65 respect quotes to inspire you, from women and men of differing centuries, countries and cultures...
These quotes prove that the human need to give and get respect is universal. (No big surprise there, but it's always good to be reminded!)
And I've included two fun music videos about respect for your viewing and listening pleasure!
Respect Quote on Art
- Respect the masterpiece. It is true reverence to man. There is no quality so great, none so much needed now. Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) U.S. architect, interior designer, writer, educator
Respect Quotes on Attitude
- I must respect the opinions of others even if I disagree with them. Herbert Henry Lehman (1878-1963) U.S. Senator, 45th Governor of New York
- Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts? Confucius (551-479 BCE) Chinese philosopher, political figure, educator
- Civilization is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men. Jane Addams (1860-1935) U.S. social worker, feminist, first woman awarded Nobel Peace Prize
- Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners. Laurence Sterne (1713–1768) Anglo-Irish novelist, clergyman
- If you have some respect for people as they are, you can be more effective in helping them to become better than they are. John W. Gardner (1912-2002) U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare 1965-1968
- Dignity and Respect have to do with what you are ready, willing and able to accept within yourself, and in accepting, to be able to give others. It is your personal power to make a difference by being true to the best within you, and letting that truth shine through your words and actions. Gail Pursell Elliott, contemporary U.S. speaker, author, educator, consultant
Respect Quotes on Authority
- There's far too much unthinking respect given to authority. Molly Ivins (1944-2007) U.S. columnist, political commentator, humorist, author
- Some people have so much respect for their superiors they have none left for themselves. Peter McArthur (1866-1924) Canadian author, farmer, philosopher
Respect Quote about Behaviour
- I'm not perfect, I'm not an angel, but I try to live a certain way because it brings honour and respect to my mother. Mr T (born 1952) African-American actor
This is a really cheesy Mr. T music video from the early ‘80s about respecting mothers, but its heart is in the right place... And more than 3 million people have watched it, so you know it’s entertaining!
Respect Quotes about Business
- We learned how to combine respect with open communication. Howard Schultz (born 1953) U.S. businessman, chairman & CEO of Starbucks
- I wanted to build the kind of company that my father never got a chance to work for, in which people were respected. Howard Schultz (born 1953) U.S. businessman, chairman & CEO of Starbucks
- We want to be a respectful merchant so that we're not trying to sell anything that would in any way dilute the experience. Howard Schultz (born 1953) U.S. businessman, chairman & CEO of Starbucks
- Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words, but a creed we live by every day. You can't expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don't exceed the employees' expectations of management. Howard Schultz (born 1953) U.S. businessman, chairman & CEO of Starbucks
- With businesses, you go to the same places because you like the service, you like the people and they take care of you. They greet you with a smile. That's how people want to be treated, with respect. That's what I tell my employees, customer service is very important. Magic Johnson (born 1959) African-American Hall of Fame basketball player, philanthropist, entrepreneur
Respect Quotes about Children
- A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone. Billy Graham (born 1918) U.S. Baptist evangelist
- When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) French chemist, microbiologist
Respect Quotes about Courage
- He who does not have the courage to speak up for his rights cannot earn the respect of others. Rene G. Torres (details unknown)
Respect Quotes about Human Beings
- I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being. Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) first African-American Major League Baseball player
- Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves. U. Thant (1909-1974) Burmese 3rd secretary-general of the United Nations
- We have come to a point where people often treat each other as objects and opportunities rather than as unique human beings who are worthy and entitled to be treated with Dignity and Respect without exception. Gail Pursell Elliott, contemporary U.S. speaker, author, educator, consultant
- Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it. Bill Bradley (born 1943) Hall of Fame basketball player, former U.S. Senator
- There is no use comparing individual differences in talent, or the different profesions and missions that people pursue in life. Those who thoroughly dedicate tyhemselves to their work in life are all respectworthy; that's what is important. There is no difference among them as human beings. Eiji Yoshikawa (1892-1962)Japanese historical novelist
- The essence of democracy is its assurance that every human being should so respect himself and should be so respected in his own personality that he should have opportunity equal to that of every other human being to show what he was meant to become. Anna Garlin Spencer (1851-1931) U.S. educator, feminist, Unitarian minister
Respect Quotes on Life
- It's just natural to treat people and other creatures on the planet with respect. Daryl Hannah (born 1960) U.S. film actress, environmentalist
- When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. Arapaho Indian Proverb
- Respect the old and cherish the young. Even insects, grass and trees you must not hurt. Ge Hong (283–343) Chinese Taoist philosopher
Respect Quotes on Love
- Respect is love in plain clothes. Frankie Byrne(1922-1993) Irish radio host
- I could never love where I could not respect. Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna (1790-1846) English evangelical Protestant writer
- When men and women are able to respect and accept their differences then love has a chance to blossom. John Gray (born 1951) U.S. relationship/personal growth consultant, lecturer, author
- Love and respect woman. Look to her not only for comfort, but for strength and inspiration and the doubling of your intellectual and moral powers. Blot out from your mind any idea of superiority; you have none. Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872) Italian philosopher, politician
Respect Quotes on Getting Respect
- He that respects not is not respected. George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh poet, orator, priest
- How you carry yourself, what you stand for—that's how you gain respect. Mildred D. Taylor (born 1943) African- American author
- The respect of those you respect is worth more than the applause of the multitude. Arnold Glasow (1905-1998) Canadian-born U.S. humorist
- Probably no greater honour can come to any man than the respect of his colleagues. Cary Grant (1904-1986) English-born Hollywood film star
- If you have no respect for your own values how can you be worthy of respect from others? Byron Pulsifer, contemporary Canadian motivational speaker, seminar leader
- If you disrespect anybody that you run in to, how in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you? From the song Respect Yourself by Mack Rice and Luther Ingram
Naturally, this page couldn’t be complete without a video of Aretha Franklin singing her 1967 classic, Respect. Here she is in 1990:
- Respect is mutually beneficial. Deborah Trust (details unknown)
- Respect commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due. Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998) African-American social critic, radical intellectual, author
- One of the most difficult things to give away is respect. It usually comes back to you. Source unknown
- It’s all about respect for others, regardless of age, gender, title, salary or disposition. Dorothea Helms, contemporary Canadian writer
Short Self-Respect Quotes
- Self-respect is the cornerstone of all virtue. Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) English mathematician, astronomer, chemist
- Self-respect permeates every aspect of your life. Joe Clark (born 1938) U.S. former principal of a tough New Jersey inner-city school; motivational speaker
- Seek respect mainly from thyself, for it comes first from within. Steven H. Coogler (details unknown)
- Never violate the sacredness of your individual self-respect. Theophile Gautier (1811-1872) French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, literary critic
- Self-respect is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has a price. Joan Didion (born 1934) U.S. novelist, journalist, screenplay writer
- Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself. Abraham Heschel (1907-1972) Polish-born U.S. rabbi, leading Jewish theologian, philosopher
- You punch me, I punch back. I do not believe it’s good for one’s self-respect to be a punching bag. Ed Koch (born 1924) U.S. former Congressman and New York City mayor
- True humility is intelligent self-respect that keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. Ralph W. Sockman (1889-1970) U.S. Protestant preacher, author
- The intelligent person depends on his own insight; he trusts his own being. He loves and respects himself. Osho (1931-1990) Indian spiritual teacher
Long Self-Respect Quotes
- To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves—there lies the great, singular power of self-respect. Joan Didion (born 1934) U.S. novelist, journalist, screenplay writer
- Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power. Clint Eastwood (born 1930) U.S. actor, film director, film producer, composer
- If I despised myself, it would be no compensation if everyone saluted me, and if I respect myself, it does not trouble me if others hold me lightly. Max Nordau (1849-1923) Hungarian Zionist leader, physician, author, social critic.
- That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong. William J.H. Boetcker (1873–1962) German-born U.S. Presbyterian leader, public speaker
Longest Self-Respect Quotes
- I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself. To undermine a man’s self-respect is a sin. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) French aviator, author
- It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character. Dale Turner (1917-2006) U.S. Congregational minister, writer
- Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man may clothe himself...the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired. One of Pythagoras' wisest maxims is that in which he enjoins the pupil to "reverence himself." Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) Scottish author, reformer
- The capacity for getting along with our neighbour depends to a large extent on the capacity for getting along with ourselves. The self-respecting individual will try to be as tolerant of his neighbour's shortcomings as he is of his own. Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) U.S. social writer, philosopher
- Self-respect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is never for sale. It cannot be fabricated out of public relations. It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when we suddenly realize that, knowing the good, we have done it; knowing the beautiful, we have served it; knowing the truth we have spoken it. Alfred Whitney Griswold (1906-1963) U.S. historian, educator
- Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself—no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are—completely; the good and the bad—and make changes as YOU see fit—not because you think someone else wants you to be different. Stacey Charter (details unknown)
Respect Quotes about Society
- If you take care of respect in your school and family, everything else is taken care of. Gene Bedley, contemporary U.S. educator, author
- The only society that works today is also one founded on mutual respect, on a recognition that we have a responsibility collectively and individually, to help each other on the basis of each other's equal worth. A selfish society is a contradiction in terms. Tony Blair (born 1953) U.K. Prime Minister 1997-2007
Respect Quotes about Uniqueness
- As we grow as unique persons, we learn to respect the uniqueness of others. Robert Schuller, contemporary U.S. televangelist, author
- Self-empowerment—that's learning to respect other people's music, but dance to your own tune as you master harmony within yourself. Doc Childre, contemporary U.S. stress expert, author, Institute of HeartMath founder