Top 80 Inspiring Denzel Washington Quotes You Should Know

Ever heard or read Denzel Washington’s quotes? Well, before we get to the quotes, you must have come across the name. Denzel is a popular American actor, producer, and director. He is a mentor and a role model to his viewers.

Denzel Washington has been one of the most successful actors in Hollywood for over two decades. He’s won an Oscar and received many other honors for his work on screen, including an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe award.

He is also an accomplished musician and producer. He’s released three albums with his band, The System, and has also had songs recorded by other artists.

Denzel Washington is 65 years of age, having been born as Denzel Hayes Washington Junior on December 28th, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York. Despite a humble beginning, the son of a Pentecostal preacher has won two golden global awards.

Also, Denzel is well-known for acting as a real-life historical figure.

Some movies he has featured include Cry Freedom in 1987, featuring Steve Biko. Besides, he has featured as Malcolm X in the movie Malcolm X in 1992.

If you enjoy watching his movies, you may have watched the Equalizer 1 and 2. Denzel has also portrayed Robert McCall as the main protagonist in the equalizer film series.

Watching The Equalizer 2 the other day by Denzel Washington, I couldn’t help but marvel at the entertaining nature of  Denzel. He is good at shifting between tense and calm situations with ease.

In this thriller, Denzel played his role pretty well. While the director may have tried to capture the spirit of the first Equalizer, it turned out slow and predictable. 

That being said, Denzel has never been disappointed in his films. He is a comedian, fighter, orator, mentor and a talented storyteller all rolled into one. This, he captures in his movies perfectly fine.

Moreso, Denzel is a motivational speaker. He inspires many, including both friends and foes.

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Denzel Washington’s quotes can be found throughout his work on screen and in interviews about him as a person. Some of these quotes focus on his career as an actor, but others are more personal.

Denzel Washington Quotes

• “I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.”
• “Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.”
• I think a role model is a mentor–someone you see on a daily basis, and you learn from them.
• “Faith will get you to a point. Luck will get you to a point. But to achieve the kind of success you dream about, you need to WORK. There are no shortcuts, you can’t cheat life, just get to work and don’t stop until you reach your highest potential.”
• “If I am a cup maker, I’m interested in making the best cup I possibly can. My effort goes into that cup, not what people think about it.”

• “You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That’s a part of it.”
• “If you have an enemy, then learn and know your enemy, don’t just be mad at him or her.”
• “At the end of the day, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about what you’ve done with those accomplishments. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.”
• “Success? I don’t know what that word means. I’m happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody’s eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace. That’s a good day for me.”
• “Dreams without goals remain dreams.”
• “Never help an ungrateful person get on their feet.”
• “My mother never gave up on me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my mother sent me right back.”
• “Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do”
• “I’d be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I’d been given. I’d be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.”
• “Put God first in everything you do. Everything that I have is by the grace of God, I understand that. It’s a gift. I didn’t always stick with Him, but He stuck with me.”

Denzel Washington Quotes About Success

• “I just try to take it one day at a time. That’s how I live my life; that’s how I conduct myself.”
• “When you do something wrong, if you don’t learn anything from it, then you’re just a fool.”
• “If you want to be successful, you’ve got to work hard and work smart.”
• “Success leaves clues, and the only way to find them is to keep looking until you find them. Failure leaves no clues, which is why so many people fail.”
• “I always thought when I became successful that I would be able to help people. And then when I did become successful, I realized that was not the case.”

• “You want to do it right, but you want to get it done.”
• “Success is not a journey, and it’s a destination.”
• “Success has always been my biggest motivator. I was raised by two parents who believed in education and success above all else.”
• “Success is a result of preparation, not a result of spontaneous combustion.”
• “A man’s value to the world is in direct proportion to his usefulness to it.”
• “The only thing that stands between us and success is failure. And there’s no way to avoid that. You can avoid it by not trying, but then you miss all the fun of trying.”
• “I have learned that success is liking your work and boss.”
• “I’m not afraid to fail, but I do not like to fail.”
• “I’ve never lost anything in my life that’s worth holding on to.”

Denzel Washington Quotes About Work

• “I’m not a good person. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, and I don’t sleep around. So if you want to know who doesn’t do drugs and sleeps around, it’s me.”
• “I’ve worked with many great actors, but nobody has ever said, ‘Oh man, that was so much fun,’ like Denzel Washington did.”
• “If you have talent and work hard at it, it will come out.”
• “I’ve always been a hard worker. I’ve never stopped working.”
• “I’m a workaholic, but it’s good to work hard. It makes you feel good to get things done, accomplish them, and be productive.”
• “The truth is that the harder you work, the luckier you get.”
• “When you work hard for something, whether it’s money or respect or education or anything else, when you go after something and fight for it, usually someone will give you what you want because there’s not much of anything in life that isn’t earned by working for it.”
• “The important thing is not how much wealth we accumulate but how honestly we use it.”
• “I am not afraid to be who I am.”
• “If you’re happy with what you have and who you are, then nothing matters too much.”
• “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
• “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”
• “I will work with anybody as long as they have a plan and a goal.”
• “I’m going to keep working hard until I die because I know that if I don’t, somebody else will take my place.”

• “If you want to do something in life, go do it now while you’re young and have the energy to make it happen.”
• “If you aren’t willing to risk what little you have, nothing can happen in your life.”
• “I don’t know any other way of being.”
• “You cannot afford to be mediocre in this world.”
• “It’s not easy to be humble, but being proud ain’t working either.”
• “Work is the most important thing in life. I don’t care how good we are at something; if we don’t do it with all our heart, the result will be disappointing.”
• “I can’t think of any other way to describe it than they were in love with their work. It was a loving thing, you know? It was a very close relationship. And I think that’s what kept them together for so long. They loved each other, and they loved what they did.”

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Inspirational Quotes from Denzel Washington

• “I think it’s important to have love in your life.”
• “The only time you’re guaranteed to be happy is when you’re working.”
• “I hope to inspire people through my work and life.”
• “The beauty of life is being aware that you have to spend it for yourself.”
• “I am not just an actor. I am an artist who happens to go into a movie theater.”
• “I’m not working on anything right now, but I like to create things from scratch.”
• “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.”
• “If you ever need a friend to talk to, I’m here.”
• “I would rather be in the second year of a seven-year sentence than the first year of a three-year sentence.”
• “Work is the best antidote for stress.”

• “I’m not too proud to admit that I don’t know what I’m doing. But if you do something, you might as well do it right. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
• “The tougher the challenge you face, the more glory in overcoming it.”
• “It’s better to be judged by 12 than by six.”

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Motivational Quotes Denzel Washington

• “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved.”
• “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
• “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.”
• “Don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s easier to leave than it is to stay.”
• “It’s not about how long you say no, but how often.”
• “I want to be the best man I can be. You’ll never be happy if you can’t do that for yourself.”
• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
• “Everything is hard before it’s easy.”
• “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”
• “There are two certainties in life: death and taxes. Everything else is optional.”
• “You can’t keep your kids safe from trouble if you keep them close.”

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More Quotes from Denzel Washington

• “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”
• “The most important thing is to learn how to give. Everything else is just learning how to get.”
• “I want the world for everyone, but I want them to do it my way.”
• “I think I can best describe it as a joy. It’s like I’m on a mission, but one that I have complete control over.”
• “In life, you’ve got to do what you want. And the only way you can get there is by doing it.”
• “Whenever you’re at your best, it’s because you’re in tune with yourself and not just yourself but also other people and how they can help you be better.”

At the end of it all, quotes are just quotes. Some may make sense to you, while some may not. Pick what appeals to you best and can change your life.