If you've never had the opportunity to listen to a motivational speaker, then you are really missing something! The whole atmosphere is totally charged with positive energy, and everyone leaves pumped and ready to go out and conquer the world. But even when we can't be at one of these terrific motivational events, the words of these leaders and great leaders through history are always here to guide us. Read on and be inspired!

Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu: "True leaders inspire people to do great things, and, when the work is done, their people proudly say, 'We did this ourselves'."

Goethe: "What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has a genius, power and magic in it."

William Smithburg of Quaker Oats on making mistakes: "There isn't one senior manager in this company who hasn't been associated with a product that flopped. That includes me. It's like learning to ski. If you're not falling down, you're not learning."

Eddie Cantor: "It takes twenty years to be an overnight success."

George Bernard Shaw: "Success covers a multitude of blunders."

Somerset Maugham: "It's a funny thing about life. If you refuse to accept anything but the best, very often you get it."

Franklin Murphy while working for Times-Mirror Corp.: "People have a stake in an idea if they have participated in its creation; then they'll work much harder, in a much more dedicated way, to bring it to success."

Edwin H Land- Founder of Polaroid: "The first thing you naturally do is teach the person to feel that the undertaking is manifestly important and nearly impossible,....That draws out the kind of drives that make people strong, that put you in pursuit intellectually."

David Lloyd George: "Don't be afraid to take a big step when one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps."

Sam Walton: "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."

Conrad Hilton: "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don't quit."

Nelson Mandela:" There is no passion to be found in playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."

Andrew Carnegie: "No man will ever make a great leader who wants to do it all by himself or to get all the credit for doing it."

Henry Ford: "One of the great discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. Most of the bars we beat against are in ourselves-we put them there and we can take them down."

Vince Lombardi: "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal."

Simon Walker: "When you are faced with a decision- always choose the bolder option. The most extraordinary things are created by ordinary people."