30 Growth Mindset Quotes to Inspire You in 2024

“Growth mindset” is a term coined by American psychologist Carol Dweck in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In it, she compiles her decades of research and insights to explore how the way we think about the moldability of our talents and abilities can transform the way that we approach challenges and opportunities in our personal lives, careers, and relationships. 

Dweck’s research is based on a dichotomy of mindsets– fixed and growth. She explains:

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.

“In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort.” 

I think that having a growth mindset is a fundamental quality of great leaders, and so it’s one that is worth spending time talking about in depth. 

To that end, let’s kick off a series on growth mindset with 30 of my favorite growth mindset quotes about how effort and tenacity can completely transform the way that you approach your role as a leader:

1. “The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.” – Carol Dweck, American psychologist & author

2. “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather, American author & publisher

3. “Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had.” – Angela Bassett, American actress

4. “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Viktor Frankl, Austrian psychiatrist

5. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou, American poet, writer, and activist

6. “I’ve always tried to go one step past wherever people expected me to end up.” – Beverly Sills, American opera singer

7. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” – Stephen Covey, American author

8. “It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final.” – Roger Babson

9. “Dragons take on many forms—the hardest task of the day, a new responsibility, an impending deadline, or even dealing with conflict—and the tricks it to just slay the dragon and move on. Don’t overthink it. To succeed, you have to have the confidence to take things head on and keep moving forward.” – Sarah Mannone, executive vice president of Trekk

10. “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong.” – N. R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman

11. “My dad encouraged us to fail. Growing up, he would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome, failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.” – Sara Blakely. American businesswoman and founder of SPANX

12. “I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale, English founder of modern nursing

13. “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.” – Vernon Sanders Law, American baseball player

14. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US president

15. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher, American author and artist

16.  “Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.” – Cormac McCarthy, American author

17. “If you don’t give anything, don’t expect anything. Success is not coming to you. You must come get it.” – Marva Collins, American educator

18. “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, American author 

19. “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author

20. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” – Dale Carnegie, American author and lecturer 

21.  “Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must also step up the stairs.” – Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic

22. “The greatest thing in the world is not so where we stand as in what direction we are moving.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer

23. “Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” – Pema Chodron, American Tibetan-Buddhist nun

24. “I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and I try to ignore the rest.” – Venus Williams, American professional tennis player

25. “Improve by 1% a day, and in just 70 days, you’re twice as good.” – Alan Weiss, American consultant and entrepreneur

26. “Genius is not a possession of the limited few but exists in some degree in everyone. Where there is natural growth, a full and free play of faculties, genius will manifest itself.” – Robert Henri, American painter

27.  “Don’t be too timid and too squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist

28. “Step by step and the thing is done.” – Charles Atlas, Italian-American bodybuilder

29.  “Success works as a cycle—growth and contraction, balancing and unbalancing—all while you’re encountering hurdles that get higher and higher over time.” – Julien Smith, American CEO, author, and speaker

30. “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” – A.A. Milne, English humorist, playwright, and children’s author

It Takes More Than Quotes to Kindle a Growth Mindset

While I hope these growth mindset quotes serve as words of encouragement and reminders of your capabilities, it’s important to recognize when you need a mentor to help catalyze your growth. 

When you partner with a business coach, you’re giving yourself permission to flourish both personally and professionally with an ally by your side to hold you accountable. 

Let’s kick off 2024 together and see how far you’ve come by 2025! Contact Lori Moen at Catalyst Group ECR, and we’ll work together to find the right formula for your success.