Quotes About Action, Starting, and Small Steps

“Dream big, start small, but most of all, start.”

— Simon Sinek

“The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

— William Faulkner

“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now.”

— Nolan Bushnell

“People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.”

― Lewis Cass

“I know how it looks. But just start. Nothing is insurmountable.”

— Lin-Manuel Miranda

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” 

— Confucius

“Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.”

— Chinese Proverb

“There is only one proof of ability: action.”

― Marie Ebner-Eschenbach

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”

— James Levin

“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.”

— Pablo Picasso

“Never confuse motion with action.”

— Benjamin Franklin

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.”

— Bruce Lee

“Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.”

— Doug Firebaugh

“The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal and launch, get started, take action, move.”

— John Wooden

“The future is always beginning now.”

— Mark Strand

“If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it’s moving you away from your goals.”

— Brian Tracy

“You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.”

— Tina Fey

“Little by little does the trick.”

— Aesop

“Someday is not a day of the week.”

― Janet Dailey

“The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs… one step at a time.”

— Joe Girard

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

― Norman Vincent Peale

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”

— Lucille Ball

“The secret of getting things done is to act!”

— Dante Alighieri

“An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.”

― Arnold Henry Glasow

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

— Lao Tzu

“One hundred percent of the shots you don’t take don’t go in.”

— Wayne Gretzky

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

― Dale Carnegie

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

— Walt Disney

“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.”

— Napolean Bonaparte

“Right now a moment of time is passing by… we must become that moment.”

— Paul Cezanne

“Nothing happens until something moves.”

— Albert Einstein

“Don’t try to rush progress. Remember, a step forward, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction. Keep believing.”

— Kara Goucher

“Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.”

— Wayne Dyer

“There are only two rules for being successful. One, figure out exactly what you want to do, and two, do it.”

— Mario Cuomo

“The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.”

— Dawson Trotman

“A year from now you will wish you had started today.”

— Unknown

“The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention.”

— Unknown

“Be great in act, as you have been in thought.”

— Shakespeare

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step.”

— Martin Luther King Jr. 

“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”

— Tony Robbins

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but don’t quit.”

— Conrad Hilton

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”

— James Clear

“Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.”

― Baltasar Gracian

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”

— Chinese Proverb

“Some of us are busy doing things; some of us are busy complaining.”

— Debasish Mridha

“Wake up early and tackle the day before it tackles you. Be on offense, not defense.”

— Evan Carmichael

“For any movement to gain momentum, it must start with a small action.”

— Adam Braun

“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.”

— Amelia Earhart 

“Act as if everything you do makes a difference. It does.”

― William James

“Decisions decide destiny. There is no action without decision.”

— Tony Robbins

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” 

— Unknown

“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless your realize the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”

— Steve Maraboli

“Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't.”

— Jerry Rice

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

— Unknown

“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.”

― Yoda

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity.”

— Amelia Earhart

“You never know what's around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain.”

― Tom Hiddleston

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”

— Sam Levenson

“Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future.”

— Bradley Whitford

“Act the way that you want to feel.”

— Gretchen Rubin

“Even a snail will eventually reach its destination.”

― Gail Tsukiyama

“You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. To begin, begin.”

— Gorden B. Hickley

“I think a lot of people dream. And while they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, powerful, engaged people? Are busy doing.”

— Shonda Rhimes

“If you have a great ambition, take as big a step as possible in the direction of fulfilling it. The step may only be a tiny one, but trust that it may be the largest one possible for now.”

— Mildred McAfee

“It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action.”

— Al Batt 

“The only difference between where you are and where you want to be is the steps you haven’t taken yet.”

— Hayley Solich

“One workout at a time. One day at a time. One meal at a time.”

― Chalene Johnson

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”

— Albert Einstein

“The beginning is always today.”

— Mary Shelley