50 "Live Life To The Fullest" Quotes That Can Change Your Life
May

I’ve recently had a few things happen that have changed my outlook on life.
First, I read The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, which deeply impacted how I want my life to be. I go into much more detail about my thoughts on this in my post, This Is Your Wake Up Call.
I also suffered an unexpected and tragic loss of a friend and coworker. The news of his passing hit me hard. Really hard. Not only because he was a great guy with a young family and a lot to live for, but because it made me put my own life in perspective. My frustration with my job and my unfulfilling lifestyle were instantly magnified 10 times over.
Here was a guy, only 7 years older than I am, who seemed to really enjoy his life. Now gone.
I spend my days constantly thinking of how “one day” I will be enjoying my life. “One day”, I will be living how I want to live. Well, what if “one day” never happens? Life is incredibly short. NOW is the time to enjoy life, not later.
I came incredibly close to quitting that day, but chose not to. Why? Fear. Fear that I wouldn’t be able to support my family. Fear that I would be forced to sell my home and have to rent some shitty apartment. Fear that I would be worse off than I am now.
Why do we let fear control how we live our lives?
After rationalizing my decision not to quit a hundred times in my head, I needed some inspiration to remind me of the importance of having freedom over our time and not taking any moments for granted. I had been compiling inspirational quotes for some time and now have the perfect reason to post them.
My Favorite “Live Life To The Fullest” Quotes
- “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and ask myself: “if today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” ~Steve Jobs
- “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me.” ~Erma Bombeck
- “Time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think.”~Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
- “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”~Harold Whitman
- “Life isn’t worth living unless you’re willing to take some big chances and go for broke.” ~Eliot Wiggington
- “What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful.”~HH the Dalai Lama
- “Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference.”~Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek
- “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”~Dr. Viktor Frankl
- “Let your life mean something. Become an inspiration to others so that they may try to do more and to become more than they are today.”~Thomas D. Willhite
- “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”~Henry David Thoreau
- “There are two components that are fundamental to enjoy life and feel good about yourself: continual learning and service.”~Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek
- “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all”~Helen Keller
- “Its important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear.”~Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
- “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”~Joseph Campbell
- “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that’s all”~Oscar Wilde
- “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”~Albert Einstein
- “Start living now. Stop saving the good china for that special occasion. Stop withholding your love until that special person materializes. Every day you are alive is a special occasion. Every minute, every breath, is a gift from God.”~Mary Manin Morrissey
- “You don’t get to choose how you are going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you are going to live. Now.”~Joan Baez
- “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”~George Bernard Shaw
- “Reality is negotiable.”~Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek
- “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”~Friedrich Nietzsche
- “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”~Robert Byrne
- “I shall pass through this life but once. Any good therefore that I can do, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it. For I shall never pass this way again”~Etienne de Grellet
- “Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.”~Dion Boucicault
- “Live every day as if it were your last and then some day you’ll be right.”~H.H. “Breaker” Morant
- “Make your life a mission – not an intermission.”~Arnold H. Glasgow
- “The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have.”~Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
- “The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”~Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”~Albert Einstein
- “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”~Anonymous
- “There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back.”~Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister
- “Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.”~Wayne Dyer
- “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”~Mark Twain
- “Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snow flake”~M.B. Ray
- “What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”~Dr. Viktor Frankl
- “People say that what we are seeking is in for life. I don’t think this is what we’re really seeking. I think what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive.”~Joseph Campbell
- “A life without cause is a life without effect.”~Barbarella
- “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”~Robert Byrne
- “You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”~Charles Buxton
- “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.”~James Dean
- “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.”~Charles Richards
- “Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all. When people suggest you follow your “passion” or your “bliss,” I propose that they are, in fact, referring to the same singular concept: excitement. This brings us full circle. The question you should be asking isn’t, “What do I want?” or “What are my goals?” but “What would excite me?”~Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek
- “Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive, it isn’t.”~Richard Bach
- “Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”~Mahatma Gandhi
- “You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted.”~Ruth E. Renk
- “Every man dies. Not every man really lives.”~Braveheart
- “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”~Diane Ackerman
- “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”~Abraham Lincoln
- “Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways.”~Stephen Vincent Benét
- “The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss.”~Thomas Carlyle
Think About This…Really
I will leave you with a poem which I read in The 4-Hour Workweek. It was written by a young girl who was terminally ill at the time. I found it to be incredibly moving.
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
”Do you run through each day
On the fly?”
When you ask “How are you?”
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say “Hi”?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift….Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
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Do you have a favorite “live life to the fullest” quote? Share it in the comments!

Dino Dogan
Dude..thats quite a list..great work my friend.
I loved the “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me.”
Awesome quote 🙂
Steve
I think the beauty of these quotes lies in taking the time to really think about what they mean to us. Quotes are a dime a dozen, but then there are those that will reach us on a deep level.
Teresa Lindsay
Agreed – #2 is also one of my favourites from the list. My aha moment was when I had the thought “If I am 80 and I look back, I don’t ever want to say “I didn’t even try.” So I giving it my all and raising a family.
Harriet`
When I saw the title of this blog I thought ‘brilliant I love quotes!’ I even have a quote wall behind my desk so I can see it when I’m working and it makes me not give up! Some of these are great – I’ll definatley be adding them to the quote wall!
Steve
Yea, it’s good to have a reminder once in a while (or every day) about the importance of how we live our lives.
Méla
Since the 28th of January I have lost 6 people from my life. Two were elderly relatives who had lived full lives. Four were friends, co-workers and colleagues who were cut down in their prime. This has certainly made me sit up and take stock of my own life. One of favourite quotes right now is from my friend, writer Michael van Rooy who left us at the end of January: Monty Haaviko Rule #156 “Sometimes you just have to go for it.”
Steve
Mela,
Sorry to hear about all the losses you’ve endured. Sometimes it takes a tragic event for us to really give us perspective. I know it has for me…
Keshav
I read Tim Ferris book almost a Year ago. Love it. Sadly I haven’t followed much from it. I should read it again.
You are right about the fear. It is crushing us. You had a realization looking at your friend who is 7 years older, maybe you will have the opposite reaction when you look at me at 31 years. You may think “Ah, He doesn’t have kids. He is young. Definitely he can take the risk of pursuing his passions”. And I do the same for a guy in in his early 20’s – Look at him he has all the time and energy and he is single!!
The problem is that we (or at least I for now) may keep on talking about it and one day – It will be your last day!
Sometimes I get so desperate to think that maybe I should face a near death experience or disease to shake me loose from my foundation of fear.
I know you are doing something about it now Steve. Do more, we are all waiting, watching, hoping to learn to fly loose!!
Cheers!
Steve
Keshav,
This book has given me much clarity and has provided inspiration to break free from what I’m doing even more than I already have!
As much as I would love to jump ship and quit my job, the fear is too strong. I can make excuses all day like “I have kids” or “I have too much debt”, but it’s all bullshit.
It’s fear of the unknown that keeps me at my soul sucking job. It’s been almost 7 months so far that I’ve had this blog and I’m going full tilt until I can walk away from my 9-5.
It’s interesting, becasue I often think that I too would need a near death experience to wake me up and get me to take massive action.
What’s really holding you back Keshav?
Keshav
I just don’t know what I should be doing. The lack of clarity for myself has kept me in a “pause” mode for the last 2-3 years.
Steve
That is something you have to break out of. I was there for years and it sucked the life out of me. How can you find your way out? Let’s chat about it.
David
Great now I am depressed to go work my 9-5 today haha
I laugh but if these quotes make you feel anything than you probably aren’t living your life to the fullest.
So with that said I’m just going to enjoy today. Enjoy my 9-5 and enjoy my grind to get away from the 9-5.
Steve
David,
Not trying to bum you out, just wake you up. If you like your 9-5 then great. If not, why are you doing it? Really??
David
Hey Steve,
I do my 9-5 for a lot of reasons, but definitely not because it is something I love to do. I guess I still work my 9-5 because I believe I can build up a business on the side without having to quit my 9-5.
Cassandra Francis
I’m depressed been in and out of work would love a 9-5 job I had one and left thinking I was working somewhere better, but have had troubles ever since. You don’t know what you truly have until it is gone. So has given me a wake up call, as the change has put strain on my partner and family but not giving up
Steve
Stay strong, there are plenty of opportunities out there, I’m positive of that.
Benny
Thanks for putting those together Steve. Tons of great stuff from great people. Love the first one by Steve Jobs.
Kim
Steve, thanks. Such a great reminder that all we have is now.
Steve
So true Kim. Soon you’ll be enjoying your time even more!
April
Thank you for this thought-provoking post. Sometimes we forget that life is for living and this has put some perspective back for me. Fear and pride has stopped me from doing so many things…That is changing now.
I look forward to reading more of your posts
April
Steve
That was the intention, April. I’m glad it got you thinking.
Letting emotions get in your way of taking action is not an easy thing to overcome. Sometimes all it takes though is a simple reminder of how valuable our limited time on Earth is.
Good luck on your ventures…
Kajal
hey thnks a lot for putting this up 🙂 i loved the poem at the end 🙂 ive been soo busy doing college things that ive forgoten to spend times with my friends and my boyfriend.. i should really take time and spend my last year with them :)) i wouldnt be goin to in-state college and most of my friends like me are goin out of state so i should just slow down and spend some time with them.. thnks again for a great post
Steve
Kajal,
Glad to hear that you found meaning in some of there quotes. Far too often we get caught up in life and forget about what really matters.
Yajat
hey steve damn gud work…that was somethng to learn frm…
these type of reminders r really helpful…instead of thinking that ur life sucks v shld rather think that actually v r sucking at tat point of life…living every moment of life is what to be done rather than leaving moments of life…thnks again for the reminder Steve…and yes i wld surely read The 4 hour work week…
keep doing this work
Steve
Yajat,
Thanks! I tend to be a bit negative and pessimistic so it’s good to have things like these to remind me of what life is really about!
John D. Wilson
Good post, enjoyable read.
Cheers,
John D. Wilson
Steve
Thanks John. Hopefully you were inspired….
Kelly
Great post/quotes, thanks so much for sharing!!!
Tyler Albrecht
The poem at the end was so true about everything i do. When I drive, I don’t pay attention to anything around me.When I say hi, I don’t pay attention to the response.
jeanne
life is short. why are you still working there?
Steve
Do you want the long story or the short one?
jeanne
the short one, obviously. but really, why not is the answer.
Chase
Thank you. I shared it again and again. This was much needed tonight.
James
Thankyou very much for this list. Usually when reading through quotes and blogs I like them, but when I read this, i was truly inspired. Sometimes you need a wake up call. Not because you have been living your life the wrong way, but because there is so much more you can get from life with the right attitude. If only we were taught from a young age how much more gratification you can get from inspiring another individual than simply the greed we are taught and how we should try to attain. I hope that this can help lead me onto greater paths. Once more thankyou, and god bless you.
Steve
James,
Wow, you seem to really get it. It means a lot that you found real value in these quotes and I sincerely hope you will apply some of the lessons in them..
Alvin
..i am so depressed this few days..but after reading those quotations, i just realized that life is worth living..every second, every minute and everyday..we can make ourselves happy..we can enjoy life even with small things..it is just up to us on how we handle and will be affected by others..THANKS:))
Steve
Great for you, Alvin. I’m glad you can see it!
Life CAN be amazing-so let it..
WorkingBoomer
I just read these wonderful motivating quotes. They are great! The poem was very touching. It really makes one think. Thank you so mucuh.
Steve
Glad to hear they resonated with you! Now get out there and live your life!!!
John Dominic
Keep up the good work… I really appreciate your time and effort… Once I was told by a doctor that, it was my last day of my life… I understood what the words meant… I was not afraid, I was actually eager to see how death would be… Death doesn’t come when we expect it, death comes when you least expect it… That day I realized that the most important thing in human life is to LIVE… Unfortunately we try to survive rather living… Very few would actually understand my words… Today my friend called me and forwarded this link. He told me that this web page made him realize that he must live on… Humans live on words but not the reality… But, if some words could actually ignite their spirits, then its very good. Once again I appreciate the effort you had put up. All I can say is THANK YOU, you saved my friend’s life… I would wish all happiness in your life…
Steve
Well said, John. It is all about living and not surviving. This is the main reason I changed my life so drastically over the past few years. I was just wasting my life away and finally decided I couldn’t do it anymore. Sadly, most will never make this change and will allow life to pass them by.
As far as saving your friend’s life, I can hardly take credit for that, but I am very glad to hear things worked out for him..
Lisha
Hey l love it
angbuhang
I really loved your motivating quote dude.
“Let your life mean something. Become an inspiration to others so that they may try to do more and to become more than they are today.” this quote really touch my heart.
thanks for the quote dude.I really enjoy.