Learning quotes can help anyone grow and achieve greater success every day. 

Credit: OpenSourceWay, Flickr

Live is all about growth and learning. We all evolve through our experiences. Everything from the people we encounter randomly on a daily basis to the mistakes we make, both big and small, helps shape who we are. However, most of us also have a pretty good idea about where we are and where we would like to go. Sometimes, though, we can feel stuck in a rut. That is where a bit of inspiration might come in handy, and the perfect way to inspire growth through learning is with a few learning quotes.

Some of the most successful people in the world also have some of the best quotes attributed to them. After all, they started out just like you and me, right? Before they were famous for whatever they became known for, they were just regular people. Know what that means? You, too, can become anything you want. You just have to learn how to do it effectively. A few good learning quotes can definitely help you along the way – and if you take them to heart, they just might change your life. 

Learning Quotes That Can Help You Grow And Chart Your Own Destiny

Learning is the key to success. We always hear that sort of thing – the more education you have, the more successful you will be in life. These messages, while true, sometimes leave out very key elements of just what learning is. There are all kinds of education, and many of them will not be found in any classroom. There is also what many people like to call the “School of Life.” There is absolutely no substitute for life experience, and those who come away with the most wisdom have unlocked the keys to using those experiences – the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between – to their betterment. These people also tend to produce the best learning quotes.

When I say “learning quotes,” I mean those short sayings that can really resonate when you are really thinking about the deeper meanings in life. These people give little golden nuggets of wisdom in concise bursts. It is up to us to take heed, and, if we play our cards right, internalize these learning quotes and turn them into the realization of our lifelong dreams. 

1. “Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. ” – Earl Nightingale

Earl Nightingale was a classic radio host. He also was highly successful, and deeply involved in the self development movement. Therefore, it seems fitting that our first learning quote on this list would come from him. It is also most Nightingale’s most well-known quotes – and with good reason. The message is clear: If you are not enjoying your life, you are wasting it. Going through the motions, stuck in a rut, is not living. It is simply existing. Even worse, if your life has taken a turn that you feel has thrust you into misery, you definitely should be looking at this Earl Nightingale quote.

Now, of course, this is not something that is to be taken completely literally. After all, we all have to do things we don’t want to do. Everyone has worked jobs that they don’t like, taken classes that weren’t our favorites but were required, or had to put up with co-workers, relatives, or in-laws we’d be happy to never see again just to keep the peace. But the thing is, even with all of those unpleasant things in life, the majority of things in life should be enjoyable. And, if you are not where you want to be, if you are not currently enjoying life, take the bull by the horns, get inspired, live intentionally! Hopefully, this Earl Nightingale quote, and some other learning quotes, can help you do just that. 

2. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Ghandi

Full disclosure: Mahatma Ghandi is one of my favorite people. He inspires peace, love, and justice, which are values I hold dear. In my estimation, those qualities make his words fitting for any list of learning quotes.

Ghandi understood how deeply precious life is, and how we are never guaranteed another day. We might live to be 10 or 100 – and likely somewhere in between. The important thing is to remember to live ever day as fully, as deeply, as intentionally, and as gratefully as we can.  Also, the most important message I take from this, one of the most important of all the learning quotes you will find on this list, is that the day you stop learning is the day you stop truly living.

Life always has something to teach you. Long after you have graduated high school, perhaps college and beyond, there’s still a whole lot to learn. You should live every day with unabashed, childlike wonder. Learn whatever you can, from whatever source you can. You might learn a life-changing nugget of truth from the friendly server you click with at the diner during your lunch hour. You might learn to appreciate the wisdom of those who have lived to be senior citizens as you speak to an elderly lady while waiting for the bus. In short – learn every day. No matter how seemingly small the interaction or experience – learn. That is what makes Mahatma Ghandi’s words here one of the best learning quotes ever. 

3. “I’m learning a lot about myself being alone and doing what I’m doing.” -Chantal Kreviazuk

Sometimes, great wisdom comes in the unlikeliest of places. This time, that place is from pop culture. Chantal Kreviazuk is a Canadian pop singer who is certainly a fixture in modern pop culture. She also ranks on this list of great learning quotes, because she espouses a lesson that often eludes so many human beings: That sometimes being alone is the only way to truly get to know yourself.

Humans are social creatures. We often spend our lives on a quest for fulfilling romances, or have fantasies of lifelong friendships. While there is nothing wrong with any of that – and, indeed, there are great reasons that these things are encouraged – sometimes you just need a little time alone.

Get to know yourself without too many outside influences. Appreciate who you are from the inside out. Gather happiness from within yourself, and know that you are a treasure in your own right, and that anyone who is in your presence, as a friend, a relative, a partner – is very lucky to have you and should feel honored. This is one of my favorite learning quotes because one of the most important life lessons that people should always learn – but often miss – is that true happiness comes from within. We can never be truly happy with another if we are not happy with ourselves. 

4. “If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself.” – Charles M. Schulz 

Charles M. Schulz was, of course, the man behind the magic that was the Peanuts comic strip. Aside from the newspaper comics, the beloved characters therein became icons in cartoons and even muppet-like shows. They will live on forever in hearts of people everywhere, and rightly so. 

More full disclosure:  I love Peanuts. I am pretty sure the old VHS tapes my siblings and I watched the Peanuts Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials on each year growing up are still in my mother’s attic someplace. So, I definitely had to include their creator in this list. 

Mr. Schulz deserves a spot on this and any other list of great learning quotes because there is no gift like the gift of laughter – especially, as he says, being able to laugh at yourself. In this world we live in, people often take themselves far too seriously. Life is certainly a serious business, for sure, but without laughter, even at our own expense, we lose the sense of childlike wonder and enjoyment that so many of the great people among us somehow managed to retain.

In fact, learning to poke fun at yourself is a way to keep humble, to appreciate opportunities for life learning, and, most of all, to enjoy learning, so that you never want to stop. Yes, Charles m Schulz was a wise man indeed – and not just because of the treasure of the Peanuts that he bestowed up on us for all eternity. He was a true lifelong learner, and leaves with us that part of his legacy.

5. “I just realized one day that I was so unhappy. And not only that, but I didn’t even like the person that I was. I didn’t even know who I was. And so ‘Shatter Me’ is about first discovering what was under the shell and then learning to love that person that was under it. And then not being able to break free.” -Lindsey Stirling

Once again, the world of popular culture gives us a bit of wisdom. Lindsey Stirling is an esteemed violinist, dancer and composer. You would think she has everything, right? Apparently not. No one is immune to a lack of self love. It is a terrifying thing to look in the mirror one day, when your life is seemingly just fine on the surface, and realize you are not happy at all. It’s even more terrifying when you realize you don’t even like or perhaps even know yourself.

That is what makes this quote from Lindsey Stirling so important. People can seem like they are on top of the world, and still be completely miserable. Further, the most tragic thing about misery, regardless of the person suffering it, is that life is far too short for joy to be so elusive. Perhaps, most importantly, we also have to love that we cannot properly love others until we love ourselves. Any important list of learning quotes would remiss if it didn’t include life lessons about the importance of loving ourselves, and about having the courage to realize when we don’t.  Always love yourself, and examine your own happiness. The rest will come. 

6. “I’m learning that you can be comfortable and still look beautiful.” – Selena Gomez

We live in a looks obsessed world. One could argue that the likes of Selena Gomez, a beautiful Disney television personality turned pop star, has managed to capitalize on that. This is also why what she says here is so important to put onto this list of learning quotes. 

There isn’t a woman alive, no matter how conventionally beautiful, who has not, at some point, been uncomfortable in her own skin. It is how we are socialized. We will never be pretty enough. No matter how much make up we cake onto our faces, how much we starve our bodies into submission, how much plastic surgery we have, we will never be good enough for society. To that end, we should all just learn to work on being enough for ourselves first. 

No one is saying not to take pride in one’s appearance, or not to strive to look one’s best each day. However, society’s standards for beauty are dangerously ridiculous, and are destroying the self-esteem of women and girls everywhere. So, learn to be comfortable in your own skin, just the way you are. You are already beautiful. 

7. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

General Colin Powell is a success story if ever there was one. A decorated military veteran who achieved the highest ranks before returning to civilian life, he has long been a respected member at the top of the pillars of American society. That is a position he learned. Even after his impressive military career, General Powell went on to serve as Secretary of State. But, this is a man whose greatness comes not only from his successes, but from his humble nature in the face of failure.

That very humility is the reason General Powell should always be on the short list for any collection of great learning quotes. We live in a society that is obsessed with success. Parents punish children for poor grades, rather than checking into why they might be struggling. People who drop out of college because they don’t know what they would like to do with the rest of their long lives at the tender age of 18 are seen as failures. Athletes who fall short of the win are chastised as failures. The list could go on and on.

While, in a sense, all of these things and more could be seen as failures, the important part is what you take away from them, what you learn. That is what General Powell saying here. Taking a few wrong turns in life does not make you a failure as a human being. I challenge anyone to find a person who has not stumbled in this great, winding path we all call life. It is what you learn from it, how you handle it, and how you bounce back that matters. After all, some of our greatest failures could put us on the path to our greatest successes. 

8. “Change is the end result of all true learning.” – Leo Buscaglia

Leo Buscaglia, better known as motivational speaker “Dr. Love,” has helped many people discover their own greatness. Now, the art of motivational speaking is obviously – and rightfully – viewed with much skepticism. After all, some of them are, no doubt, charlatans. However, credit must be given where credit is due. These folks certainly are walking, talking, success stories. Further, they have helped other people reach greater heights of potential than they ever dreamed possible. That is why I dare to include a quote in this list of learning quotes from Leo Bascaglia, also known as “Dr. Love.”

Perhaps one of the greatest downfalls of the human condition is to be resistant to change. That is what Leo Bascaglia is saying here. People have to want to change in order to actually break down barriers and make permanent lifestyle adjustments that act to their benefit. That is much easier said than done, though.

Suppose you want to lose weight. You know which tools you need to reach your target weight. But, instead of making it a permanent lifestyle change, you go right back to your old eating habits after taking the weight off, only to wind off right back where you started a year later. Frustrated, you start over again. That cycle happens and repeats itself because people are unable to truly change. This can be applied to any situation in life that requires examination and improvement. In short, learning to change where needed is one of the best lessons in life you will ever learn. 

9. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you did, people will forget what you said, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is another one of my favorite people. Not only was she a great poet and speaker, but she was an amazingly wise human being. She came from nothing but hardship, and yet she accomplished the purest form of greatness. This little nugget of truth always stuck with me, and when I went to write this piece, I knew I would have to include this in my list of learning quotes.

Feelings are visceral. You hear and see so many things from so many people throughout your life. For those things to be memorable, they must be truly impactful and profound. However, feelings stick with you. For instance, if you were picked on for being a nerd in school, you will never forget the first person, the first time you were made fun of. You might not remember the exact words, but you will remember how you felt. You will able to play that feeling over and over again, like some kind of cruel tape inside your head. The unathletic girl who got up the guts to try out for cheerleading, only to be laughed at when she failed will always remember that humiliation. You get the picture.

The moral of this beautiful quote from one of the world’s most beautiful people is this: Be kind to your fellow humans, for you never know what their struggles may be. After all, in your time of need, wouldn’t you want someone to be kind to you?

10. “I made decisions I regret, and I took them as learning experiences…I’m human, not perfect, like anybody else.” -Queen Latifah

For our last on this list of learning quotes, we delve once again into the world of pop culture. Rapper and actress Queen Latifah gives us a great reminder of the imperfection of human beings. Sometimes we put certain people in our society up on pedestals, forgetting that they human just like we are. We should not idolize our fellow humans so much. Everyone makes mistakes. The key is what you do with those mistakes to further your path toward the future.

Human beings are perfectly imperfect. The biggest mistake one could make is not learning from missteps in life. We all have them. That does not mean that it has to tip you over. Get up, dust yourself off, and continue on. The world awaits you.

Learning should be a lifelong quest.

Long after we leave the institutional classrooms of primary school, secondary school, and college, we embark on another kind of educational journey in The School of Life. There are lots of challenges, missteps, hardships, and twists and turns. They key, however, is not to let these missteps get you down. It is to learn from them, and to mindfully pursue learning throughout your life journey. Learning doesn’t end in the classroom. In fact, it only begins there. True education is what you remember long after you have no longer sat in a classroom for many years.

Every encounter, every single precious moment of every single day, can help you learn. Think about that next time you greet a new co-worker or strike up a conversation with someone at the bus stop, or even in the line at the supermarket or the Department of Motor Vehicles. Remember – every moment is an opportunity. You never know when one of those moments happens to be the one that changes your life. Find that moment, and you find the truth of your potential. Life awaits you, no matter what stage of it you may find yourself in.

We hope that you enjoyed these inspirational learning quotes from some truly remarkable people. If so, please feel free to comment and share on social media. Happy life learning!

Related Article: What Inspires You? Where To Find Inspiration