How could I have never done a page on purpose quotes before? Strange. I have so many I’ll probably make a 2nd page in a day or two. Here’s 25 for you:
Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. -Plato
The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. -Mitch Albom
Purpose is what gives life a meaning. -Charles H. Perkhurst
Nothing can resist the human will that will stake even its existence on its stated purpose. -Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose. -John Mason Brown (1800-1859)
Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude. -Alfred North Whitehead
Life has a higher end, than to be amused. -William Ellery Channing
What makes life dreary is the want of a motive. -George Eliot (1819-1880)
The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body. -Mohatma Gandhi
Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. -John F. Kennedy
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. -Dalai Lama
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. -Buddha (568-488 BC)
To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully. -James Allen (1864-1912)
The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others. -Albert Schweitzer
Singleness of purpose is one of the chief essentials for success in life, no matter what may be one’s aim. -John D. Rockefeller
Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for. -Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961)
Men, like nails, lose their usefulness when they lose direction and begin to bend. -Walter Savage Landor
The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder – a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life, and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you. -Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
The purpose of life is a life of purpose. -Robert Byrne
Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. -Washington Irving
Men achieve a certain greatness unawares, when working to another aim. -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
The world makes way for a man who knows where he is going. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is. -Amy Carmichael (1867-1951)
Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
A useless life is an early death. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by unfolding of his powers. -Erich Fromm (1900-1980)
Are you “unfolding your powers”? Hopefully you enjoyed these purpose quotes. Please write a comment in the section below.
Dear Shawn,
All your quotes and poems are meaningful and uplifting. They help to boost my spirit and give me a purpose and thinking to go ahead.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks and God Bless
Regards – Nicholas
Thanks Nicholas. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the quotes and that you’re taking the time to say so. Thanks again; I hope to keep hearing from you.
Dear Shawn,
All the quotes are very motivating and specially this one :”Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. -Washington Irving”
We all run for our wishes and somehow lose the purpose of life..
Thanks and Regards,
Sakshi
very very inspiring.surely will, or i should say has brought tremendous shaking, that is of my thinking.god please help me.
These really hit home. All of them, but one that really stood out for me …..Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. -Dalai Lama
I like all of them. Thanks Shawn.
Really uplifting!
Really uplifting!
Hey Shawn,
As always, the quotes are very uplifting. Gives a different perspective on life and of living. Keep up this great work!
Best always,
Amar
good reading at 3 am or anytime. Very uplifting at a time when I really need it. Thank you, Shawn
What makes life dreary is the want of a motive. -George Eliot (1819-1880)
I love these quotes bcs I just started something in my life that requires I always know my purpose
Thanks Shawn, I think I” be coming back to read these almost everyday!!!!
Hi Shawn…It’s nice to have a motivation thoughts to go through each day.The meaning of one’s existence is according to a good intention,a purpose to live a sensible meaningful life.thanks.
You inspires a lot!
Hello Shawn, you have captured many reasons why there is a purpose to our lives in these wonderful quotes. Enjoyed reading everyone of them.
I have some thoughts on the subject I would like to share that I came across:
Is there any significance for life in a Universe of billions of stars that ignore us? Is there any significance for life in an Universe whose dimensions and nature overcome our understanding?
Listen to the words of Pascal, in the seventeenth century:
«When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity that lies before and after it, when I consider the little space I fill and I see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant, and which know me not, I rest frightened, and astonished, for there is no reason why I should be here rather than there. Why now rather than then? Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time have been ascribed to me?»
****************
Love gives meaning to our lives – as do friendship, or art or faith in God. These are factors of true happiness, of inner peace, of feelings of harmony, allowing meaning to our existence.
Is between these pendulums – the positive, the one that gives happiness and meaning, and the negative – that our lives are lived. And when we meditate about all that, we arrive at a diverse and disagreeing set of thoughts about the meaning and purpose of life.
When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space which I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant, and which know me not, I am frightened, and am astonished at being here rather than there; for there is no reason why here rather than there, why now rather than then. Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time been alloted to me? B. Pascal, 1623-1662, French philosopher.
Why is there something rather than nothing? We do not know. We will never know. Why? To what purpose? We do not know whether there is a purpose. But if it is true that nothing is born of nothing, the very existence of something – the world, the universe – would seem to imply that there has always been something: that being is eternal, uncreated, perhaps creator, and this is why so many believe in God. André Comte-Sponville, French philosopher.
The wise man has the sun and the moon by his side. He grasps the universe under the arm. He blends everything into a harmonious whole, cast aside whatever is confused or obscured, and regards the humble and the honourable. Tchuang-Tseu, Chinese philosopher.
How peaceful it was while I was away, smile…..
Thanks, Lee! Awesome quotes!
Thanks you encouraged my heart and my mind too, keep it up,I wish more and more like those.
Happy to help, Kate! Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks