Leaving behind what feels safe and stepping into something new can be really scary. Especially when you don’t have a choice. But sometimes, that unknown path turns out to be the best thing for you — even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.
Starting fresh in your career can feel like jumping off a cliff. You don’t know if you’ll land softly or hit the ground hard. And as much as I wish I could say it’ll all go smoothly, life doesn’t always work that way.
That’s why I’ve put together these 105 uplifting quotes on new beginnings in career. They’re here to give you hope, strength, and maybe a little comfort when things feel tough.
A new beginning might feel heavy and uncertain, but it also carries so much possibility. If you’re feeling nervous or lost, just hold onto your dreams and the picture you have of your future. And please — be kind to yourself as you figure things out.
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Quotes on New Beginnings in Career to Inspire Your Next Step
1. “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.” — Sheryl Sandberg
2. “Be open to the amazing changes which are occurring in the field that interests you.” — Leigh Steinberg
3. “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” — Helen Hayes
4. “The more you do stuff, the better you get at dealing with how you still fail at it a lot of the time.” — John Mulaney
5. “Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” — Francis of Assisi
6. “A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, JR.
7. “I am learning to love the sound of my feet walking away from things not meant for me.” — A.G.
8. “Write your own book instead of reading someone else’s book about success.” — Herb Brooks
9. “When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there.” — Cecil Selig
10. “If we all did the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” — Thomas Edison
11. “Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom.” — Sandra Day O’Connor
12. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” — Milton Berle
13. “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.” — Dhirubhai Ambani
14. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” — Mark Twain
15. “I still get the jitters every time I start a new job! I love it — makes you feel alive.” — Camille Guaty
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16. “If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself.” —Ruth Bader Ginsburg
17. “And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” — Meister Eckhart
18. “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” — Les Brown
19. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!” — Henry David Thoreau
20. “You know, everybody has setbacks in their life, and everybody falls short of whatever goals they might set for themselves. That’s part of living and coming to terms with who you are as a person.” — Hillary Rodham Clinton
21. “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” — C.S. Lewis
22. “Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
23. “Don’t set compensation as a goal. Find work you like and the compensation will follow.” — Harding Lawrence
24. “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” — Scott Belsky
25. “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” — Gloria Steinem
26. “A new career is like a blank book and you are the author.” — Unknown
27. “When you feel that you have reached the end and that you cannot go one step further, when life seems to be drained of all purpose: What a wonderful opportunity to start all over again, to turn over a new page.” — Eileen Caddy
28. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — E.E. Cummings
29. “By doing, you become employable. It doesn’t matter what the job is; by working, you learn new things, meet new people and are exposed to new ideas.” — Kate Reardon
30. “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.” — Steve Jobs
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31. “There will be a day when you’ll believe all is lost. That will be the beginning.” — Louis L’Amour
32. “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now.” — Hugh Laurie
33. “Starting a new job can be nerve-racking, but it’s also exciting. You’re embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh story on a clean slate.” — Adena Friedman
34. “Be open to the amazing changes which are occurring in the field that interests you.” — Leigh Steinberg
35. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — John Pierpont “J.P.” Morgan
36. “Every single job is a challenge. You are walking into a new set, a new character, creating a world and trying to get comfortable to do your best work.” — Felicia Day
37. “When you feel that you have reached the end and that you cannot go one step further, when life seems to be drained of all purpose: What a wonderful opportunity to start all over again, to turn over a new page.” — Eileen Caddy
38. “I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything.” — Jon Stewart
39. “Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing.” — Mandy Hale
40. “I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” — Marissa Mayer
41. “Every single job is a challenge. You are walking into a new set, a new character, creating a world and trying to get comfortable to do your best work.” — Felicia Day
42. “I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of “Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,” and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” — Marissa Mayer
43. “Go on. Do not halt. Forward is closer to perfection. Go on, and have no fear of the thorns or of the rough stones of the path of life.” — Kahlil Gibran
44. “Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.” — Hamilton Holt
45. “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein
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46. “Learning never stops, and a new career means a classroom full of exciting new lessons.” — Unknown
47. “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.” — Vernon Law
48. “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” — Alan Cohen
49. “You are not your past, you are the resources and capabilities you glean from it. And that is the basis for all new beginnings.” — Unknown
50. “Never allow waiting to become a habit. Live your dreams and take risks. Life is happening now.” — Paulo Coelho
51. “Sometimes the best thing we can ask for is change, and a fresh start forces us to confront change head-on.” — Natalya Neidhart
52. “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” — Pablo Picasso
53. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — John Pierpont “J.P.” Morgan
54. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” — Confucius
55. “We are not helpless. We all have the ability to make this world a better place. We can start with small steps, one day at a time.” — Wayne Gerard Trotman
56. “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” — Helen Hayes
57. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs
58. “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” — Joseph Campbell
59. “Collaboration is the fuel that allows ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results.” — Unknown
60. “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
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61. “Change is the beginning of growth. Embrace your new career and the adventures it brings.” — Unknown
62. “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.” — Steve Jobs
63. “They said ‘dress for the job you want,’ so I’m pretty sure a cape is appropriate for this new beginning.” — Unknown
64. “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” — Alan Cohen
65. “We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” — Arianna Huffington
66. “The strength of the team is each other. The strength of each other is the team.” — Unknown
67. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.” — Steve Jobs
68. “Surround yourself with people who lift you higher.” — Unknown
69. “Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success.” — Shiv Khera
70. “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” — Stephen Covey
71. “Sure, there will be challenges, but I wouldn’t trade this feeling of growth for anything.” — Unknown
72. “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” — Jordan Belfort
73. “A new beginning is just the chance to do things better this time.” — Unknown
74. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.” — Robert Collier
75. “A new beginning. Be willing to let go of the past. Release the hurt. It is over. Yesterday ended last night.” — Steve Maraboli
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76. “Don’t let the mist of circumstances block your imagination and stop you from making new beginnings.” — Balroop Singh
77. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
78. “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.” — Jim Rohn
79. “Find out what you like doing best, and get someone to pay you for doing it.” — Katharine Whitehorn
80. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” — Zig Ziglar
81. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” — Lou Holtz
82. “Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.” — Ralph Blum
83. “Our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable… For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” — M. Scott Peck
84. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — Mark Twain
85. “You must learn to stop thinking in terms of beginnings and endings, successes and failures, and begin to treat everything in your life as a learning experience instead of a proving one.” — Guy Finley
86. “Change is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. Survival is not the goal, transformative success is.” — Seth Godin
87. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” — Suzy Kassem
88. “Begin today. Declare out loud to the universe that you are willing to let go of struggle and eager to learn through joy.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach
89. “The best revenge is massive success.” — Frank Sinatra
90. “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” — Abigail Adams
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91. “Getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place.” — Hal Lancaster
92. “Your work is discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” — Buddha
93. “No one can discover you until you do. Exploit your talents, skills and strengths and make the world sit up and take notice.” — Rob Liano
94. “Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.” — Liz Smith
95. “Feeling confident – or pretending that you feel confident – is necessary to reach for opportunities. It’s a cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they’re seized.” — Sheryl Sandberg
96. “Every day is a new beginning. I can take advantage of the opportunity and try again.” — Mykisha Mac
97. “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as you mind lets you. What you believe you can achieve.” — Mary Kay Ash
98. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
99. “When you do something new, there is always some uncertainty. Push through it. Maintain your vision of what lies beyond your fear.” — Todd Stocker
100. “Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
101. “You are never too old to start over. Every day is a chance to make changes to create the life we want.” — Karon Waddell
102. “The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.” — Debbi Fields
103. “You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.” — Henry Ford
104. “Each day is a new beginning, the chance to do with it what should be done and not to be seen as simply another day to put in time.” — Catherine Pulsifer
105. “Your career is like a garden. It can hold an assortment of life’s energy that yields a bounty for you. You do not need to grow just one thing in your garden. You do not need to do just one thing in your career.” — Jennifer Ritchie Payette
Do you have a favorite quote on new beginnings in career that resonates deeply with you? Let me know in the comment section below.
I hope you enjoyed this collection of inspirational quotes.
Wishing you all the best on your new beginning!
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