We all need that motivational dose when things feel low. And what better way to inspire yourself, your team, or clients than with positive coaching quotes?
As Bryant McGill remarked, “Words are powerful. Words change lives; words and ideas change the world.” Quotes do precisely that. They change your thinking and perceptions. A positive quote ignites the fire beneath and gives you an extra boost to keep going.
Whether you’re a coach looking for quotes to use on an upcoming life coaching session or to share on social media, the motivational quotes in this article will do the trick. We’ve compiled 58 inspirational quotes from coaches, philosophers, and leaders.
Here, you’ll find:
- Inspirational quotes by coaches for coaches
- Positive quotes about coaching
- Motivation quotes for your coaching team
- Philosophical coaching quotes
- Positive coaching quotes to inspire clients
- Leadership quotes
- Favorite quotes for life coaches
13 Inspirational Quotes by Coaches for Coaches
In the pursuit of helping others become better, you might feel worn out. You’ll need to refill your cup to continue hosting powerful coaching sessions.
And that’s where inspirational coach quotes come in. But where do you get motivation from as a coach or consultant? Well, from other coaches.
That’s why we’ve gathered 13 best quotes from coaches (some have coached star athletes). These thought-provoking quotes will inspire you to become the greatest coach you were meant to be.
They’ll remind you of the beauty of coaching and why it’s among the most fulfilling careers.
Enough talk! Let these coaches now speak to you.
- “Be led by your dreams. Not by your problems.” Roy Williams
- “The difference between a successful coach and a great coach is the ability to inspire and empower their players.” John Wooden
- “That’s the beauty of coaching. You get to touch lives, you get to make a difference. You get to do things for people who will never pay you back, and they say you never had a perfect day until you’ve done something for someone who will never pay you back.” Morgan Wootten.
- “I think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a sense of confidence about what you’re doing.” Phil Jackson.
- “Coaching’s not a job, it’s a privilege.” Lee Corso
- “Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions.” Tony Robbins
- “Really, coaching is simplicity. It’s getting players to play better than they think they can.” Tom Landry
- “Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don’t quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don’t quit until you reach it. Never quit.” Bear Bryant.
- “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” Jimmy Johnson
- “Discover your gift, develop your gift, and then give it away every day.” Don Meyer
- “I could not be more proud of the countless lives that I have changed since I began my coaching and mentoring career.” Dan Pena
- “Coaching is taking a player where they can’t take themselves.” José Mourinho
- “The greatest coaches aren’t just game changers, they are life changers.” Tony Dungy
We hope these 13 best quotes have inspired you to continue pursuing your coaching career.
Check out these 23 free life coaching resources to take your coaching to the next level.
10 Positive Quotes About Coaching
When things get hard, you might second-guess your career choice. “Am I cut out to be a successful coach?” Yes, you are!
Remember, numerous famous consultants have become superstars simply because they didn’t give up.
A good example is Eric Thomas, one of the best motivational speakers and consultants, who took 12 years before getting a bachelor’s degree. He went ahead and earned a Ph.D. and made a name in the coaching industry.
He might have developed self-doubts, but he kept pushing. And you should, too.
These ten inspirational coach quotes will light your path as a coach and guide your journey to inspire and help others.
- “Simply put, Coaching is where you work with someone to connect with yourself – and what really matters. You redesign your environment, your career and/or your life and then your coach supports and challenges you as you take bold action to make it happen!” Emma-Louise Elsey
- “To excel at the highest level – or any level, really – you need to believe in yourself, and hands down, one of the biggest contributors to my self-confidence has been private coaching.” By Stephen Curry
- “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” Steven Spielberg
- “A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future, and believe it can be obtained.” Shawn Hitchco*ck
- “A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see so you can be who you have always known you could be.” Tom Landry
- “The art of coaching is knowing when to teach and when to inspire.” David Rock
- “Coaching is the art of influencing people’s behavior to bring out the best in them.” James Flaherty.
- “You can have everything in life you want, if you just help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar
- “Good coaching may be defined as the development of character, personality and habits of players, plus the teaching of fundamentals and team play.” Claire Bee.
- “One of the most exciting things about coaching is the buzz you get when you push out of your comfort zone, come up with a plan and put it into action! Life takes on a whole new meaning as you re-create your life the way you want it.” Emma-Louise Elsey
13 Motivational Quotes for Your Coaching Team
Have you ever read the book Managing People is Like Herding Cats by Warren Bennis? No worries if you haven’t (though we recommend reading it).
The book’s title is intriguing as it summarizes how challenging it is to manage people. As a coach, there is no escaping working with people and teams. But sometimes, you might feel your team losing its spark of motivation.
Re-ignite their fire using motivational quotes that instruct, educate, and encourage. Use these 13 proven quotes to boost unity and unlock your team’s maximum capabilities.
- “The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other and sacrifice personal glory for the common goal.” Dave DeBusschere
- “To build a strong team, you must see someone else’s strength as a complement to your weakness, and not a threat to your position or authority.” Christine Caine
- “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot: together, we can do great things.” Mother Teresa
- “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” Michael Jordan
- “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” Steve Jobs
- “It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” Charles Darwin
- “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Henry Ford
- “Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” Vince Lombardi
- “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller
- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed. It is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Head
- “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” Michael Jordan
- “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” Vince Lombardi
- “A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” Simon Sinek
5 Philosophical Coaching Quotes
Great coaches are great thinkers. These five philosophical quotes will make you think harder and develop a growth mindset.
- “Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities. It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” Thomas Carlyle
- “Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” Swami Sivananda.
- “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle.
- “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.” Theodore Roosevelt.
7 Positive Coaching Quotes to Inspire Clients
Besides coaching skills, you need to know how to inspire your clients. But sometimes, finding the right words to say is hard.
Positive coaching quotes inspire and show that a problem previously thought unsolvable is solvable. Give your clients the much-needed little nudge with these seven positive personal growth quotes.
- “You’re braver than you believe and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” A.A Milne
- “Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.” Bruce Lee
- “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Walt Disney
- “First, forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.” Octavia Butler
- “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” Bo Jackson
- “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” Henry Ford
- “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” Earl Nightingale
[Read: 50 Inspiring, Interesting, and Funny Consulting Quotes]
5 Leadership Coaching Quotes
One interesting thing about coaching is you become a leader automatically (even without vying for a position). All coaches, including business coaches, must lead others until they celebrate success.
But before leading others, you must develop yourself. Robin Sharma, one of the top leadership coaches, said it best, “You cannot lead others until you have first learned to lead yourself.”
Alt: Robin Sharma
As a coach, studying leadership and developing your leadership skills is key. So, read these five inspiring quotes about good leadership and learn a thing or two about leading the right way.
- “People thrive on positive reinforcement. They can take only a certain amount of criticism and you may lose them altogether if you criticize them in a personal way…you can make a point without being personal. Don’t insult or belittle your people. Instead of getting more out of them you will get less.” Bill Walsh
- “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.” Simon Sinek.
- “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” Jim Rohn
- “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” Ralph Nader
- “Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence…if you’re in control, they’re in control.” Tom Landry
5 Favourite Quotes for Life Coaches
Here’s a compilation of five favorite quotes about life coaching. If you’re a life coach, these quotes from the world’s best life coaches will encourage and guide your career.
- “Coaching is a good profession for people who are genuinely devoted to making a difference in the lives of others.” Rich Litvin
- “A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” Bob Proctor
- “True fulfillment in life doesn’t come from what we get, it comes from what we give.” Marie Forleo
- “We can change our loves. We can do, have, and be exactly what we wish.” Tony Robbins
- “When your vision becomes your mission, your business will become a movement.” Robin Sharma
Be Inspired to Do More
In your coaching process, you must also focus on personal development. We hope these 58 quotes have refueled you to continue unlocking people’s potential.
But remember, quotes can only do so much. Whether in business or life coaching, you must take action to overcome obstacles and celebrate success.
But there’s too much work and little time. Correct. That’s where Paperbell comes in! Paperbell is an all-in-one tool made for coaches. It handles your invoicing, bookings, client information, and more, leaving you focused on one thing: coaching others.
Try Paperbell today and transform your coaching business.
Further Reading
How To Become a Motivational Coach (Even Without Any Prior Experience)
50 Inspiring, Interesting, and Funny Consulting Quotes
5 Different Coaching Styles and How To Use Them
Honest Reviews About the Institute of Positive Psychology
12 Types Of Coaches and How They Win Clients In Their Niches
Here’s the Truth About How Much a Leadership Coach Makes
