You might even find your motto—short phrases that leave a lasting impression.
Words from great and famous people can linger in our hearts, even if they’re just a single phrase.
Those who have achieved something or who keep taking on challenges each have their own convictions and resolve, and even their briefest words carry power.
This time, I’ve put together a list of such memorable quotes.
They’re all the kind of sayings you’ll want to etch into your heart and remember.
Since they’re short, they’re perfect as personal mottos—so don’t miss them!
Jot them down so you can recall them right away.
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- Knowing this will surely make you feel positive! Beautiful, heart-touching words
You might even find a personal motto? Short, memorable phrases (41–50)
What Japan gained after losing everything was hope… It planted the seeds of hope within us, who had been captivated by wealth.Ryu Murakami
I would like to share a famous quote by Ryū Murakami: “What Japan, having lost everything, gained was hope… It planted the seeds of hope within us, whose hearts had been captivated by wealth.” The Great East Japan Earthquake caused immense damage.
Many people must have spent their days in deep anxiety.
Yet it is precisely in such times that we must not forget “hope.” As the writer Ryū Murakami says, what we gain when everything is lost in a disaster is hope—the hope to live earnestly now and to dream of a brighter future.
In a Japan where everything is close at hand and life has become affluent, perhaps many of us have lost hope in exchange.
This also resonates with the story of Pandora’s box, in which hope remained at the end.
Prepare pessimistically, act optimistically.Kazuo Inamori
Let me introduce a famous quote left by Kazuo Inamori: “Prepare pessimistically, act optimistically.” Kazuo Inamori was a Japanese entrepreneur and engineer.
He founded Kyocera and Daini Denden, which is now KDDI, and served as chairman of the Inamori Foundation, a public-interest incorporated foundation.
He was also honorary chairman of Japan Airlines.
In the planning stage, with a strong will that says, “No matter what, we must accomplish this,” one should reexamine the plan with a pessimistic eye; then, in the execution stage, with the confidence that “We can definitely do it,” one should carry it out optimistically—brightly and with dignity.
Doesn’t this conviction also apply to disaster preparedness?
We need to make an effort to avert our eyes from misfortune.Kazlaser
Even though there are surely more enjoyable things out there, when our hearts are worn down, we humans tend to fixate only on unpleasant things.
For example, even if it’s your birthday and you should be excited, if an annoying boss makes some trivial comment, you end up thinking about that and nothing else.
Kazlaser says that if you want to live happily, you need to shut out the bad stuff yourself—it takes effort.
Why not start by deleting negative words from within yourself?
Even if you’re knocked down 99 times, all you need is to stand up the 100th time.Vincent van Gogh
As a painter representing the Post-Impressionists, the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh is still beloved around the world for his works today.
The quote, “Even if you’re knocked down 99 times, it’s enough to stand up the 100th,” evokes the dramatic life he led.
The message—that you haven’t lost unless you think you have, and that if you can smile in the end, you’ve won—can be a salvation for those on the verge of breaking.
It’s a maxim that, if adopted as a personal motto, will surely strengthen the heart.
It wasn’t by chance that we made it back alive. This is our mission.Sandwich Man
These are words from Sandwichman, a comedy duo from Sendai, that express a determination to keep moving forward.
The key point is that at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, they happened to be in Kesennuma, Miyagi—one of the disaster areas—while filming a TV show.
They convey what it means that they survived: being alive in that place was both fate and a mission, and they believe they are called to walk forward and pass on the story to the future.
You can feel their love for their hometown and their resolve to carry it on their shoulders as they move ahead.
Once you’ve chosen a path, never give up.Katharine Hepburn
Katherine Hepburn, an American actor also known for winning four Oscars.
Her famous quote, “Once you choose a path, never give up,” conveys the way of life of someone who achieved great things.
Whether the choice was entirely your own or not, the message of pressing forward on the path you’ve chosen expresses a resolve that can serve as a guide for living in any era.
It’s an energizing quote that also makes a great personal motto.
The heart never strays from the Way.Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi, an early Edo-period swordsman also known for leaving behind the martial arts treatise The Book of Five Rings.
The famous saying “Keep your mind always on the Way” expresses the conviction of Musashi, who devoted his life to the way of the sword.
If you have a great dream, goal, or belief of your own, you should understand the importance of an unwavering heart that does not stray from your path no matter what happens—something anyone aiming for an endless ideal can appreciate.
It’s a message to recall when you’re tempted to take the easy way out, and one I hope you’ll engrave in your heart as a personal motto.
Excellent people quietly cultivate themselves and nurture their virtue.Zhuge Kongming
Zhuge Kongming, a statesman who was active from the late Eastern Han to the Three Kingdoms period and renowned as a genius strategist, is also remembered for his integrity and moral character.
His famous saying, “The virtuous cultivate themselves quietly and nurture their virtue,” reflects his philosophy.
It suggests that truly outstanding people neither boast of their abilities nor become arrogant; instead, they steadily refine themselves.
This message remains a timeless truth even today.
It’s a memorable quote, well worth adopting as a personal motto.
I want to turn both the reality of the good and the reality of the bad into nourishment for what comes next.Naoko Takahashi
Former track and field athlete Naoko Takahashi, known as the gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the first woman in Japanese sports to receive the People’s Honor Award.
Her famous quote, “I want to turn both the reality of good things and the reality of bad things into nourishment for what comes next,” is quintessential Takahashi, whose radiant smile stood out even through the rigors of competitive life.
If we can turn everything that happens to us into power, we should be able to keep growing.
It’s a positive saying that encourages viewing both the good and the bad in a constructive light.
In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, a theoretical physicist hailed as the greatest of the 20th century, left behind numerous achievements.
The famous quote, “In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity,” is a message that perhaps only Einstein—who fundamentally transformed the way physics was understood at the time—could deliver.
Avoiding difficulty isn’t inherently bad, but when avoidance leads to stagnation, choosing to confront challenges can reveal things we couldn’t see before.
This quote teaches us that precisely in the places everyone tends to avoid lies the chance to reach what no one else has achieved.