Below are quotes about training worth using in a workshop slide, a program handbook, or a note to a new hire: real lines with named authors, sorted by use, covering skill practice, professional development, and coaching. Training quotes circulate widely with wrong attributions, so where a line is misattributed, that is flagged.
Quotes about practice and repetition
For a slide on why training is about reps, not talent.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” This is Will Durant summarizing Aristotle, not Aristotle directly; credit Durant.
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Bruce Lee.
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Albert Einstein. Often used to make the point that persistence beats quickness.
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” Malcolm Gladwell, from “Outliers.”
Professional training and development quotes
For a workplace learning program or a development plan.
“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” Commonly attributed to Henry Ford and to Zig Ziglar, but firmly sourced to neither; present it as “attributed.”
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Often credited to Benjamin Franklin, but its roots are in the Chinese philosopher Xunzi; use it as a proverb.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin. This one is genuinely his.
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” Anthony J. D’Angelo.
Quotes about coaching and being trained
For a coach, a mentor, or an onboarding note.
“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” John Wooden.
“Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” Mark Twain, from “Pudd’nhead Wilson.”
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” Commonly attributed to Zig Ziglar; widely repeated but not firmly sourced, so label it “attributed.”
Short training quotes
Short enough for a poster or a handbook header.
“Practice makes progress.”
“Skill comes from consistent practice.” A plain restatement, usable as a proverb.
“Learn by doing.” Often linked to John Dewey’s philosophy of education.
How to use these in a training setting
Pick the line to the audience. The practice-and-repetition quotes suit skill training; the development quotes suit a corporate learning program; the coaching quotes suit mentors and onboarding. Where a line is popular but misattributed, like the Aristotle or Franklin lines above, credit it accurately, it models the sourcing habit you want learners to carry into their own work. For adjacent sets, see quotes about learning and lifelong learning quotes. For sourcing any of these correctly, how to cite a quote covers the rules, and academic quotes for students collects related lines.
FAQ
Did Aristotle say “we are what we repeatedly do”?
No. The line is Will Durant paraphrasing Aristotle in “The Story of Philosophy.” Credit Durant, not Aristotle.
What is a good quote about employee training?
“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay” is the standard choice, though its author is uncertain, so label it “attributed.”
Who really said “tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember”?
It is usually credited to Franklin but traces to Xunzi. Use it as a proverb rather than a Franklin quote.
What is a short training quote for a poster?
“Practice makes progress” is short, honest, and avoids the overpromise of “practice makes perfect.”
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