I love quotes. It’s truly amazing when ideas are expressed so succinctly that they resonate through time and continually provide people with new knowledge and new perspectives. Here are thirty quotes about success (in chronological order) from people who have earned a right to have an opinion on the subject:

“Success is dependent on effort.” Sophocles (496-406 BC)

“Along with success comes a reputation for wisdom.” Euripides (480-406 BC)

“All men seek one goal: success or happiness. The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society. First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal—a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends—wisdom, money, materials and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.” Aristotle (384-322 BC)

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

“The day is committed to error and floundering; success and achievement are matters of long range.” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832)

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.” Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

“That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.” Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” Henry Ford (1863-1947)

“Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Helen Keller (1880-1968)

“Action is the foundational key to all success.” Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

“The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success.” Irving Berlin (1888-1989)

“Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things.” T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)

“The two more important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it.” Ray Kroc (1902-1984)

“Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” John Wooden (1910-2010)

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” Truman Capote (1924-1984)

“Anytime you see someone more successful than you are, they are doing something you’re not.” Malcolm X (1925-1965)

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Bill Cosby (b. 1937)

“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” Bob Dylan (b. 1941)

“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” Robert Kiyosaki (b. 1947)

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” Stephen King (b. 1947)

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” Bill Gates (b. 1955)

“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” Anthony Robbins (b. 1960)

“Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.” Jon Bon Jovi (b. 1962)

“To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.” Michael Jordan (b. 1963)

What is your favorite success quote? Was it on this list? Decide which ideas resonate with you and use them to help guide you toward your goals. You are the only person who can define your own success.