Life Mottos

Life mottos can help us make decisions about how we live life. They can be a source of inspiration and encouragement. As we read them they remind us of what we believe in or what we are trying to achieve. Let the verses in these poems about life mottos inspire you to develop your life motto.

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  1. My Motto Is
    Poet: George Macdonald


    I am content. In trumpet tones
    My song let people know;
    And many a mighty man with thrones
    And scepter is nnot so.
    And if he is I joyful cry.
    Why, then he's just the same as I.

    My motto is — Content with this;
    Gold — place — I prize not such.
    That which I have my measure is:
    Wise men desire not much.
    Men wish and wish, and have their will.
    And wish again as hungry still.

    And gold and honor are besides
    A very brittle glass;
    And time, in his unresting tides
    Makes all things change and pass:
    Turns riches to a beggar's dole;
    Sets glory's race an infant's goal.

    Be noble — that is more than wealth;
    Do right — that's more than place;
    Then in the spirit there is health
    And gladness in the face:
    Then thou art with thyself at one
    And, no man hating, fearest none.



  2. New Year Motto
    New Year Motto


  3. Never Go Back On A Friend!
    Poet: John Imrie

    In the pathway of life,
    Mid its trials and strife,
    There's a motto to you I commend:
    In life's ups and its downs,
    In its crosses or crowns,
    You must never go back on a friend!

    Thou your friends may be few,
    Let them feel that in you
    And your word they can ever depend;
    To preserve your good name
    From contumely and shame
    You must scorn to go back on a friend!

    There are times when you can't
    Keep engagements you want;
    Don't neglect explanations to send;
    Just as true as you live,
    They will freely forgive
    And not say you went back on a friend!

    Should a friend be in need
    Of advice or kind deed,
    Don't begrudge him your comfort to lend;
    He will bless you at last,
    When his troubles are past
    In adversity stand by your friend!

    Thou the seas ebb and flow,
    Let your friends ever know,
    You are faithful and true to the end;
    Should misfortune betide,
    They will stand by your side,
    For YOU never went back on a friend!



  4. friendship poems
    Friendship Poems


  5. God's Will
    Poet: J. M. C. Bouchard

    I asked the New Year for some motto sweet,
    Some rule of life by which to guide my feet;
    I asked and paused. It answered, soft and low:
    "God's will to know."

    "Will knowledge then suffice, New Year?" I cried;
    But ere the question into silence died,
    The answer came: "Nay; this remember, too,
    God's will to do."

    "To know; to do; can this be all we give
    To Him in Whom we are, and move and live?
    No more, New Year " "This, too, must be your care:
    God's will to bear."

    Once more I asked: "Is there still more to tell?"
    And once again the answer sweetly fell;
    "Yea, this one thing, all other things above,
    God's will to love."



  6. Life motto - see the beauty in everyone, just as God does.
    Quotes To Live By


  7. Good In The Day
    Poet: Unknown

    Get all the good there is today,
    Don't fret about tomorrow.
    There's trouble 'round us all the time,
    What need is there to borrow?
    The wise man gets what joy he can,
    And leaves the fool his folly.
    He knows too much to waste his life
    In gloom and melancholy.

    Look on the bright side every time.
    Don't waste your days repining.
    When any cloud looks dark and dull,
    Turn out the silver lining.
    Be wise! Be cheerful, bright and glad.
    Leave to the fool his folly,
    And let your motto be: "Cheer up!"
    Your rule of life: "Be jolly!"



  8. poems of encouragement
    Poems of Encouragement


  9. A True Hero
    Poet: C. H. Dewey

    Here's a hand to the boy who has courage
    To be loyal to God and the right,
    Who so faithfully stands by his colors
    In the most trying tests of the fight.

    Do not say that a boy has no trials
    And that he has no crosses to bear;
    For 'tis often the foe would engulf him,
    And then drive his dear soul to despair.

    There is striving against self and companions,
    And temptations are many and strong;
    He has all life's great battles before him,
    That is trying and testing and long.

    Yet how sweetly God aids as he struggles,
    Against the vain workers of wrong,
    With "The Right" as his watch-word and motto,
    And with "Trueness to Jesus" his song!



  10. Christian poems
    Christian Poems


  11. God Is Love
    Poet: Howard Carleton Tripp

    Some years ago a church was built
    To lead men out of sin and guilt;
    Its steeple pointed to the skies
    As angels point to Paradise,
    While o'er its pulpit just above
    Was placed in gas-jets - "God Is Love."

    They thought perhaps this flaming sign
    Might make some sinful soul divine,
    They knew that preaching could not bring
    All men unto their God and King,
    But hoped by using fiery darts
    They'd bum this motto in men's hearts.

    One night a sinner passed along
    Upon his awful way of wrong
    And sin-sick sorrow, to behold
    Much like a sign of molten gold,
    That motto through the door ajar
    In letters brilliant as a star.

    "God does not love me," then he cried,
    "His love for me has long since died,
    I am a sinner poor and vile,
    Not worthy of His gentle smile.
    It may be so in Heaven above,
    But God on earth comes not to love."

    He could not pass the door but turned
    To where that splendid motto burned
    Above the pulpit while its flame
    Made fiercer his debasing shame;
    Though hearing not the pastor's voice,
    It taught his spirit to rejoice.

    It taught him in a moment's span
    God's everlasting love for man;
    It taught him in a moment's space
    God's everlasting love and grace;
    It taught him with its golden light
    To live, to love, to think aright

    And though from God we often stray
    Into some dark and sinful way,
    And though we often are in night
    Because we seek to hide His light,
    And though we doubt He reigns above
    We feel and know that - "God Is Love."



  12. At It All The Time
    Poet: James Buckham

    There's a prosy kind of motto that you'll find is very rife
    With the people you most envy for their rare success in life.
    I'll admit it's not romantic, has no touch of the sublime,
    But it's just the rule to work by, namely, At it all the time.

    You'll observe that men and women who, 'tis said, have made their mark
    Do not drop the chalk of effort at the first approach of dark;
    And you'll find them at life's blackboard when the sun begins to climb,
    For, obedient to their motto, they keep at it all the time.

    The thing God sets them doing gets to be their chief delight;
    'Tis their first thought in the morning and their last concern at night.
    They will turn away from pleasure just as promptly as from crime;
    Simple duty is their safeguard, for they're at it all the time.

    It's the noblest of all passions, this consuming zeal for work,
    This wholesome dread of failure or of being called a shirk;
    And I'm sure the wisest motto for success, in prose or rhyme,
    Is that plain rule of the workers keeping at it all the time.



  13. I cannot remember a time when the Golden Rule was not my motto and precept, the torch that guided my footsteps.
    Words To Live By


  14. A Lesson Worth Enshrining
    Poet: Sarah T. Bolton

    A lesson in itself sublime, a lesson worth enshrining,
    Is this: “I take no note of Time, save when the sun is shining.”
    These motto words a dial bore: and Wisdom never preaches
    To human hearts a better lore than this short sentence teaches.
    As Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
    Let us forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.

    There is no grove on earth’s broad chart but has some bird to cheer it,
    So Hope sings on in every heart, although we may not hear it;
    And if, to-day, the heavy wind of sorrow is oppressing,
    Perchance to-morrow’s sun will bring the weary heart a blessing.
    For Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
    Then let's forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.

    We bid the joyous moments haste, and then forget their glitter;
    We take the cup of life, and taste no portion but the bitter:
    But we should teach our hearts to deem, its sweetest drop the strongest,
    And pleasant hours should ever seem to linger round us longest.
    For Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
    Then let's forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.

    The darkest shadows of the night are just before the morning;
    Then let us wait the coming light, all fancied phantoms scorning;
    And while we’re floating down the tide of Time’s fast ebbing river,
    Let’s pluck the flowers that grace its side, and thank the gracious Giver.
    For Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
    Then let's forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.



  15. poems about happiness
    Poems About Happiness


  16. I'll Never Despair
    Poet: Daniel C. Colesworthy


    How golden the motto,
    "I'll never despair! "
    Within the heart's centre
    I'll treasure it there:
    In sorrow and pain,
    Fools only complain;
    I'll never despair.

    When shadows and darkness
    Hide glories that were,
    And hope flies the bosom,
    I'll never despair,
    But rise, and rejoice
    With Nature's glad voice,
    And never despair.

    When trials are pressing,
    I'll joyfully bear,
    And wait for the blessing,
    But never despair:
    The sun will illume,
    And chase the thick gloom,
    If I never despair.

    Right onward and upward,
    With prudence and care,
    I'll mock at and conquer
    The demon Despair:
    Look never behind,
    And glory I'll find,
    If I never despair.



  17. Motivational Poems
    Motivational Poems


  18. Four Mottos
    Poet: Alice Freeman Palmer


    "Look up, not down!" Do you see how the tree-top
    Rejoices in sunshine denied to its root?
    And hear how the lark, gazing skyward, is flooding
    The world with his song, while the ground-bird is mute?

    "Look out and not in!" See the sap rushing outward,
    In leaf, bud, and blossom; all winter it lay
    Imprisoned, while earth wore a white desolation;
    Now nature is glad with the beauty of May.

    "Look forward, not back!" 'Tis the chant of Creation,
    The chime of the seasons as onward they roll;
    'Tis the pulse of the world, 'tis the hope of the ages,
    'Tis the voice of our God in the depths of the soul.

    "Lend a hand!" Like the sun that turns night into morning,
    The moon that drives storm-driven sailors to land.
    Ah, life were worth living, with this for the watchword:
    "Look up, out, and forward, and each lend a hand!"



  19. What I Do
    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer


    My life motto what would
    do others say it is?
    Do they see it in my actions
    or do I miss?

    You see what I say,
    and what I do
    Should be a reflection
    of my motto true!

    If I say be happy,
    but I am always blue
    Then I am not following my motto
    in what I do.

    Decide your motto
    and follow through
    In not only what you say,
    but in what you do.


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So if someone was to ask you, "what is your life motto", what would your answer be?



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