14 Abdul Kalam Quotes for inspiration to follow your dreams

Abdul Kalam Inspirational Quotes: I’ve always loved the words of inspiration from Abdul Kalam. They have a sense of unbridled optimism in them. There’s a force that says, I will brave all the odds and reach my destiny. It not only fills me with hope but also inspires me to get out of the self pity and do something about my situation.

This article is a collection of some powerful quotes by Abdul Kalam. Most of his words are beautifully poised for students. For anyone who’s on a quest to realise their dreams, these quotes have the same impact. I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I enjoyed putting it together. I’d also love to know your favourite quotes and anything you think should be a part of this collection.

Dreams transform into thoughts and they result in action- Abdul Kalam

It all starts with a dream and desire to do something. Dreams have a powerful effect, they are magical and have a way of pushing us out of the comfort zone. These dreams question the world around us and ask the question – why not? They are the purest form of thought that are uninterrupted and not poisoned by the limtiations of reality or our perceptions and fears.

These dreams are beautiful because they tell what’s important to us. Most importantly, these dreams don’t leave you alone. They will keep asking you to do something about them. The magic in these dreams is when they transform into thoughts. And finally these thoughts become action where the real magic happens. And the results have no choice but to follow.

Dreams are not those which come while we are sleeping but dreams are those when you don’t sleep without fulfilling – Abdul Kalam quotes

I know that most of us talk about dreams when we sleep. But the powerful dreams are the ones that come to us when we are wide awake. Most times, we forget our dreams when we sleep. But the dreams Abdul Kalam is talking about don’t let us sleep.

Dreams are those when you don’t sleep without fulfilling: They keep pestering you to do something about them. It is like an itch that can be satisfied only through action and when the results are achieved. Anything else you do – the numerous thoughts, explanations or even excuses – they don’t matter. The powerful dreams are always behind us. They will keep pestering till you’ve had enough and decide to do something about them.

Don’t read success stories, you will only get a message, Read failure stories, and you will get some ideas

This is one of my favourite quotes about success and failure. Most of the stories we read are about successes, about people who braved all the odds to achieve their dream. These stories are beautiful because they fill us with inspiration. These success stories also make us think that maybe even we can achieve them.

Read failure stories, and you will get some ideas: The failure stories too have something phenomenal about them. These failure stories are real – they tell us the truth. They warn us to prepare for the worst and find a way to avoid failure. The lessons from these types of stories often sound sad – but they are wonderful because they tell us what’s possible if we are not careful.

The success is not only achieving the final outcome, but about knowing along the way that a failure cannot destroy you. This sometimes means creating a fall back option or a way to protect yourself even when you fail. The moral of this quote is – don’t fall into the trap of blind motivation, success stories sometimes have a way of telling us anything is possible. The failure stories will help us prepare for what’s practical and real.

Difficulties in life don’t come to destroy you, but to help you realise your hidden potential and power, Let difficulties know that you too are difficult.

Difficulties are harsh. But they don’t always come to destroy you or hurt you. Difficulties are a part of the process. And unfortunately this process doesn’t always benefit us. Sometimes, it hurts us, but these difficulties play an important role. They tell us to review what we are doing and refocus. We often get caught up in the journey of success and sometimes lose our focus. These difficulties sometimes ask us how important things are. They challenge you and make you think about what you’re giving up to achieve your goal.

Difficulties in life don't come to destroy you, but to help you realise your potential - Abdul Kalam inspirational quotes
Difficulties in life don’t come to destroy you, but to help you realise your potential

Let difficulties know that you too are difficult: The difficulties will even ask you whether what you’re doing is worth it. It is at these times you ought to remember the quote, when you feel like quitting, think why you started. But stick with these difficulties and fight through them. Success sometimes is closer than you think. You might just have to look at things slightly differently and question what these difficulties are actually telling you. Most times it is not as worse or as fatal as giving up everything and running away. It might also be a question of changing some approaches and finding a different way of solving the problems.

Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough – Abdul Kalam

Failure is hard. It hurts our ego and plays a fatal role in our inspiration. Handling disappointments in life is never easy. However, failures are not deadly or fatal– there’s no such thing as failure if you are willing to take feedback and keep moving forward. This approach demands that you look at failure as feedback and consider what you can do differently.

If your definition of success is strong, you’ll find a way to beat this failure and retrace your path to success. Sometimes we feel sorry for ourselves that things are not working our way. Be weary of this trap. Being a victim of an event sometimes is worse than giving up and running away. This feeling sorry for yourself can make you feel weak and powerless. But the truth is that you are powerful and capable. The victim mentality makes you question everything and hopes that someone will come and take this problem away from you. That someone is your definition of success – it can solve all problems if you believe in it enough. The moral of this quote is to find your sources of motivation and keep them close. They will save you at the toughest times in life.

Confidence and Hard Work is the best medicine to kill the disease called failure. It will make you a successful person.

You will fail! There’s no preventing failure. Sometimes even when you do everything right, you might still fail. But this doesn’t mean anything. You have to fight this failure with confidence and hard work. These two are the strongest pillars you’ll get to fight your way to success.

Confidence and Hard Work is the best medicine to kill the disease called failure. It will make you a successful person - Abdul Kalam
Confidence and Hard Work are the best medicine for failure – Abdul Kalam Quotes

But that’s what a failure is – it sometimes is a disease. Not because it is the outcome but when it starts affecting your belief system and makes you doubt yourself. If you want to kill this disease called failure, you must find refuge in your confidence and hard work. It won’t be easy and it will make you doubt yourself a lot through the process.

All birds find shelter during rain, Eagles avoid by flying above the clouds. Problems are common, but attitude can make a difference

This quote came up in the top list of famous quotes of APJ Abdul Kalam – problems are not unique. They are common no matter what we decide to do. However, our attitude and response define the final results. As soon as we see a problem, it attracts unwelcome visitors such as grief, anger and disappointment. Although these are necessary, they only test you.

All birds find shelter during rain, Eagles avoid by flying above the clouds. Problems are common, but attitude can make a difference
All birds find shelter during rain, Eagles avoid by flying above – famous quotes of APJ Abdul Kalam

But all these problems are only telling us that something is wrong. The response is to find a solution that works for us instead of worrying. Everyone in life faces problems, but how we react makes the ultimate difference to these challenges in life.

You cannot change your future, you can change your habits, and surely your habits will change your future – Kalam Quotes

I love this inspirational quote by APJ Abdul Kalam – our futures are a creation of our present and past. The future cannot change unless we change something in our present day. If we keep doing the same things, we get the same results. If you want to change anything, start with your habits. These habits define how to shape your life because nothing works as well as consistency does. (Related: We first make our habits and then our habits make us)

You cannot change your future, you can change your habits, and surely your habits will change your future - Kalam Quotes
You cannot change your future, you can change your habits, habits will change your future – Abdul Kalam inspirational quotes

All success and failure is to do with inspiration and your habits. If we create healthy habits to succeed, there’s no way you’ll fail. This however demands that you’re consciously monitoring your habits to identify if they’re helping you. If they don’t then it is an opportunity to change them to serve your purpose.

This is my belief: that through difficulties and problems god gives us the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins – Abdul Kalam

I’m not a spiritual or a god-discussion person but I like the impression of difficulties in this inspirational quote. Difficulties are not out there to destroy or kill us. With increasing difficulties, our capabilities to solve these problems also increase. All our challenges in life are meant to make us grow and break the barriers.

This is my belief: that through difficulties and problems god gives us the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins  - Abdul Kalam
Through difficulties and problems, god gives us opportunity to grow – life inspirational abdul kalam quotes

This inspirational quote by Abdul Kalam talks about difficulties and their purpose. Opportunities often come along with difficulties because we need to go beyond a certain point to convert them into something that can work. Of course, it is going to be hard, but no one promised us that inspiration for our dreams is going to be easy.

When faced with difficulties, ask –

  • What is the opportunity here?
  • Can I do something about it or use it to learn?
  • How can I get what I want?

These questions will not give you answers straight away. But they will help you in creating the path for converting these difficulties into results as Abdul Kalam states.

Thinking is capital, enterprise is the way and hard work is the solution – Abdul Kalam

Hard work is the only solution! No matter how many inspirational quotes we read about success, the common theme is always about working hard. In this context, hard work will also mean working smart which immediately means that we use feedback and learn through the process.

Enterprise is the way and Hard work is the only solution - Abdul Kalam inspirational quotes
Enterprise is the way and Hard work is the only solution – Abdul Kalam inspirational quotes

Luck might have a factor to play, but these motivational quotes by Abdul Kalam have a way of focusing on things that are under our control. Obviously, we can’t do much about luck. But if we want to make a difference in our lives, the only option we have is hard work. Thinking is the only way we can get results. There is a certain magic in using our brains creatively to get the results we truly desire.

Suffering is the essence of success – Abdul Kalam

It filled me with a bit of conflict while talking about this quote on success by Abdul Kalam. Suffering in this context takes a poetic sense. I’m quite against suffering because there’s no point in that. We have to enjoy the journey and process of achieving our dreams. Or else, it is very easy to lose motivation in the process.

Suffering is the essence of success - Abdul Kalam Motivational Quotes
Suffering is the essence of success – Abdul Kalam Motivational Quotes

The journey will have to inspire us because success is not about a final destination. It is also peace of mind in knowing that we’re on a journey of our own design. Suffering might be a part of it, but I’d like to say that pain is inescapable. But suffering is a choice. It is still under our control to define what things mean to us and how we use them to succeed

Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is the top of the Mount Everest or to the top of your career – Abdul Kalam

Hard work, success and perseverance are all an integral part of our life and success. In this section of APJ Abdul Kalam quotes on success, the message and theme are unilateral. You have to work hard and be consistent to achieve your goals. It will take a lot of effort but can also be enjoyable.

Life is full of opportunities and great chances. It will have some challenges but that’s not all that’s to life. We can keep worrying and be blind about the opportunities or open our eyes and start using the situation to our benefit. It is difficult and demands work. But it is possible.

Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is the top of the Mount Everest or to the top of your career - Abdul Kalam
Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of the mount everest or to the top of your career – APJ Abdul Kalam quotes on success

We should not give up and allow problems to defeat us – Abdul Kalam

This quote by Abdul Kalam asks a simple question – who is bigger? – The problem or your resolve to succeed? A huge part of success is about facing these difficulties and not backing down. The only defeat is when we give up in life. If you are still fighting, it is a great sign of success and motivation.

We should not give up and allow problems to defeat us - Abdul Kalam Inspirational quotes
We should not give up and allow problems to defeat us – Abdul Kalam Inspirational quotes

The effort is going to be worth it because you believe in it. We should not give up and fight for what we truly believe is our dream. This is purely the essence of these Abdul Kalam inspirational quotes – perseverance, hard work and success – they all go together. You just have to use them for your benefit.

Black is sentimentally bad but every blackboard makes students life bright – Abdul Kalam

This educational quote by Kalam is about luck and its relevance for success. Maybe there is some luck in the world, but it is never consistent. Bad luck might not help us but it is an occurrence. But each of these bad occurrences also has something to offer. It might not be what you want. But it can be something you need if you use it well enough.

Black color is sentimentally bad but, every black board makes the students life bright - Abdul Kalam
Black color is sentimentally bad but, every black board makes the students life bright – Abdul Kalam

Achieving our goals is hard and demands strength. The beauty of Abdul Kalam educational quotes is in understanding that every little thing adds up. Perhaps it might be an opportunity or a challenge – who knows? Work hard and focus on what you want out of life.


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156 thoughts on “14 Abdul Kalam Quotes for inspiration to follow your dreams”

  1. Nice quotes
    “Don’t waste your life trying to impress others.”
    “Never argue with someone who believes their own lies.”

    Reply
  2. In my opinion and 64 years experience, the pin quotes are life’s practically experienced, of Hpn’ble APJ Abdul Kalam ji and most important is inspirable to everyone Specifically to Youngs to boost them to comes up, in other words to overcomes on each and every failures of life.
    I, personally believe and experienced the childhood quote “where there is strong WILL to achieve something, surely there is way hidden, but to search it to meet delightful desired success of life.

    Reply
    • He is such a great inspiration thought isn’t he? I was recently watching the movie Chandrayaan and it sort of brought back the impact this person has created to put the country in such a respectable state. Such an inspiration to hold the title of president for India, I only wish sometimes that if he had more resources, he would have done more wonders.

      On the other hand, most of his research has been with the maximisation of limited resources he had. I suppose innovation thrived in lack of resources. Each of this words are so powerful. I think Wings of Fire is a fantastic book which gives some real inspiration to keep propelling us forward

      Reply
  3. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, popularly known as “Missile Man” He is a Great Person Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Thoughts Words Quotes are so nice beautiful and inspiration to the whole world! And all Indians.

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  4. Every person should have to adopt one of his thoughts in their suffering and failure life after adopted this thoughts they will get good future based on their suffering and failure life.

    Reply
  5. Nice,This man has inspired me a lot from his quotes.A SALUTE TO HIM ☺☺☺☺☺I m speechless😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯

    Reply
  6. I love abdul kalam sir i respected and very very inspiration for my life thank u so much sir

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  7. You are simply my inspiration sir, & my any personal diary starts only with your quotes sir. Thank you very much sir….
    Please Return If Possible….
    😥😥

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  8. I think he is a gift of tamilnadu god provides for them ……. he will never die in the world …. every science he is present…..

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  9. i want my thinking like apj abdul kalam’s he inspire me each and every movement of my life i never forgot him

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  10. This little bird touches the sun.. I always think that APJ Abdul Kalam ji is my only God… I set up a little portrait of his.There is no any other but my Inspiration… I salute the man again….

    Reply
  11. This little bird touches the sun.. I always think than APJ Abdul Kalam ji is my only God… I set up a little portrait of his… I salute the man again….

    Reply
  12. Very Inspirational write up. Loved the article Vinay !
    His every quote has a very deep line of thought and is very encouraging and motivating for every individual. This is hard to believe that he is no more with us but surely he has given us a vision how to lead our lives and to taste success with all odds. For what I believe he is best example to believe on “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

    I was missing your articles for so long. I finally asked my IT guy in the office to grant me access to your blogs… :D

    Cheers
    Priyashi

    Reply
    • Hi Priyashi, I am so sorry for replying to this comment with such a long delay. It is indeed so nice of to do that, I am very thrilled and pleased to know that the blog has had such an impact. It feels the effort went into making these articles really pay off when you read such lovely comments.

      Reply
  13. ‘Real Salam’ Kalam.
    Real Hero…
    Real Indian…
    Real Senior Citizen….

    more and more….

    thanks
    Thiyagu Sundaram.

    Reply
  14. really sir abdul kalam is biggest inspiration for us
    n for student i recommend please read kalam sir biography bcoz for student world best inspiring person is sir Abdul kalam

    Reply
    • Thank you Pooja, Abdul Kalam will be a man of constant inspiration and a drive for our lives. We love his words and the layers of meanings they can have for our lives. Nice to know that you liked the post. Hoping to see more of you over at inspire99 :)

      Reply
    • Thank you Vivek. I am truly honored to know this, Abdul Kalam is truly an inspiration for generations. It was a matter of great pride for us to make this post and it is a great honor to hear such wonderful words. Thank you :)

      Reply
  15. wonderful lines of Dr. APJ in a nutshell.
    I have asked my students of class 10 to copy n paste on the wall. Than u so much ji..

    Reply
  16. Inspiration of my life is our Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam . His quotes are always trigged towards success in our life. I like him very much. I would like to thank you for sharing the quotes.

    Reply
  17. This is really nice quotes. I have bookmarked this for reading quotes, all are nicely placed here. This is nice collection of motivation quotes. Thanks for sharing with us and keep posting.

    Reply
    • Thank you Swapnil :). Really glad to know this and happy to know that these have managed to create the impact we had hoped for. Looking forward to seeing more of you here :)

      Reply
  18. Very- very intensification…….. that’s quotation gi ve me patience and confidence…………….

    We r million thankfully of A. P.J. Kalam Sir…..

    Reply
  19. Sir U May Away from the World but Not From Youngsters Heart…………………….
    Collection of Inspirational quotes of Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam Sir

    Reply
  20. Hello Vidyashree, thanks for compiling this list of 14 inspirational quotations from the missile man Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam and no doubt we would never miss him due to these wealthy words he spoke addressing everyone who need to be successful in his/her life.

    Reply
    • Thank you Robinsh :). These words will linger on our minds forever and they will inspire us both in the dark moments and the bright ones. For such personalities who can truly inspire us from within are very rare and they really don’t pass on when they do. Here’s to one such man, let him live in our memories forever :)

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    • Thank you Maniparna, I loved each one of these quotes.. So realistic and so full of life. His memories will always be with us and his words will continue to inspire us through time.

      Reply
  21. Your IGNITED MINDS has inspired many.You may not with us ,but you will live in our hearts as your thoughts.

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    • Indeed Kuppuswamy. His book ignited minds and the wings of fire are sure great reads and great thoughts which stand testament to his words and ideologies of life. The man will live on and continue igniting and inspiring our thoughts.

      Reply
  22. Salute…the great man and great inspirational to billions….thanks Saar your motivating thoughts…..we miss you Saar….

    Reply
    • A hundred salutes to one of the most inspiring men India has seen. His thoughts and ideas are sheer motivation, filled with energy, hope and optimism and above all the belief in oneself.

      Reply

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