120 Inspiring Quotes on Dreams (and on Making Them Real)

We all have dreams.

Maybe yours is to be the best at something in school or at work, at a sport or some other passion.

Or to make the trip somewhere in the world that you’ve been thinking about for years now.

Or to improve your financial situation, social skills, find that special someone or to get into great shape.

Sometimes it’s hard to keep your dream alive.

And at other times your dreams can remain just daydreams for far too long.

So this week I’d like to share 120 thought-provoking, motivating, practically helpful and growth oriented quotes on dreams and on making them real from the past 2500 years.

I hope you’ll find something inspiring and helpful here.

Inspiring Quotes on Dreams

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’”
– George Bernard Shaw

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”
– Ashley Smith

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
– C.S. Lewis

“What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe

“Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.”
– James Dean

“Like success, failure is many things to many people. With positive mental attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, and a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order to prepare to try again.”
– W. Clement Stone

“No matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.”
– Lupita Nyong’o

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”
– Douglas H. Everett

“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”
– Mae Jemison

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”
– Oscar Wilde

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”
– Samuel Beckett

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.”
– John Barrymore

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
– Mark Twain

“The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you.”
– Tom Bradley

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
– Epicurus

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
– Harriet Tubman

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

“The only thing worse than starting something and failing … is not starting something.”
– Seth Godin

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.”
– Wayne Dyer

“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.“
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Yesterday is but today’s memory, tomorrow is today’s dream.”
– Kahlil Gibran

“When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say, ‘Wow, that was an adventure,’ not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe.'”
– Tom Preston-Werner

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”
– Anatole France

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
– Paulo Coelho

“It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”
– Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
– Christopher Reeve

“Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead.”
– Nelson Mandela

“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.”
– Les Brown

“I have had dreams, and I’ve had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams.”
– Jonas Salk

“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.”
– Albert Ellis

“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.”
– David Allen

“It may be that those who do most, dream most.”
– Stephen Butler Leacock

“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
– Henry David Thoreau

“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
– Stephen King

“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”
– Langston Hughes

”Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.”
– Richard Branson

“If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
– Jim Rohn

“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance – and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.”
– Oprah Winfrey

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
– Earl Nightingale

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”
– Karen Lamb

“I have spread my dreams beneath your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
– William Butler Yeats

“Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.”
– Bertrand Russell

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
– Napoleon Hill

“Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost legendary. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Perseverance and determination alone are omnipotent.”
– Calvin Coolidge

“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.”
– Ben Stein

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.”
– Soren Kierkegaard

“Think of many things; do one.”
– Portuguese proverb

“Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.”
– John Updike

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
– T.E. Lawrence

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
– Lao Tzu

“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain

Insightful Quotes about Dreams

“Dream big dreams! Imagine that you have no limitations and then decide what’s right before you decide what’s possible.”’
– Brian Tracy

“When you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work, they take patience , and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that.”
– Harvey Mackay

“You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it come true. You will have to work for it, however.”
– Richard Bach

“The only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams.”
– Oprah Winfrey

“Ask yourself, ‘How long am I going to work to make my dreams come true?’ I suggest you answer, ‘As long as it takes.’”
– Jim Rohn

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
– Yoko Ono

“Sometimes you got to push harder to get over an obstacle that’s in the path towards your dream. But you usually only have to do that for a little while at a time.”
– Unknown

“We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming – well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.”
– Amy Tan

“If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.”
– Flavia Weedn

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
– Martin Luther King Jr

“Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.”
– Belva Davis

“My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again.”
– Richard Branson

“Dream big. Even if you don’t hit your goal you’ll likely accomplish more than if you go after a small or medium sized dream that you’re not that excited about.”
– Rip Miller

“Live the Life of Your Dreams: Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.”
– Roy T. Bennett

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced.”
– Swami Vivekananda

“All the things one has forgotten scream for help in dreams.”
– Elias Canetti

“Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.”
– Vince Lombardi

“People think dreams aren’t real just because they aren’t made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”
– Neil Gaiman

“I would say to always follow your dream. And dream big because my whole career, including any of the things that I’ve accomplished, I never thought in a million years that I would be here. So it just proves that once you believe in yourself, and you put your mind to something, you can do it.”
– Simone Biles

“Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts.”
– H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

“Get up every morning and remind yourself of the dreams you have and the small and big successes you have achieved throughout your life. This will remind you of your best self and set a positive tone for the rest of your day.”
– Unknown

“If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality.”
– Dr Roopleen

“If you are facing a new challenge or being asked to do something that you have never done before don’t be afraid to step out. You have more capability than you think you do but you will never see it unless you place a demand on yourself for more.”
– Joyce Meyer

“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.”
– Jonas Salk

“I can’t tell you how great a feeling it is for me, but I can’t stress enough that the dream is not over. I’m not satisfied or complacent with where I am. I want to keep pushing forward, and I want this team to keep doing good things. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
– Wes Miller

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
– Alexander Graham Bell

“Failure is a bend in the road, not the end of the road. Learn from failure and keep moving forward.”
– Roy T. Bennett

“The most inspiring piece of advice I’ve gotten is simply to persevere. My mom taught me to always keep going no matter what from an early age. When it feels too difficult to push forward. I always remind myself, ‘This too shall pass,’ and then I redouble my efforts.”
– Liya Kebede

“The bird dares to break the shell, then the shell breaks open and the bird can fly openly. This is the simplest principle of success. You dream, you dare and you fly.”
– Israelmore Ayivor

“The only dreams that come true are the ones you chase, if you do nothing, you get nothing.”
– Joseph Atser

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Because some people see a wall, and assume that’s the end of their journey. Others see it, and decide it’s just the beginning.”
– Angeline Trevena

“Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.”
– Dr. Dale E. Turner

Short Dreams Quotes

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
-Walt Disney

“The distance between dreams and reality is called action.”
– Brian Tracy

“Stop dreaming about your bucket list and start living it.”
– Annette White

“Dream and give yourself permission to envision a YOU that you choose to be.”
– Joy Page

“Hope is a waking dream.”
– Aristotle

“Dreams don’t work unless you do.”
– John C. Maxwell

“Keep pushing. Keep going. Do all you can to make your dreams into reality.”
– Eloise Green

“Dreams come in a size too big so that we may grow into them.”
– Josie Bisse

“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”
– Lou Holtz

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
– Jim Rohn

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”
– Suzy Kassem

“Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears.”
– Richard Wilkins

“The small steps you take will quickly add up. The journey to achieve your dream sometimes doesn’t actually take as much time as you’d thought.”
– Paige Sumner

“Set your goal and keep moving forward.”
– Georges St-Pierre

“The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and the willingness to work hard for them.”
– Michelle Obama

“Be a go-getter. Go the extra mile. Because most people won’t and that’s often what’s needed to make your dreams real.”
– Unknown

“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.”
– J. R. R. Tolkien

“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.”
– Joseph Campbell

“Keep dreaming. Keep working. Because the other option is to be working on someone else’s dreams.”
– Rip Miller

“Follow your dreams, they know the way.”
– Kobe Yamada

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are too small.”
– Richard Branson

“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”
– Estee Lauder

“If you can dream it, you can do it. Your limits are all within yourself.”
– Brian Tracy

“Each man should frame life so that at some future hour fact and his dreaming meet.”
– Victor Hugo

“Without dreams, there can be no courage. And without courage, there can be no action.”
– Wim Wenders

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”
– Colin Powell

“Remember, it’s always darkest before dawn. Making your dream into reality may be closer than you think.”
– Eloise Green

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”
– Oprah Winfrey

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
– Walt Disney

“Dream big. Start small. But most of all start.”
– Simon Sinek