Top 200 Excellence Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “Good is the enemy of great.”

— Jim Collins

52. “If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. It’s the hard that makes it great.”

— Tom Hanks

53. “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

— Jimmy Johnson

54. “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.”

— John Ruskin

55. “I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.”

— Frank Lloyd Wright

56. “What you do today determines who you will be tomorrow.”

— John Spence

57. “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise”

— Michael Jordan

58. “Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.”

— Denzel Washington

59. “A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”

— Larry Bird

60. “Discipline yourself and others won't need to.”

— John Wooden

61. “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.”

— Michelangelo

62. “It is quality rather than quantity that matters.”

— Seneca

63. “Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.”

— Virat Kohli

64. “Don’t ask for respect. Earn it.”

— Robin S. Sharma

65. “Champions are brilliant at the basics.”

— John Wooden

66. “Innovation comes from people who take joy in their work.”

— W. Edwards Deming

67. “Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge.”

— Robert Greene

68. “Excellence requires discomfort.”

— T.D. Jakes

69. “If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”

— William H. McRaven

70. “If you can see yourself doing something, you can do it. If you can’t see yourself doing it, usually you can’t achieve it.”

— David Goggins

71. “Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.”

— Napoleon Hill

72. “Losers react. Winners anticipate.”

— Tony Robbins

73. “No great achievement is possible without persistent work.”

— Bertrand Russell

74. “Small daily – seemingly insignificant – improvements and innovations lead to staggering achievements over time.”

— Robin S. Sharma

75. “Life is like a play: it’s not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters.”

— Seneca

76. “Quality is the best business plan.”

— John Lasseter

77. “Great achievement always requires great sacrifice.”

— Robin S. Sharma

78. “Consistency is the DNA of mastery.”

— Robin S. Sharma

79. “Hard work will always overcome natural talent when natural talent does not work hard enough.”

— Alex Ferguson

80. “Dedicate yourself to continuous personal improvement; you are your most precious resource.”

— Brian Tracy

81. “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”

— Ray Kroc

82. “Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.”

— Brian Tracy

83. “Success isn’t something you chase. It’s something you have to put forth the effort for constantly. Then maybe it’ll come when you least expect it. Most people don’t understand that.”

— Michael Jordan

84. “Successful people do ordinary things with extraordinary consistency, commitment and focus.”

— Jon Gordon

85. “Fill your brain with giant dreams so it has no space for petty pursuits.”

— Robin S. Sharma

86. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.”

— Lou Holtz

87. “Keep working. Don’t wait for inspiration. Work inspires inspiration. Keep working.”

— Michael Crichton

88. “Less gossiping, more learning. Less complaining, more excelling. Less walls, more bridges. Less fear, more courage.”

— Robin S. Sharma

89. “Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.”

— Aldo Gucci

90. “Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence.”

— John C. Maxwell

91. “If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way. Don’t wait for great opportunities. Seize common, everyday ones and make them great.”

— Napoleon Hill

92. “The future belongs to the competent. It belongs to those who are very, very good at what they do. It does not belong to the well meaning.”

— Brian Tracy

93. “The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.”

— Confucius

94. “Success doesn’t know these things about cold or early or tired. It just knows if you showed up or not.”

— Greg Plitt

95. “The most important three words you can say to yourself: Yes I can!”

— Denis Waitley

96. “If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.”

— Michael Jordan

97. “I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.”

— Kobe Bryant

98. “Strive for excellence, not perfection, because we don’t live in a perfect world.”

— Joyce Meyer

99. “Strive for excellence, not perfection.”

— H. Jackson Brown Jr.

100. “To be the best you have to work overtime.”

— Floyd Mayweather, Jr.