These insightful ability quotations from noted figures offer more than inspiration.
Their words of wisdom reflect timeless truths about human potential.
In other words, they don’t just sound good — they say something real about what it means to be capable.
So what exactly is ability?
Simply put, it’s what you can do right now — the skills, knowledge, or talent you already have to get things done.
According to most dictionaries, ability means having the capacity or competence to act, create, or solve problems.
It’s often linked to related qualities like aptitude, capability, power, intelligence, and skill.
Whether you’re facing a challenge, pushing your potentials, or simply reflecting on your life journey, these quotes, including a few originals from Quotationize can prop you up to keep you going.
There is this insightful book by Catherine Nomura and Julia Waller, titled “Unique Ability: Creating the Life You Want”.
According to the authors, we all have a unique ability.
It is when we discover this special information about yourself, you can focus on what you know best and you’ll be happier, more productive and add more value to your life.
Ability Quotations To Unlock Your Potential
Explore powerful quotes on ability—each paired with meaning explained together with thoughtful perspective.
“Most of the time we’re limited, not by our abilities, but by our lack of courage.” – Quotationize
What does this ability quote really mean?
“The man who is fitted out by nature, and sent into the world with great abilities, is capable of doing great good or mischief in it.” – Joseph Addison
Ability is power—what makes it good or harmful?
“What you are capable of achieving is determined by your talent and ability. What you attempt to do is determined by your motivation. How well you do something is determined by your attitude.” – Lou Holtz
It begins with ability, but it’s attitude that leaves the mark
“Believe that problems do have answers. Believe that they can be overcome. Believe that they can be handled. And finally, believe that you can solve them.” – Norman Vincent Peale
Belief is your first and greatest ability
“A man with a great brain has the ability to be simple.” – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
The ability to be simple is a mark of true brilliance
“The secret is to develop the art of detachment, the ability to live above agitation.” – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Master the quiet ability that stills the mind
“…to be happy and successful you must cultivate the ability to say to yourself – forget it!” – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Do you know the ability to let go is one way to happiness and success?
“In general the sign of knowledge or ignorance is the ability to teach, and for this reason we hold that art rather than experience is scientific knowledge…” – Aristotle
The ability to teach reveals true knowledge
“You will be surprised how strong you are, if you’ve a strong belief in your ability.” – Quotationize
Strength grows from belief in your ability
” … we rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt.” – Norman Macdonald
Ability shows in what gets done
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” – John Wooden
The ability to rise, the strength to stay
“The gentleman is troubled by his own lack of ability, not by the failure of others to appreciate him.” – Confucius
“君子病無能焉，不病人之不己知也。” (Mandarin)
Another English translation of the quote is:
“The superior man is distressed by his want of ability. He is not distressed by men’s not knowing him.” – Confucius
The gentleman seeks ability, not applause
“Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.” – Zig Ziglar
Using your full ability is success itself
“… we judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
We measure ourselves by our ability—others measure us by our result
“Ability wins us the esteem of the true men; luck that of the people.” – François De La Rochefoucauld
“Notre mérite nous attire l’estime des honnêtes gens, et notre étoile celle du public” (French)
The wise see ability; the crowd sees luck
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
Ability begins with what you can do
“Martyrdom… is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.” – George Bernard Shaw
Fame without ability—it happens more than we think
“Cowardice, as distinguished from panic, is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.” – Ernest Hemingway
When imagination overpowers ability
“…for natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning by study.” – Francis Bacon
Raw ability needs guidance to grow
“They can because they think they can.” – Virgil
“Possunt, quia posse videntur.” (Latin)
Another English translation of the quote is:
“For they can conquer, who believe they can.” – Virgil
Belief is the root of ability
“…for no amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.” – Andrew Carnegie
Ability means little without honor
“There is great ability in knowing how to conceal one’s ability.” – Francois De La Rochefoucauld
“C’est une grande habileté que de savoir cacher son habileté.” (French)
When hiding ability is an ability itself
“No one can make a start, however outstanding his abilities, if he lacks scope and opportunity and a patron to support him.” – Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (Pliny The Younger)
“Neque enim cuiquam tam statim clarum ingenium est, ut possit emergere; nisi ill materia, occasio, fautor etiam, commendatorque contingat.” (Latin)
Ability alone isn’t enough to begin
“As we advance in life, we learn the limits of our abilities.” – James Anthony Froude
Age shows us what ability can’t
“…we rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt.” – Norman MacDonald
Ability is measured by outcomes, not attempts
“…the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The ability to think in contradiction
“An able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions. He is neither hot nor timid.” – Lord Chesterfield
Ability speaks through calm and action
“The art of using moderate abilities to advantage wins praise, and often acquires more reputation than real brilliancy.” – Francois De La Rochefoucauld
“L’art de savoir bien mettre en œuvre de médiocres qualités dérobe l’estime, et donne souvent plus de réputation que le véritable mérite.” (French)
When modest ability outshines brilliance
“With people of only moderate ability modesty is mere honesty; but with those who possess great talent, it is hypocrisy.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
“Bescheidenheit bei mittelmäßigen Fähigkeiten ist bloße Ehrlichkeit. Bei großen Talenten ist sie Heuchelei.” (German)
When modesty depends on ability
“… the winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” – Edward Gibbon
How ability tips the odds in your favor
“For human ability is an unequal match for the violent and unforeseen vicissitudes of the world.” – Hugh Blair
Even ability has its limits
“Many persons go to the grave with unrecognized abilities, having failed either to find opportunity or to recognize it when it came” – Robert Brown Asrey
What good is ability without opportunity?
“A man must not deny his manifest abilities, for that is to evade his obligations.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
To hide your ability is to shirk your role
“There are some persons who only disgust with their abilities, there are persons who please even with their faults.” – Francois De La Rochefoucauld
“Il y a des gens dégoûtants avec du mérite, et d’autres qui plaisent avec des défauts.” (French)
When ability repels and flaws attract
“Few of us have abilities to know all the ill we occasion.” – François De La Rochefoucauld
“Il n’y a gueres d’homme assez habile pour connaistre tout le mal qu’il fait.” (French)
The ability we lack: seeing the harm we cause
“Ye who write, make choice of a subject suitable to your abilities; and revolve in your thoughts a considerable time what your strength declines, and what it is able to support.” – Horace
“sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, aequam Viribus, et versate diu, quid ferre recusent, quid valeant humeri.” (Latin)
Knowing your ability is knowing your limits
“Better be a nettle in the side of your friend, than his echo. The condition which high friendship demands is ability to do without it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
True friendship respects one’s ability to stand alone
“The scholar is that man who must take up into himself all the ability of the time, all the contributions of the past, all the hopes of the future.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
The ability to carry past, present, and future
“Most persons of ability meet in society with a kind of tacit appeal.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
The unspoken influence of ability
“Whatever appeals to the imagination, by transcending the ordinary limits of human ability, wonderfully encourages and liberates us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
When imagination breaks ability’s limits
“Ability sometimes measures weakness for strength.” – Edward Counsel
Ability isn’t always right about strength
“…the least ability in a pursuit is, at times, the most favoured.” – Edward Counsel
Is success really about ability?
“…there is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.” – Elbert Hubbard
Recognizing ability is a rare ability itself
“It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.” – Elbert Hubbard
The rare ability is to spot ability in others
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Explore how belief fuels ability and action
“We are all capable of much more than we think we are.”- Lao Tzu
Find out why your potential often surprises you
“It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not.” – Denis Waitley
Learn how thought patterns limit your ability
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Read this when you need inner strength, not muscle
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
See how small steps show real ability
“Sometimes life knocks you on your ass… happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.” – Steve Maraboli
Discover how resilience defines your strength
“I am only one … I cannot do everything, but I can do something.” – Edward Everett Hale
Read why doing what you can matters so much
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
Find hope that great ability unfolds through action
“With realization of one’s own potential… one can build a better world.” – Dalai Lama
Learn why self‑trust amplifies your impact
“Whatever you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair
Discover how stepping through fear grows your ability
“You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.” – Brian Tracy
Read more what Brian Tray says talks about facing for tough times
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”- Henry Ford
Explore how mindset shapes your capabilities
“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.” – Joyce Meyer
Understand why patience is an overlooked ability
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
See how using what you have fuels your ability
“The ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to relax.” – David Allen
Discover why relaxation is key to performance
Keep exploring the power of words
The quotes above remind us that ability is more than raw talent .
Mindset, motivation shaped your ability, and the will to grow.
If you found these insights helpful, don’t stop here.
Explore more quotes about success in life, confidence, courage, adversity and persistence ; each clearly explained to inspire action and reflection.