Survival depends a great deal on a person’s ability to withstand stress in emergency situations. Inspirational survival quotes will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.
If you’re searching for top encouraging quotes and famous keep going quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of famous self control quotes, inspiring grit quotes and powerful mediocrity quotes.
Most Famous Survival Quotes
Most whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For species that depend on hearing for survival, to find food, migrate, and communicate, any hearing loss could be catastrophic. As one scientist noted, a deaf whale is a dead whale. – Pierce Brosnan
A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with, a man is what he makes himself. – Alexander Graham Bell
Nobody is stronger, nobody is weaker than someone who came back. There is nothing you can do to such a person because whatever you could do is less than what has already been done to him. We have already paid the price. – Elie Wiesel

When sustainability is viewed as being a matter of survival for your business, I believe you can create massive change. – Cameron Sinclair
Baseball is a red-blooded sport for red-blooded men. It’s no pink tea, and mollycoddles had better stay out. It’s a struggle for supremacy, a survival of the fittest. – Ty Cobb
Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival. – W. Edwards Deming
Bad things happen. And the human brain is especially adept at making sure that we keep track of these events. This is an adaptive mechanism important for survival. – David Perlmutter
In spite of everything that was done to me and my race, in spite of the adversity and the bitter moments, again we rise. – Maya Angelou
In a mad world, only the mad are sane. – Akiro Kurosawa
Credibility is a basic survival tool. – Rebecca Solnit
All societies on the verge of death are masculine. A society can survive with only one man; no society will survive a shortage of women. – Germaine Greer
Perhaps catastrophe is the natural human environment, and even though we spend a good deal of energy trying to get away from it, we are programmed for survival amid catastrophe. – Germaine Greer
The unrestricted competition so commonly advocated does not leave us the survival of the fittest. The unscrupulous succeed best in accumulating wealth. – Rutherford B. Hayes
Peace is the one condition of survival in this nuclear age. – Adlai Stevenson
All I’m trying to do is not join my ancestral spirits just yet. – Joshua Nkomo
You know, one race will not be a survivor if the other one dies, and that’s something that we should think about. – Alice Walker
In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued – they may be essential to survival. – Noam Chomsky
Tis the last rose of summer Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions Are faded and gone. – Thomas More
To be honest, if it wasn’t for my daughter, I don’t think I would have gotten out of the situation that I was in before ‘Idol’ because I am a domestic violence survivor. – La’Porsha Renae
Hunger, love, pain, fear are some of those inner forces which rule the individual’s instinct for self preservation. – Albert Einstein
If you live among wolves you have to act like a wolf. – Nikita Khrushchev
I think I’m a survivor. I could have suffered at least 100 professional deaths. I could come up with a list of the 100 times I’ve come closest to death, from having pneumonia as a child to car crashes. – Craig Venter
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. – B. F. Skinner
A relationship isn’t going to make me survive. It’s the cherry on top. – Jennifer Aniston
I’m a survivor, at least that’s what everyone tells me. – Courtney Love
To survive it is often necessary to fight and to fight you have to dirty yourself. – George Orwell
Once one determines that he or she has a mission in life, that’s it’s not going to be accomplished without a great deal of pain, and that the rewards in the end may not outweigh the pain if you recognize historically that always happens, then when it comes, you survive it. – Richard M. Nixon
My grandmother raised five children during the Depression by herself. At 50, she threw her sewing machine into the back of a pickup truck and drove from North Dakota to California. She was a real survivor, so that’s my stock. That’s how I want my kids to be too. – Michelle Pfeiffer
A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them into revolt neither has nor deserves the prospect of a lasting existence. – Sigmund Freud
Every day I run scared. That’s the only way I can stay ahead . – John H. Johnson
My childhood was bittersweet in many ways. We moved around a lot. By the time I was 10, I had travelled thousands of miles, often on my own. My parents were like my friends, so it felt like I didn’t really have parents at all. But in a crazy way that was very liberating. It forced me to be independent, maybe a leader, and certainly a survivor. – Nile Rodgers
Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope. – Charles Darwin
Survival is nothing more than recovery. – Dianne Feinstein
The human race has had long experience and a fine tradition in surviving adversity. But we now face a task for which we have little experience, the task of surviving prosperity. – Alan Gregg
The condition of man… is a condition of war of everyone against everyone. – Thomas Hobbes
For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer. – Arnold Schwarzenegger
The weak die out and the strong will survive, and will live on forever. – Anne Frank
The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool. – Jane Wagner
Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. – Bill Cosby
Survivors aren’t always the strongest; sometimes they’re the smartest, but more often simply the luckiest. – Carrie Ryan
And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department. – Andrew Carnegie
No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. – Colin Powell
The feat of surviving is directly related to the capacity of the survivor. – Claire Cameron
In a world where change is inevitable and continuous, the need to achieve that change without violence is essential for survival. – Andrew Young
For Harmony. A chance at life. To fight on other days. – Janet Morris
The difference between being a victim and a survivor is often a low level of situational awareness. You can’t be a super spy, watchful and paranoid every day. But I am more watchful than the average American. – Barry Eisler
Antiquities are history defaced, or some remnants of history which have casually escaped the shipwreck of time. – Francis Bacon
I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive. – Elizabeth Taylor
In the game of ‘Survivor,’ there is no time for regrets. – Jenna Morasca
The consciousness of being deemed dead, is next to the presumable unpleasantness of being so in reality. One feels like his own ghost unlawfully tenanting a defunct carcass. – Herman Melville
Nature’s stern discipline enjoins mutual help at least as often as warfare. The fittest may also be the gentlest. – Theodosius Dobzhansky
I am someone who always gets up again, even if there are setbacks. I have a survivor instinct. I’m not sure where it comes from, but probably from all the little things that make you into who you are. – Heidi Klum
Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished. – Og Mandino
Hollywood is like life, you face it with the sum total of your equipment. – Joan Crawford
I would never call myself a cancer survivor because I think it devalues those who do not survive. There’s this whole mythology that people bravely battle their cancer and then they become survivors. Well, the ones who don’t survive may be just as brave, you know, just as courageous, wonderful people. – Barbara Ehrenreich
The faster you can signal for rescue, the faster you get out of that situation. – Joseph Teti
You don’t know if you’re going to be rescued in a day or a month; gotta prepare for the long haul; gotta make the place your home. – Matt Graham
We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome. – Isabel Allende
When we understand the connection between how we live and how long we live, it’s easier to make different choices. Instead of viewing the time we spend with friends and family as luxuries, we can see that these relationships are among the most powerful determinants of our well-being and survival. – Dean Ornish
The man who goes afoot, prepared to camp anywhere and in any weather, is the most independent fellow on earth. – Horace Kephart
Perhaps catastrophe is the natural human environment, and even though we spend a good deal of energy trying to get away from it, we are programmed for survival amid catastrophe. – Germaine Greer
Survival can be summed up in three words, never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying. – Bear Grylls
Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. – Winston Churchill
Tis the last rose of summer Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions Are faded and gone. – Thomas More
Every day I run scared. That’s the only way I can stay ahead. – John H. Johnson
Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception. – Carl Sagan
We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival. – Winston Churchill
The condition of man… is a condition of war of everyone against everyone. – Thomas Hobbes
And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department. – Andrew Carnegie
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change. – Clarence Darrow
The rules of survival never change, whether you’re in a desert or in an arena. – Bear Grylls
Connections with other people affect not only the quality of our lives but also our survival. – Dean Ornish
A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows. – Doug Larson
Resilience is the maintenance of high levels of positive affect and well-being in the face of adversity. It is not that resilient individuals never experience negative affect, but rather that the negative affect does not persist. – Richard J. Davidson
Self-preservation is the first principle of our nature. – Alexander Hamilton
Sustainability is the key to our survival on this planet and will also determine success on all levels. – Shari Arison
The pressure of survival in the big city will make you lose sight of your dream. Hang in there. – James De La Vega
The human being is very resourceful. When you fight for survival, you don’t think much; you just do. If you think too much, you sink. – Frank Lowy
In truth, we exist and survive, not because of the ego, but in spite of it. – David R. Hawkins
Surviving means being born over and over again. – Erica Jong
Only the strong survive. – Namibian Proverb
Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance on it. – Hunter S. Thompson
Learning is not compulsory, neither is survival. – W. Edwards Deming
Rule of survival: Pack your own parachute. – T.L. Hakala
Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. – Winston Churchill
We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival. – Winston Churchill
Survival is triumph enough. – Harry Crews
We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth. – Virginia Satir
Humor is one of the best ingredients of survival. – Aung San Suu Kyi
Escapism is survival to me. – Johnny Depp
There are two problems for our species: survival nuclear war and environmental catastrophe. And we’re hurtling towards them, knowingly. – Noam Chomsky
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. – Dalai Lama
It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts. – Robert H. Schuller
Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory. – Sun Tzu
Every man is wise when attacked by a mad dog; fewer when pursued by a mad woman; only the wisest survive when attacked by a mad notion. – Robertson Davies
As far as this business of solitary confinement goes, the most important thing for survival is communication with someone, even if it’s only a wave or a wink, a tap on the wall, or to have a guy put his thumb up. It makes all the difference. – John McCain
I do believe there’s a heaven. I do believe that God has given me the resilience and the survival skills to withstand the chiffon trenches. – Andre Leon Talley
Whether or not we believe in survival of consciousness after death, reincarnation, and karma, it has very serious implications for our behavior. – Stanislav Grof
In the animal kingdom, one of the keys to survival is to outwit your enemies. And when you’re surrounded by carnivores, one of the best strategies is to fade into the background and disappear. – Neil deGrasse Tyson
Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind. – Bruce Lee
Self-preservation, nature’s first great law, all the creatures, except man, doth awe. – Andrew Marvell
We are survival machines — robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes. – Richard Dawkins
Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor. – Stephen Hawking
Survival is not about being fearless. It’s about making a decision, getting on and doing it, because I want to see my kids again, or whatever the reason might be. – Bear Grylls
Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older. – Hans Selye
The requirements for our evolution have changed. Survival is no longer sufficient. Our evolution now requires us to develop spiritually, to become emotionally aware and make responsible choices. It requires us to align ourselves with the values of the soul, harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for life. – Gary Zukav
There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning. – Thornton Wilder
But the question is a matter of the survival and the teaching. That’s what our work comes down to. No matter where we key into it, it’s the same work, just different pieces of ourselves doing it. – Audre Lorde
Survival is the ability to swim in strange water. – Frank Herbert
Survival often feels like an indignity. – Guillermo Del Toro
In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct for survival. It is this which can clutch at straws and effect a rescue from them. It is this which can, now and then, outwit fate. – Tanith Lee
Survival … is an infinite capacity for suspicion. – John Le Carre
When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. – Franklin D. Roosevelt
What does not kill us makes us stronger. – Friedrich Nietzsche
It’s always been a great survival value for people to believe they belong to a superior tribe. That’s just in human relationships. – E. O. Wilson
As a Jew, it is my historic responsibility to defend the Jewish people. I feel this responsibility for the survival of the Jewish people. We’re not going to accept any decision by anybody else about the security of the State of Israel. It is our role and only our role. – Ariel Sharon
Living in a small town, one of the keys to survival was your imagination. – Nick Nolte