Photo by Ben Mullins on Unsplash
Life can be tough as a student. Finals coming up, papers to write, and managing a social life on top of it all. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out.
These 161 exam confidence motivational quotes for students will help you stay positive and motivated during your school year.
So take a deep breath, read through these inspirational quotes, and get ready to ace your exams!
This post contains affiliate links. I will earn a commission at no additional charge to you if you make a purchase using my links. Click here to see my full disclosure policy.
The best way to use motivational quotes
- Find the student motivational quotes that speak to you.
- Keep a list by your bed to read when you wake up or when before you go to sleep
- Add them to your daily journal pages or create a journal filled with sayings that inspire you.
- Keep a list on your phone to scan through when you are having a tough day, need a pick me up or boost before a big exam
- Put them on a sticky note on your desk, refrigerator, or bathroom mirror.
9 Writing Manifestation Methods: How to Manifest What You Want Today
Inspirational Quotes to Keep Going
Everyone needs a little encouragement now and then.
Sometimes we get knocked back but we need to know how to keep moving forward no matter what. The best way to overcome any obstacle is to have a positive attitude and keep pushing forward.
Here are some words to keep you motivated and focused as your exam preparations begin:
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
“I am not a failure because I have failed, I am a failure because I have given up.” – Denis Waitley
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” – Babe Ruth
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle
“I have failed again and again throughout my life. That’s why I’ve been successful.” – Michael Jordan
“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” -Theodore Roosevelt
“Progress requires setbacks; The only sure way to fail is not to try.” – Henry Spencer
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – Margaret Thatcher
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” -Thomas Edison
“You only fail when you stop trying.” – Albert Einstein
“When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.” – Napoleon Hill
Motivational Quotes to Inspire Dreams
If you want to chase your dreams and achieve success, you need to keep pushing yourself and never give up.
Here are some motivational quotes that will inspire you to dream big and work hard:
“You have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
“If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.” – J.M. Power
“You are never too old to set new goals or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” – Pablo Picasso
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
“If you can dream it, you can achieve it.” -Zig Ziglar
“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” – Farrah Gray
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
“The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” -Joel Brown
“The starting point of all achievement is desire.” – Napoleon Hill
“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Rob Siltanen
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” – Marie Curie
“If your mind can conceive it, you can achieve it.” – Napoleon Hill
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash
“If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” -Steve Jobs
Quotes to Live By
These exam quotes for students are perfect for anyone who needs a little extra inspiration to get through the school year.
Keep them handy for when you need a pick-me-up, and feel free to share them with your friends!
“You can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” – Ronald Reagan
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
“We become what we think about.” – Earl Nightingale
“Anything is possible. Anything can be.” – Shel Silverstein
“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” – Dalai Lama
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” – John Wooden
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Aristotle
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing–that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.” – Roger Staubach
“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” – Steve Jobs
“It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.” – Winston Churchill
Exam Confidence Motivational Quotes for Students
Ultimately, exam confidence comes down to having the right mindset and staying positive. With these powerful quotes for exam success, you’ll be ready to tackle any exam with confidence:
“A little progress each day adds up to big results.” – Satya Nani
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“There is no substitute for hard work.” – Thomas Edison
“I think I can. I know I can.” – The Little Engine That Could
“No kid is unsmart. Every kid’s a genius at something. Our job is to find it. And then encourage it.” – Robin Sharma
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S. Eliot
“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin
“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” – Stephen Covey
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” -Zig Ziglar
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” -Thomas Jefferson
“Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” -Christopher Robin
“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair
“What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” – Don Zimmer
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills
“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” -Norman Vincent Peale
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – James Dean
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” – John D. Rockefeller
“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” -Thomas Edison
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”– George Bernard Shaw
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.” – Soren Kirk
“Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” – H. Jackson Brown
“If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.” – Muhammed Ali
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ― Robert F. Kennedy
“No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers.” – Wolfgang Riebe
“Nothing is particularly hard if you break it down into small jobs.” – Henry Ford
“It always seems impossible until it is done.” – Nelson Mandela
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” – Thomas Jefferson
“All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.” – Michael John Bobak
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard
“If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” -James Cameron
“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will go with them.” – Denis Waitley
“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” – Richard Branson
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs
“Getting what you want is not nearly as important as wanting what you get.” – Dale Carnegie
“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” -W. Clement Stone
“Life is what we make it and how we make it – whether we realize it or not.” – Shirley Conran
“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
The Complete Guide to Taking Tests and Exams
Success Quotes
Of course, exam time can be stressful. But remember, you’ve got this!
These success quotes will help to remind you that you are capable and that you have what it takes to succeed:
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale
“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” – George S. Patton
“People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” -Tony Robbins
“Your true success in life begins only when you make the commitment to become excellent at what you do.” -Brian Tracy
“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” -John Maxwell
“Success isn’t overnight. It’s when every day you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up.” – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
“Successful entrepreneurs are givers and not takers of positive energy.” – Anonymous
“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee
“The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.” – Albert E. Gray
“Success isn’t always about ‘greatness’, it’s about consistency. Consistent, hard work gains success.” – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” – Jim Rohn
“Success is not a destination, it’s a journey. It’s the sum total of our decisions up to this point.” – Tony Robbins
“The path to success is taking massive, determined action.” – Tony Robbins
“The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job.” – Zig Ziglar
“Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.” – Jon Bon Jovi
“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.” -George Bernard Shaw
“People who are truly successful engage in creative problem-solving.” – Ed Catmull
“The biggest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” – Sven Goran Eriksson
“Success is not a good teacher, failure makes us wise.” – Shah Rukh Khan
“Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” – Marilyn Vos Savant
“There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.” – Robert Allen
“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon
“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.” – Arnold H. Glasow
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” -Bruce Lee
“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” – Benjamin Franklin
“The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.” – Marvin Phillips
“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” – Napoleon Hill
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer
“Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome.” – N.R. Walker
“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” – Oscar Wilde
“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
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph! What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. Heaven knows how to put a proper price on its goods.” – Thomas Paine
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” – Herman Melville
“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure–which is: Try to please everybody all the time.” – Herbert Bayard Swope
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
“There are no limits to what you can accomplish except the limits you place on your own thinking?” – Brian Tracy
“Success is not a destination. It’s a journey.” – Zig Ziglar
“Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” – Joyce Brothers
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” – Robert the Bruce
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.” – Mark Twain
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” – Dalai Lama XIV
“Success at anything will always come down to this: focus and effort. And we control both.” – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
“You must do the things you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember, that’s where you will find success.” – Thomas J. Watson
With these 161 exam confidence motivational quotes for students, you’ll be able to stay motivated throughout your school year.
Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to!
So good luck with your exams and always remember you’ve got this!