When someone asks you in a conversation or an interview, “What is your motto?” how would you answer? A motto is a phrase you keep in mind as a guide for your actions and your life, so your answer can reveal how you think.
This time, we’ve compiled a list of short yet positive quotes that are great as personal mottos.
Simply having a motto can encourage you and keep you in check, so try finding a favorite phrase of your own.
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Engrave positive words in your heart! Short quotes recommended as mottos (1–10)
Find a way. If there isn’t one, make one.NEW!Hannibal Barca
Hannibal Barca, renowned as Carthage’s great general who defeated the Roman army at the Battle of Cannae.
This famous quote is undeniably the powerful words of a true commander.
In 221 BCE, at the young age of twenty-six, he became the army’s commander and achieved numerous victories.
Perhaps this was because, as the quote suggests, he constantly sought ways to win, and if none could be found, he would create them himself.
His lofty ambition and unwavering resolve elevated him to a great general and made him a figure remembered and spoken of to this day.
Your happiness in life depends on the quality of your thoughts.NEW!Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, one of the Five Good Emperors and the 16th Roman emperor.
He is also known for leaving behind his work Meditations, and can be regarded as a model of a philosopher-king who preferred learning over war.
He was also a thinker within Stoic philosophy.
The happiness of life changes according to the quality of one’s own thoughts.
Controlling the mind and emotions through thought also affects how we ultimately interpret things.
In other words, a single way of thinking can make you happy—or unhappy.
In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, a German socialist who proposed the theories of special and general relativity and is often hailed as the greatest physicist of the 20th century.
His famous saying, “In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity,” seems to teach us that there are no chances to be found on smooth and easy paths.
It’s precisely when we face obstacles and hardships—and decide to overcome or solve them—that we encounter ways of thinking and methods we hadn’t considered before.
This idea resonates with Einstein’s own life, from an unknown patent clerk to a figure celebrated as a great person.
It’s a quote worth keeping in mind throughout life and makes an excellent personal motto.
You can’t change other people or the past, but you can change yourself and the future.Eric Berne
Eric Berne, a Canadian psychiatrist known for proposing Transactional Analysis in 1957, once said, “You can’t change other people or the past, but you can change yourself and the future.” It’s a quote that makes you nod in recognition of its simple truth.
Indeed, it’s hard to change others through your efforts alone, and nothing can alter what has already happened.
But if you work at it, you can change yourself and shape what lies ahead from this moment on.
It’s a positive message that points us toward where to direct our efforts and sustains hope for the future.
If you can dream it, you can achieve it.Walt Disney
Walt Disney was a businessman with many faces—an animation creator, animator, producer, film director, screenwriter, manga artist, voice actor, and entertainer.
His famous quote, “If you can dream it, you can do it,” carries special weight precisely because he founded The Walt Disney Company, which won worldwide popularity after many twists and turns.
Fundamentally, you can’t achieve anything without having a dream or a goal.
Because we can envision our dreams, we make the effort, and if we can picture it, this quote gives us the courage to believe we can make it real.
Everyone has the right to determine their own destiny.Bob Marley
Singer-songwriter Bob Marley helped spread Jamaican music worldwide and raise its profile.
His famous quote, “Everyone has the right to decide their own destiny,” reminds us that we can shape our fate through our choices.
Many people, for various reasons, give up on life or get swept along by their circumstances and environment, and end up not living the life they envisioned.
This message—simple yet easily forgotten—that we decide our own lives is something we should remember as a guiding principle for living.
To forge great character, one must not hurry.Yoshida Shōin
Yoshida Shoin, a samurai of the Choshu domain who taught at the Shoka Sonjuku—a private academy that produced many activists who later played key roles in the Meiji Restoration—left us the famous saying, “To cultivate great vessels, one must not hurry.” It teaches that nurturing outstanding talent and character requires time and patience rather than haste.
Even today, there’s a strong tendency to prize youth, to demand immediate effectiveness without experience, and to prioritize instant results over growth and potential.
Since the timing of when one’s abilities blossom differs from person to person, this quote reminds us of the importance of building strength without rushing.