Iyanla Vanzant quotes: lessons learned going from welfare to multi-millionaire.
“Every day is your day if you claim it. If you wait for somebody else to make it for you, you’re going to be disappointed.”
“The only way to get what you really want is to let go of what you don’t want.”
“If a job isn’t worth dreaming about, it isn’t worth having.”
“If you don’t have a vision you’re going to be stuck in what you know. And the only thing you know is what you’ve already seen. But a vision that grows inside of you, a vision that wakes with you, sleeps with you, moves with you, a vision that you can tap into on your worst, worst, worst day, the vision will pull you forward.”
“Each day, focus your attention on what you want. Each day, take one step that will bring you closer to it.”
“Stay in your lane, on your road, and in your world.”
“Work is not just about getting paid what you’re worth. It is about using your gifts, sharing the best of who you are, and using what brings you joy to make someone else’s life better.”
“Just do what you do and do it well. Stop worrying about what other people are doing, or what they will say about what you are doing.”
“Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.”
“When your life is going downhill, it doesn’t get better just because you want it to. Nor can you will it to be better. Your life will only get better when you get better.”
“What you tell yourself about yourself, about your life, about your limitations, you will believe.”
“The good news is that when you have something to do, life will not allow you to move forward until you do it. The bad news is the same.”
“Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change.”
“Courage is a tool and a weapon. With just a little, you can build your life and use it to fend for yourself in the world.”
“It takes a lot more courage to let something go than it does to hang on to it, trying to make it better. Letting go doesn’t mean ignoring a situation. Letting go means accepting what is, exactly as it is, without fear, resistance or a struggle for control.”
“Fear wears so many clever disguises it is virtually impossible to always recognize it. Fear disguises itself as the need to be somewhere else, doing something else, not knowing how to do something or not needing to do something.”
“Challenges come so we can grow and be prepared for things we are not equipped to handle now.”
“If you are afraid to take a chance, take one anyway. What you don’t do can create the same regrets as the mistakes you make.”
“Choice is a divine teacher, for when we choose we learn that nothing is ever put in our path without a reason.”
“No choice is a bad choice; every choice is an opportunity for learning to unfold.”
“Remain open. There is something bigger than you know going on here.”
“Change doesn’t have to be hard, and healing doesn’t have to hurt. Surely by now you know that everything happens for a reason. There is something better awaiting you on the other side of this.”
“Turn your promise into a plan. Make no promise for tomorrow if you are able to keep it today. And if someone calls you promising, know that you are not doing enough today.”
“When you have something to do life will not allow you to move forward until you do it.”
“If you want wealth, be wealth. Talk it. Think it. Prepare yourself to have it.”
“All things are possible! The key is to identify what you want, claim it for yourself, and believe that you are worthy to have it.”
“When you can look a thing dead in the eye, acknowledge that it exists, call it exactly what it is, and decide what role it will take in your life, then you have taken the first step toward your freedom.”
“Comparison is an act of violence against the self.”
“Anything and everything we experience is a function of what and how we think. How we think determines our feelings and behavior. How we behave determines the nature and quality of our lives. This also means that any emotional investment (i.e. feelings) that are attached to a particular thought pattern will resurface each time the pattern is engaged or entertained. To neutralize and eventually eliminate an unconscious, unproductive pattern of thought and the associated feelings, a steady stream of new thoughts must be introduced.”
“Education does not take place when you learn something you did not know before. Education is your ability to use what you have learned to be better today than you were yesterday.”
“The best students get the hardest tests.”
“Plan your hours to be productive; your weeks to be educational; your years to be purposeful; your life to be an experience of growth—to change and to grow.”
“Before you find out who you are, you have to figure out who you aren’t.”
“We love in others what we love in ourselves. We despise in others what we cannot see in ourselves.”
“Loving yourself has nothing to do with being selfish, self-centered or self-engrossed. It means that you accept yourself for what you are. Loving yourself means that you accept responsibility for your own development, growth and happiness.”
“When you need to be loved, you take love wherever you can find it. When you are desperate to be loved, feel love, know love, you seek out what you think love should look like. When you find love, or what you think love is, you will lie, kill, and steal to keep it. But learning about real love comes from within. It cannot be given. It cannot be taken away. It grows from your ability to re-create within yourself, the essence of loving experiences you have had in your life.”
“It is always so much easier to blame someone else rather than accepting responsibility for your experiences.”
“You have set standards for how you want to be treated and what you expect from yourself and for yourself.”
“No matter what is going on in your life today, remember, it is only preparation for better things.”
“When we have peace in our hearts and minds, we draw peace into our lives.”
“I now know that nothing in my life will change until I change the way I see my life and myself.”
“I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Lived it and I’m still here to talk about it and help someone else if I can.”
“I’m focusing on healing lives and teaching people that they can heal—giving them tools to heal.”
“I’ve always told the truth. I think that’s been part of the foundation of my career. I don’t put myself above people. I don’t put myself different than people. And I, for one, know that none of us is immune.”
“People say I’ve had a difficult time in life. I think I’ve had an exciting time in life.”
“I had no preconceived idea what fame would be like, because I never thought I would be famous. I just wanted to do my work. Hell, I just wanted to pay my rent on time.”
“When Oprah Winfrey tells you that you need to have your own show, you feel compelled to do it. Especially if she’s gonna pay for it! I hope that my story, I hope that my life is an encouragement for people.”
“After being on Oprah for a couple of months, I got my first royalty check for $1,478,392.17. I will never forget it. At the height of my career, I made $3.3 million. Unbelievable. From welfare in the projects to $3.3 million.”
“The process of life is ever guiding you, pushing you, preparing you for the next part of the process.”
“You are powerful. Stand up in your power! Embrace your power! Serve the world by bringing your power into your life.”
“Honor your own self. Meditate on your own self. Worship your own self. Kneel to your own self. Understand your own self.”
“Be clear. Be authentic. Have boundaries. Check your vision. Do what matters to you. And know what you value.”
“I came from nothing. I came from the projects and welfare and ended up a millionaire with no frame of reference. I was bound to hit a wall sooner or later.”
