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Readings on Inspirational Short Stories

If you were out on the road, and you ran out of gas, the chances of reaching your destination would be nearly zero. In life, motivation is the gas that propels you towards your goals, and inspiration is the source of that fuel. Below we’re going to post a guide full of motivation-fueling inspirational posts. Feel free to stop in any time you need a little boost.

Inspirational short story on fatherly advice

One day a son came to his father when he was looking for advice:

  • Dad, he said, I can’t do it anymore. Practice exhausts me, and I’m not getting any better. I don’t think it’s my destiny to play soccer.
    The father smiled a little smile, looked at his son and said:
  • You know son, every person in life has dreams, goals, and wishes. They’re the driving factor in our lives, helping to keep us on the correct path. There is no guarantee of reaching them, but it’s important to fight for what you believe in, and to learn to persevere. It is only through that perseverance that we find true growth and achievement in our lives, because the most important things always come at the highest price. That price will be your effort, and your struggle as your earn your way through life.

Quitting is certainly easier, but it is the path to ruin. You may feel like the smart thing to do is to give up and find a new goal, but that will begin a horrible cycle and you’ll never see your dreams fulfilled. If you take that path once, it will become familiar, and as life progresses, it will become worn. The next time you find yourself up against an obstacle, you’ll quit again. And gradually, steadily, the size of those obstacles will get smaller and smaller, until it’s the only path you take.

Remember this: never give up, never quit, and never back down from the difficulties of life. You won’t always win, but it’s through failure that we learn the most. What’s important is that you get back up, dust yourself off, and try again.

Short inspirational stories about happiness

There was once a boy who belonged to a wealthy family. One day, the father took his son on a trip to show him how poor people lived. They stopped by the farm of a poor family, and stayed with them for a few days. When they left, the father asked the son if enjoyed himself.

  • “Oh yes!” said the boy.
  • “And did you notice how they lived compared to us?” asked the father?
  • “Well, sure dad,” said the boy.
  • “And what did you learn?” asked the father.
  • “Well, we only have one dog, but they have four. We have a pool in the backyard, but they live next to an endless river. We have large street lamps, and bright lights, but they block out the stars the other family enjoys every night. We have a fenced in yard, but they have acres and acres of fields. We buy food, but they grow it. Our fences are there to separate and protect us from the people around us, but they have friends who protect them.”
  • The father was stunned.
  • The boy thought for a moment more, and then added: “Thank you, dad, for not being afraid to show me how rich we could be”.

The true wealth of life is not in the material things that possess us, because happiness cannot be measured in dollars. Love, friendship, and freedom are far, far more valuable assets.

5 Amazing Inspirational Readings

This section contains various readings by authors, poets, presidents, and motivational speakers. All of them have something in common: they’ve reached the top of their respective fields. Heed their words and prosper by them.

“And Still I Rise”. An epic, inspirational, and classic poem by Maya Angelou. This reading was performed on April 5, 2007.  And if you’re interested, you can check out more motivational Maya Angelou quotes here.

“The Mask”, by Maya Angelou. An inspirational reading, created on August 8th, 2010.

An inspirational speech by John F. Kennedy:

Will Smith on success, work ethic, and what it takes to be great. “I know who I am, I know what I believe, and I’m willing to die for it.”

Inspirational poems

“Promises to Keep”, an inspirational poem by William Arthur Werd

I will do more than belong, I will participate.
I will do more than care, I will help.
I will do more than believe, I will practice
I will do more than forgive, I will forget.
I will do more than teach, I will inspire.
I will do more than dream, I will work.
I will do more than give, I will serve.
I will do more than earn, I will enrich.
I will do more than live, I will grow.
I will do more than be fair, I will be kind.
I will do more than be a citizen, I will be a patriot.
I will do more than be friendly, I will be a friend.

“You will never see me fall”, an inspirational poem by Joyce Alcantara

You may see me struggle
but you won’t see me fall.
Regardless if I’m weak or not
I’m going to stand tall.
Everyone says life is easy
but truly living it is not.
Times get hard,
people struggle
and constantly get put on the spot.
I’m going to wear the biggest smile
even though I want to cry.
I’m going to fight to live
even though I’m destined to die.
And even though it’s hard
and I may struggle through it all.
You may see me struggle…
but you will NEVER see me fall.
“Still I Rise”, an inspirational poem by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Inspirational prayers

An Inspirational Prayer by St. Francis de Sales:

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then. Put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: “The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in Him and I am helped. He is not only with me but in me, and I in Him.”

An inspirational prayer from Psalm 7: 6,7,8

I have called upon Thee, For Thou wilt hear me, o Lord, and hear my speech. Show Thy marvelous loving kindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand those who put their trust in Thee from those That rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of thine eye; Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.

An inspirational prayer from The Bible, Lamentation 3:31-33

For the Lord will not cast off forever: but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men – See more here.

A compendium of daily motivational quotes

These are some of our favorite daily motivational quotes. Revisit them, and read them each morning to set yourself on the correct heading for the day.

  • “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Napoleon Hill
  • “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost
  • “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. ” Florence Nightingale
  • “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky
  • “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” Amelia Earhart
  • “Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” W. Clement Stone
  • “Twenty 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 safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” Mark Twain

20 Inspirational quotes and words of encouragement

  • “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Arthur Ashe
  • “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Anne Frank
  • “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” Helen Keller
  • “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt
  • “If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.” David Allen
  • “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Helen Keller
  • “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” Joseph Campbell
  • “In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” Tony Robbins
  • “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison
  • “You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C.S. Lewis
  • “Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” Victor Kiam
  • “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” Wayne Dyer
  • “Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now.” Denis Waitley
  • “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” Thomas Jefferson
  • “The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” Epictetus
  • “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”William James
  • “Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.” Jim Rohn
  • “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” Robert H. Schuller

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