inner-talk.”
— Denis Waitley

128. “Love is a daily, mutual exchange of value.”
— Denis Waitley

129. “The real champions in life are so humble and gracious. They just continue doing what they do without all the posturing. If you’ve got the real thing, you don’t have to flaunt a loud imitation.”
— Denis Waitley

130. “How you spend your time is far more important than all the material possessions you may own or positions you may attain.”
— Denis Waitley

131. “Courage means to keep working a relationship, to continue seeking solutions to difficult problems, and to stay focused during stressful periods.”
— Denis Waitley

132. “Identify with excellence, put your name on your work, and both your work and name will stand the test of time.”
— Denis Waitley

133. “Instead of just letting life happen, I’m going to make it happen for me.”
— Denis Waitley

134. “By focusing on positive, healthy motivations and letting the more negative ones pass, you can purify the source of you imaginative power.”
— Denis Waitley

135. “The essence of life is finding something you really love and then making the daily experience worthwhile.”
— Denis Waitley

136. “Personal satisfaction is the most important ingredient of success.”
— Denis Waitley

137. “The seeds of greatness are ideas you learn from people who’ve been great in their service to others.”
— Denis Waitley

138. “Don’t tell people how to live, demonstrate by example.”
— Denis Waitley

139. “When you are in the valley, keep your goal firmly in view and you will get the renewed energy to continue the climb.”
— Denis Waitley

140. “If you have real, internal value, you don’t need a loud, expensive imitation.”
— Denis Waitley

141. “Face up to those areas that are weak in your life and seek to make them strong.”
— Denis Waitley

142. “As long as we are persistent in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.”
— Denis Waitley

143. “Out of need springs desire, and out of desire springs the energy and the will to win.”
— Denis Waitley

144. “Don’t let negative people determine your self-worth.”
— Denis Waitley

145. “Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.”
— Denis Waitley

146. “Life is a do-it-for-others, do-it-yourself project.”
— Denis Waitley

147. “Integrity, a standard of personal morality and ethics, is not relative to the situation you happen to find yourself in and doesn’t sell out to expediency. Its short supply is getting shorter – but without it, leadership is a facade.”
— Denis Waitley

148. “Life is based on growth and finding new challenges to face and overcome, new contributions to make to society, and constantly coming to a better understanding of yourself and the universe in which you live.”
— Denis Waitley

149. “Don’t be a time manager, be a priority manager. Cut your major goals into bite-sized pieces. Each small priority or requirement on the way to the ultimate goal becomes a mini goal in itself.”
— Denis Waitley

150. “You become that to which you are most exposed.”
— Denis Waitley