When I’m feeling unadventurous or searching for inspiration, I sometimes turn to adventure quotes.
Adventure can push you out of your comfort zone and add zest to your life. As Alfred Whitehead once said, “Without adventure, civilization is in full decay.”
Here’s a list of inspirational adventure quotes that will inspire you to get up off the couch, try new things, travel to new places and touch your soul.
Why Read Adventure Quotes?
We are not supposed to sleepwalk through life, caught in a routine, eyes closed to the possibilities that lie waiting all around us, but that is what happens sometimes.
As Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder and first Chief Scout of the worldwide Boy Scout, once said: Life without adventure would be deadly dull.
Not only do adventures expose you to new experiences, but they also have the potential to push you out of your comfort zone and add that extra zest to life that so many of us crave.
But what is adventure?
Adventure doesn’t have to mean hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day-to-day obstacles of life.
-John Amatt, one of Canada’s most accomplished adventurers and keynote speakers.
Adventure quotes like the ones above have a way of connecting with you. The ones that agree with your internal ideas and reaffirm what you believe can often motivate and inspire you.
How to read and benefit from inspirational adventure quotes
Just reading a bunch of adventure quotes won’t miraculously inspire you or turn you into an adventurer. You have to take action.
First, read the adventure quotes on this list. If one of the adventure quotes resonates with you, then write it down. Print it out. Save it so you can read it every day. I like to hang the adventure quotes that inspire me on walls throughout my house.
Think about what the adventure quote means and how you can use its message in your life.
101 old and new adventure quotes about travel, love and life in general
I put together this list of 101 adventure quotes that personally resonate with my inner adventurer.
1- Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-(American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)
2- A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind
Eugene Ionesco-(French dramatist inspired a revolution in dramatic techniques, 1909-1994)
3-A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short.
-English Proverb
4- Why, Id like nothing better than to achieve some bold adventure, worthy of our trip
-Aristophanes (The greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy, 450-385 BC)
5- I see my path, but I dont know where it leads. Not knowing where Im going is what inspires me to travel it.
-Rosalia de Castro ( Galician writer and poet 1837 – 1885)
6- If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new.
-Johann Friedrick von Schiller (German Poet, Dramatist, Philosopher and Historian. 1759-1805)
7- I have but one life to give to adventure.
8- Were not home-and-hearth people. Were the adventurers, the Buccaneers, the blockade runners. Without challenge, were only alive.
-Alexander Eliot (American writer of best known for his books on spirituality & myth b. 1919)
9-Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.
-Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russian writer, dissident and activist. He helped to raise global awareness of the gulag and the Soviet Unions forced labour camp system 1918-2008)
10-Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt
11-Art flourishes where there is a sense of adventure.
-Alfred North Whitehead (British mathematician who became an American Philosopher, 1861-1947)
12-And the day came when the wish to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
-Anais Nin (French Cuban author known for her erotic literature and short stories b.1903-1977)
13-It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves – in finding themselves.
-Andre Gide-(French writer, humanist and moralist, 1947 Nobel prize for literature, 1869-1951)
14-It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
-Alan Cohen. *American author best known for Chicken Soup for the Soul)
15-Adventure is in the eye of the beholder.
-Annie Andre ( Blogger, traveller)
16-Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to face many a danger, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.
-Annie Besant-(English social reformer, theosophist, and supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule and independence. 1847-1933)
17-Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming – WOW – What a Ride!
-Anonymous
18-As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was about to happen.
– A.A. Milne (Author of Winnie The Poo)
19-It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys
20-War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery (French Pilot, Writer and Author of The Little Prince, 1900-1944)
21- Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. ]
Aristophanes (Greek comic playwright of ancient Athen-perhaps the greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy, 450-385 BC)
22- Whether we call it sacrifice, or poetry, or adventure, it is always the same voice that calls.
-Aristotle (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC)
23- Adventure must be held in delicate fingers. It should be handled, not embraced. It should be sipped, not swallowed at a gulp.
-Barry Targan (American author and poet b.1932-)
24-Adventures are to the adventurous.]
-Benjamin Disraeli-(Former British Prime Minister and Novelist. 1804-1881)
25-The word ‘romance,’ according to the dictionary, means excitement, adventure, and something extremely real. Romance should last a lifetime.
-Billy Graham (American evangelist, b.1918 )
26-A tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure.
-Charlie Chaplin (British Comedian, Producer, Writer, Film Director and Composer regarded as the greatest comic artist, 1889-1977)
27-Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success.
-Dale Carnegie (American lecturer, author, 1888-1955)
28- 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 be sharing the adventure with them.
-Denis Watley-(American motivational speaker & writer b. 1933- )
29-The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
-Eleanor Roosevelt-(American Humanitarian, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1884-1962)
30-I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and Im not afraid to look behind them.
-Elizabeth Taylor-(English Actress, 1932-2011)
31-We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
-Jawaharlal Nehru-(Indian Prime Minister. 1889-1964)
32-A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind.
-Eugene Ionesco-(French dramatist inspired a revolution in dramatic techniques, 1909-1994)
31-We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
32-There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
–Jawaharlal Nehru (Indian Prime Minister. 1889-1964)
33-Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!
-Friedrich Nietzsche (German classical Scholar, Philosopher and Critic of culture, 1844-1900)
34-An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.
-G. K. Chesterton-(English born Gabonese Critic, Essayist, Novelist and Poet, 1874-1936)
35-It is never too late to be who you might have been.
-George Eliot-(Pen name for Mary Ann Evans, English Victorian Novelist 1819-1880)
36-You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don’t have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you’ll stop at the first giant hurdle.
-George Lucas-(American Film Director and Producer, famous for Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies. b.1944- )
37-Were not afraid of risking what was our success yesterday in order to explore some new field. Were adventurous. We like the challenge of unknown territory, unknown artistic field, and thats what stimulates us.
-Guy Laliberte-(A French Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, co-founder and at time of this writing is CEO of Le Cirque du Soleil 11th wealthiest Canadian b. 1959- )
38- Every man can transform the world from one of the monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.
-H. Rider Haggard-(English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations b. 1865-1925)
39- Gullibility is the key to all adventures. The greenhorn is the ultimate victor in everything; it is he who gets the most out of life.
40-Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
41-Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
-Helen Keller-(American Author and Educator who was blind and deaf. 1880-1968)
42- It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires.
-Montesquieu French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers (1689-1755)
43- We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character.
44- If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavours to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
45- The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
-Henry David Thoreau-(American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher, 1817-1862)
46-We are all functioning at a small fraction of our capacity to live life fully in its total meaning of loving, caring, creating, and adventuring. Consequently, the actualizing of our potential can become the most exciting adventure of our lifetime.
-Herbert A. Otto-(American Author, leader of the human potential movement )
47-New discoveries in science will continue to create a thousand new frontiers for those who still would adventure
-Herbert Hoover (American President, 1874-1964)
48- Adventure, without it, why live?
-Hortense Odlum-(American, 1st female president of Bonwit Teller department store in NY city. B.1881- 1970)
49- We live in a world full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
-Irving Wallace-(American screenwriter and best selling author b. 1916-1990)
50-To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
-J. K. Rowling-(English Writer, author of Harry Potter, b.1965- )
51-Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty
-Jacob Bronowski-Polish-(Jewish British mathematician, biologist, historian of science, theatre author, poet and inventor b. 1908-1974)
52-I have found adventure in flying, in world travel, in business, and even close at hand… Adventure is a state of mind – and spirit.
-Jacqueline Cochran-(Pioneer American aviator and the first woman to break the sound barrier on 18 May 1953, 1906-1980)
53-Without adventure, civilization is in full decay.
-Alfred North Whitehead, 1861-1947 ( British mathematician who became an American philosopher
54- Love, like everything else in life, should be a discovery, an adventure, and like most adventures, you don’t know you’re having one until you’re right in the middle of it.
– E.A. Bucchianeri ( American Author)
55-I like someone who embraces life; who wants to be on a long journey but has no particular plan or destination in mind. An adventurous man, open to the concept of living life in the moment.
-Jill Hennessy-(Canadian actress and musician known for her television roles on Law & Order b. 1968-)
56-The traveller was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive.
-Johan Wolfgang von Goethe-(German Playwright, Poet, Novelist and Dramatist. 1749-1832)
57-Adventure isn’t hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles of life.
-John Amatt- (one of Canadas most accomplished adventurers and keynote speakers.)
58-A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.
-John G. Shedd ( Second president and chairman of the board of Marshall Field & Company1850-1926)
59-It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves, in finding themselves.
-John Wayne-(American Actor who embodied the image of the strong, cowboy or soldier. 1907-1979)
60- The thirst for adventure is the vent which Destiny offers; a war, a crusade, a gold mine, a new country, speak to the imagination and offer…
61- Life is a dangerous adventure, says the American, and he is half right: life is dangerous, but it’s not an adventure.
-Jose Bergamin-(Spanish Writer b. 1895-1983)
62-The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure.]
-Joseph Campbell-(American Author, Editor, Philosopher and Teacher, 1904-1987)
63- If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.
-Katharine Hepburn-(American actress)
64- I don’t want to not live because of my fear of what could happen.
-Laird Hamilton-(American Surfer)
65- A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step
-Lao Tzu- (Chinese philosopher credited with founding the philosophical system of Taoism)
66-If we did all the things we are capable, we would literally astound ourselves.
– Tomas Edison- (the American inventor, scientist and businessman. 1874-1931 )
67- Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing
―
68- A large volume of adventures may be grasped within this little span of life, by him who interests his heart in everything.
-Laurence Sterne- (Irish born English Writer, 1713-1768)
69-As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.
-Leonardo Di Vinci-(Italian Painter, Sculptor, Architect and Engineer, inventor and genius. 1452-1519)
70- I decided that adventure was the best way to learn.
-Lloyd Alexander-(American writer b. 1924-2007)
71- Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
-Mark Twain- (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)
72- Everything a human being wants can be divided into four components: love, adventure, power and fame.
-Matthew Heywood ( English former professional footballer)
73- Look, I really don’t want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you’re alive, you’ve got to flap your arms and legs, you’ve got to jump around a lot, you’ve got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death.
-Mel Brooks-(American Actor, Writer, Producer and Film Director. b.1926 )
74- Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And venture belongs to the adventurous.
-Navjot Singh Sidhu-(Former Indian cricket star, television commentator. b.. 1963)
75- I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream.
76- It is confidence in our bodies, minds and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures, new directions to grow in, and new lessons to learn – which is what life is all about.
77- The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.
-Oprah Winfrey- (American television personality, Actress and Producer, b.1954- )
78- The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation.
-Pearl S. Buck-(American author, 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1892-1973)
79- Nothing adventured, nothing attained
-Peter Mcwilliams- (American self-help author who advocated for the legalization of marijuana, 1949-2000)
80-You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.
-Rabindranath Tagore-(Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist, Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, 1861-1941)
81- Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul.
82- The adventure is over. Everything gets over, and nothing is ever enough. Except the part you carry with you.
-Rebecca West-(English Writer, 1892-1983)
83-If we must lose wife or husband when we live to our highest right, we lose an unhappy marriage as well, and we gain ourselves. But if a marriage is born between two already self-discovered, what a lovely adventure begins, hurricanes and all.
-Richard Bach-(American Writer, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, b.1936)
84-Always remember, it’s simply not an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.
-Sarah Ban Breathnach-(Best selling American author)
85-Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
-Steve Jobs-(American Entrepreneur Apple co-Founder, 1955-2011)
86-Don’t die without embracing the daring adventure your life is meant to be.
-Steve Pavlina-(American self-help author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur & blogger b. 1971-
87-Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.
88-Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
-T.S Eliot-(American born English Editor, Playwright, Poet and Critic, 1888-1965)
89-Security is a kind of death.
-Tennessee Williams-(American playwright. 1911-1983
90-The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes
91-If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.
-Thomas Alva Edison-(Most famous American Inventor who, singly or jointly, held a world record 1.093 patents.1847-1931)
92- Life is a fatal adventure. It can only have one end. So why not make it as far-ranging and free as possible.
-Thornton Wilder-(American writer of innovative plays and novels, 1897-1975)
93- …adventures don’t come calling like unexpected cousins calling from out of town. You have to go looking for them.
-unknown
94- I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate.
-Vincent van Gogh-(Dutch Painter, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, 1853-1890)
95- The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.
-W.M. Lewis
96- A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.
-Wilfred Peterson-(American author who wrote for This Week magazine b. 1900-1995)
97- One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.
-William Feather-(American publisher & author b. 1889-1991)
98- We love because it’s the only true adventure.
-William Gladstone-(British Prime Minister and the most prominent man in politics of his time, 1809-1898)
99-Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.
-Winston Churchill-(British Orator, Author and Prime Minister during World War II. 1874-1965)
100- It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up that we will begin to live each day to the fullest as if it were the only one we had.
-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
101- The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
-St. Augustine- (Bishop of Hippo, Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province. B.430)
I hope these adventure quotes inspire you as much as they inspire me.
Now go out into the world and have an adventure.
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