Connect with us

Top Lists

The 10 Best Moving Companies In America

Shawna-Author-Profile-Image

Published

on

The Best Moving Companies in America

What are the best moving companies in America?

Moving to a new home can be tricky without a reputable moving company to take all of your belongings from point A to point B.

However, not all moving companies are created equal and today we’re looking at the top ones in the nation. 

 

The Best Moving Companies In America

All of the moving companies that made our list were chosen for their high ratings and the variety of services they provide. 

Here’s our list of the 10 best moving companies in America:

 

10. Bellhop

Best For: Local Efficiency

If you’re moving locally and need things done as quickly as possible, Bellhop is one of the best moving companies you can choose.

Bellhop is one of the highest-rated local moving companies and they’re perfect for moving across town and need things done in as little time as possible.

This company is also nice enough to waive rescheduling fees if you need to put your plans on hold due to COVID-19.

Customer reviews praise this moving company for its organization, efficiency, and speed.

In some cases, services can be scheduled the day of if you only need things moved a short distance, while longer distances should be scheduled at least a week in advance.

Bellhop has hourly moving rates with a 1 to 2-hour minimum, and a 5% deposit is required when you schedule your move.

Pros:

  • Flexible reservation times
  • Quick, efficient local moves
  • Straight forward pricing

Cons:

  • Not available in all cities
  • Better for local instead of long-distance moves

Bottom Line:

Bellhop could be a great choice if you’re moving but staying in the same city or town.

However, they aren’t available nationwide, so you’ll want to check out their website to make sure they operate in your area if you want to use them for your next move.

That said, if you are able to take advantage of their services, you can expect a quick move where all of your belongings are handled with care.

 

9. Atlas Van Lines

Best For: Fragile Items

If you’re moving with a lot of fragile items, Atlas Van Lines is going to be a moving company to seriously consider.

Started in 1948, today this company consists of 430 independent agencies located all across the globe.

Atlas Van Lines has maintained an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a high customer satisfaction rate for local, interstate, cross-country, and international moving.

Their website is easy to navigate and they have upfront pricing options so that you know how much your move will cost, without needing to worry about any hidden fees.

They also offer storage services and vehicle relocation, in addition to full-service options and the ability to order moving supplies.

When it comes to moving fragile items, Atlas Van Lines provides thorough information on how you can best pack and protect your items, but you can also opt to have them pack, transport, and unpack your belongings if you don’t want to manage them yourself.

Even if you don’t have a huge amount of fragile items to move, you can expect Atlas to treat all of your belongings as if they were a collection of the most expensive wines in the world.

Each truck also has special decking inside to help further protect items, and this moving company can even transport pets, plants, and even aquariums!

Furthermore, this moving company doesn’t require a deposit, though free cancellation is only available if done within three days of having signed the contract.

Pros:

  • Meticulous transport of fragile items
  • High customer satisfaction
  • Useful online estimate tools

Cons:

  • They cannot move containers
  • The three-day cancellation period may feel restrictive for some people

Bottom Line:

This full-service moving company prides itself on taking care of its customer’s belongings, and whether you’re moving locally or long distance, their great track record speaks for itself.

If you have a lot of fragile items that need to be moved, you should definitely consider these professional movers.

 

8. PODS

Best For: Convenience and Flexibility

PODS is a portable storage container moving company that offers both self-service and partial-service options.

What makes PODS so convenient is the fact that they allow you up to 30 days to load up your containers and then another 30 days to unload them at your new location.

This makes the moving process a lot more flexible, since you aren’t limited to one single day for loading and unloading everything you own.

With PODS, you can work at your own pace while also having the option to take advantage of optional storage and protection services.

Additionally, customers don’t have to worry about making a deposit ahead of time and can instead pay overtime for your container depending on how long you need it for.

For example, because you rent the containers by the month, you won’t have to worry about being surprised by late fees or hidden costs.

PODS features upfront pricing on their website and the average cost of local moves can range between $350 and $550, with long-distance moves starting at around $1000.

Pros:

  • Lots of time for loading and unloading
  • Price transparency
  • Options in all 50 states

Cons:

  • Not many short-term options
  • The quote process can take time

Bottom Line:

If you’re moving and want to be able to take your time, PODS is a moving company that you should definitely consider.

While it can take a while to get a quote, meaning that PODS isn’t great for short notice, having the 30-day window to load and unload your container can certainly make moving a lot less hectic.

 

7. U-Pack

Best For: Affordability

Moving can be an expensive ordeal, especially if you already live in one of the most expensive cities in the USA.

Thankfully, U-Pack can help make things more affordable at the cost of needing to do most of the work yourself.

If you live by yourself and are unable to have anyone help you, this may not be the best option, but if you’re able to pack, load, and unload everything on your own, U-Pack can definitely save you some money.

Like PODS, U-Pack gives you a container to fill up, after which they will pick it up and move it to your new location so you can unpack it.

There is no deposit needed to schedule a drop-off date and no charge if you end up canceling seven days before it arrives.

For most moves, more than one container will be needed, since one isn’t usually large enough to fit everything from one room.

Though this varies depending on the size of your home and how many belongings you have.

Still, for long-distance moves, U-Pack is going to be the most affordable self-service mover option you can find.

Pros:

  • Containers you can load and unload at your own pace
  • High customer satisfaction rates
  • No deposit

Cons:

  • No local shipping options
  • Limited container sizes

Bottom Line:

If you want to save money on long-distance moves, U-Pack is going to be one of your best options, so long as you don’t mind doing a majority of the work yourself.

Though you should take note of the pros and cons of self-moving before making a decision.

While container sizes are limited, resulting in most people needing multiple ones, ultimately it comes down to how large your home is and how much you need to move.

For a large household, you would probably be better off going through one of the other moving companies on our list, but for smaller homes, U-Pack should be something to consider.

 

6. Colonial Van Lines

Best For: Storage Services

Colonial Van Lines has a lot of great customer reviews, and they handle upwards of 12,000 moves per year.

With this moving company, you have the option to choose different packing options for bulky or fragile items and they even offer last-minute scheduling if you need a moving company fast.

There is also a mobile app that you can use to help estimate the total cost of your move, though you will have to try and be as accurate as possible for the estimate to be precise.

Even then, it’s a good idea to leave some leeway just in case the entire process does end up costing slightly more.

That being said, we chose Colonial Van Lines mainly for their great climate-controlled storage services.

While you may not need to store one of the most expensive paintings in the world, having access to secure, climate-controlled storage can definitely give you peace of mind if you can’t bring all of your belongings over to your new home right away.

Pros:

  • Perfect for long-distance moves
  • Climate-controlled storage service
  • High customer satisfaction ratings

Cons:

  • Deposit required
  • No local moving options

Bottom Line:

If you need moving services for a long-distance move, Colonial Van Lines is a company to keep in mind, especially if you know you’re going to need storage as well.

While they do require a deposit beforehand and estimates can vary slightly to be more or less than calculated, the pricing is in line with the average that most long-distance moving companies charge.

 

5. North American Van Lines

Best For: All-in-One Moving

North American Van Lines can do a little bit of everything and that is why we chose it as the best all-in-one moving company.

Since being founded in 1933, North American Van Lines has been accredited with an A+ rating from the BBB and a 4.0 in customer satisfaction by Consumer Affairs.

Specializing in local and long-distance moves, as well as corporate relocation services, this moving company is well experienced at moving things quickly, safely, and efficiently.

They also offer container moving through Blue Express, which makes them stand out even more from the competition.

In addition to this, they are one of the best full-service moving companies and they are more than capable of taking care of all your moving needs, without you needing to exert yourself.

This company also has some of the most comprehensive protection plans and transparent claims processes in the business.

Because of this, if something is damaged, customers can expect to receive the true value of the item and not some predetermined amount.

Although this often isn’t needed, knowing about this policy can provide some peace of mind.

Pros:

  • Full service moving
  • Covers local and long-distance moves
  • Transparent claims processes

Cons:

  • Storage solutions can be limited by location
  • Personal agents can be limited by location

Bottom Line:

North American Van Lines is an all-around solid moving company that offers almost everything that residential and commercial customers could want.

While agents and storage options can be limited depending on your location, ultimately this ends up being more of a minor inconvenience that doesn’t really impede the overall moving process.

 

4. United Van Lines

Best For: Full-Service

While North American Van Lines has a full-service option, United Van Lines specializes in this hands-off approach and it is perfect for those who want to make the moving process as easy on themselves as possible.

These full-service movers will take care of everything whether you are moving locally, long-distance, or internationally.

They even offer vehicle relocation, and instant, upfront pricing on their website so that you can easily input everything you need and get a quote fast.

Like many of the other companies on our list, United Van Lines has an A+ rating from the BBB and they will never request a deposit or fee for canceling right up until service begins.

If you want to sit back and have someone else take care of the packing, moving, shipping, and unloading, this is one moving company that you definitely should look into, especially since they’ll even cover international moving, even to some of the most expensive countries in the world!

Pros:

  • Local, long-distance, and international moving
  • No hassle cancellation
  • Full-service

Cons:

  • Does not offer container moving

Bottom Line:

While they don’t offer container moving, they more than make up for this by doing literally everything else for you.

This full-service mover provides everything that you could ever want and even if you do end up needing to reschedule or cancel, you won’t pay a cent.

 

3. Allied Van Lines

Best For: Long Distance Moves

Allied Van Lines gets our pick as the best mover for long distances due to their high customer satisfaction rates and a solid reputation for moving things safely and quickly across the country.

This long-distance moving company has an A+ rating from the BBB and it serves as a full-service mover in addition to offering moving supplies, container transport, vehicle relocation, and tracking, all with no deposit required.

While they also offer local moving services, they are best used when moving long-distance or internationally, especially since quality local movers are easier to come by, but long-distance requires a lot more professionalism.

Furthermore, if you ever need to cancel, you can without any fees so long as they haven’t started moving things yet.

Pros:

  • Fantastic long distance moving services
  • Quality insurance coverage
  • Full-service options

Cons:

  • Local moving may cost more than other moving services

Bottom Line:

Allied Van Lines is going to be the best company to choose if you need to move across state lines or across the country and they can make planning a long-distance move just a little bit simpler.

While you can use them to move locally, this will usually cost more than other companies that specialize in local moves, so using this company only for long moves is going to give you the best value.

 

2. American Van Lines

Best For: Fine Art and Valuables

If you’re moving and own one of the most expensive TVs in the world, you sure as hell want to make sure that your TV is going to arrive at your new home without so much as a scratch.

While this is an extreme example, most of us have expensive items that definitely need to be handled with care and this is what American Van Lines excels at.

This moving company offers options for local, long-distance, and international moves, and they can also handle corporate moves to help you get your business up and running as quickly as possible.

However, their specialty services are what really set them apart, and when it comes to transporting valuables and fine art pieces, they are some of the best movers in the nation.

They can even take care of all packing and unpacking as full-service movers and they will even handle vehicle relocation.

Pros:

  • Full-service moving options
  • Experts in moving and handling valuables
  • Corporate moving options

Cons:

  • Deposit required
  • No container moving
  • The cancelation period can be restrictive

Bottom Line:

If you have valuable items that you’re going to be moving with, you’re going to want to trust a company with experience.

While they do require a deposit and you can’t cancel for free after three days of signing the contract, American Van Lines is still the best in the business when it comes to protecting your most expensive items.

 

1. International Van Lines

Best For: International Moving

As the name might suggest, International Van Lines is one of the best moving companies if you are moving to another country.

International moves can be tricky enough, so having a company that offers specialty services revolving around global moving can make the process a lot easier.

This moving company offers full-service packing and unpacking options, several types of insurance coverage packages, moving supplies, and more.

They even offer global vehicle transport that can cover even some of the most expensive cars in the world.

Their pricing is also straightforward and you can easily get an estimate on their website.

While you will need a 25% deposit to reserve your moving date, they do offer free cancellation up to 48 hours before the selected date.

Pros:

  • Rated best for customer service in 2021
  • Loads of full-service moving options
  • Generous cancellation policy

Cons:

  • No container transportation
  • Requires a deposit

Bottom Line:

Moving to another country can be stressful and hectic, but International Van Lines makes everything just a little bit easier.

They are more than able of taking care of almost everything, so all you need to do is prepare for your move and get ready to enjoy your new home.

 

Summary

We hope that you found our list of the best moving companies in America helpful!

If you are planning to move soon, make sure to check out these companies to see which one can help you make the most of this otherwise stressful process!

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best moving companies in America:

  1. International Van Lines
  2. American Van Lines
  3. Allied Van Lines
  4. United Van Lines
  5. North American Van Lines
  6. Colonial Van Lines
  7. U-Pack
  8. PODS
  9. Atlas Van Lines
  10. Bellhop

What’s the best moving company in America, in your opinion? Leave a comment below. 

Shawna Schofield is a writer from Chicago who loves tech and gaming. In the past she has collected everything from baseball cards to barbies and she considers herself to be a tasteful hoarder of potentially valuable items.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top Lists

The 10 Best Short Moral Stories With Valuable Lessons

Published

on

The 10 Best Short Moral Stories

Stories that have morals and messages behind them are always powerful. In fact, it’s crazy just how powerful a 200 word story can be.

Our last article of short stories became so popular, that we decided to create another list, in which every story has a simple moral behind it.

 

The 10 Best Short Moral Stories

Some of these stories are very short and basic. In fact some are so basic they’re most likely featured in children’s books somewhere. However, the strength of the message remains the same.

Here’s some more of the best short moral stories:

 

1. An Old Man Lived in the Village

Short Moral Stories - An Old Man

An old man lived in the village. He was one of the most unfortunate people in the world. The whole village was tired of him; he was always gloomy, he constantly complained and was always in a bad mood.

The longer he lived, the more bile he was becoming and the more poisonous were his words. People avoided him, because his misfortune became contagious. It was even unnatural and insulting to be happy next to him.

He created the feeling of unhappiness in others.

But one day, when he turned eighty years old, an incredible thing happened. Instantly everyone started hearing the rumour:

 

“An Old Man is happy today, he doesn’t complain about anything, smiles, and even his face is freshened up.”

 

The whole village gathered together. The old man was asked:

Villager: What happened to you?

 

“Nothing special. Eighty years I’ve been chasing happiness, and it was useless. And then I decided to live without happiness and just enjoy life. That’s why I’m happy now.” – An Old Man

 

Moral of the story:

Don’t chase happiness. Enjoy your life.

 

2. The Wise Man

Short Moral Stories - The Wise Man

People have been coming to the wise man, complaining about the same problems every time. One day he told them a joke and everyone roared in laughter.

After a couple of minutes, he told them the same joke and only a few of them smiled.

When he told the same joke for the third time no one laughed anymore.

The wise man smiled and said:

 

“You can’t laugh at the same joke over and over. So why are you always crying about the same problem?”

 

Moral of the story:

Worrying won’t solve your problems, it’ll just waste your time and energy.

 

3. The Foolish Donkey

Short Moral Stories - The Foolish Donkey

A salt seller used to carry the salt bag on his donkey to the market every day.

On the way they had to cross a stream. One day the donkey suddenly tumbled down the stream and the salt bag also fell into the water. The salt dissolved in the water and hence the bag became very light to carry. The donkey was happy.

Then the donkey started to play the same trick every day.

The salt seller came to understand the trick and decided to teach a lesson to it. The next day he loaded a cotton bag on the donkey.

Again it played the same trick hoping that the cotton bag would be still become lighter.

But the dampened cotton became very heavy to carry and the donkey suffered. It learnt a lesson. It didn’t play the trick anymore after that day, and the seller was happy.

 

Moral of the story:

Luck won’t favor always.

 

4. Having A Best Friend

Short Moral Stories - Having A Best Friend

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand;

 

“Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

 

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone;

 

“Today my best friend saved my life.”

 

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him;

 

“After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

 

The other friend replied;

 

“When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

 

Moral of the story: 

Don’t value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life.

 

5. The Four Smart Students

Short Moral Stories - The Four Smart Students

One night four college students were out partying late night and didn’t study for the test which was scheduled for the next day. In the morning, they thought of a plan.

They made themselves look dirty with grease and dirt.

Then they went to the Dean and said they had gone out to a wedding last night and on their way back the tire of their car burst and they had to push the car all the way back. So they were in no condition to take the test.

The Dean thought for a minute and said they can have the re-test after 3 days. They thanked him and said they will be ready by that time.

On the third day, they appeared before the Dean. The Dean said that as this was a Special Condition Test, all four were required to sit in separate classrooms for the test. They all agreed as they had prepared well in the last 3 days.

The Test consisted of only 2 questions with the total of 100 Points:

 

1) Your Name? __________ (1 Points)

2) Which tire burst? __________ (99 Points)
Options – (a) Front Left (b) Front Right (c) Back Left (d) Back Right

 

Moral of the story:

Take responsibility or you will learn your lesson.

 

6. The Greedy Lion

Short Moral Stories - The Greedy Lion

It was an incredibly hot day, and a lion was feeling very hungry.

He came out of his den and searched here and there. He could find only a small hare. He caught the hare with some hesitation. “This hare can’t fill my stomach” thought the lion.

As the lion was about to kill the hare, a deer ran that way. The lion became greedy. He thought;

 

“Instead of eating this small hare, let me eat the big deer.”

 

He let the hare go and went behind the deer. But the deer had vanished into the forest. The lion now felt sorry for letting the hare off.

 

Moral of the story:

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

 

7. Two Friends & The Bear

Short Moral Stories - Two Friends & The Bear

Vijay and Raju were friends. On a holiday they went walking into a forest, enjoying the beauty of nature. Suddenly they saw a bear coming at them. They became frightened.

Raju, who knew all about climbing trees, ran up to a tree and climbed up quickly. He didn’t think of Vijay. Vijay had no idea how to climb the tree.

Vijay thought for a second. He’d heard animals don’t prefer dead bodies, so he fell to the ground and held his breath. The bear sniffed him and thought he was dead. So, it went on its way.

Raju asked Vijay;

 

“What did the bear whisper into your ears?”

 

Vijay replied, “The bear asked me to keep away from friends like you” …and went on his way.

 

Moral of the story:

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

 

8. The Struggles of Our Life

Short Moral Stories - The Struggles of our Life

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it.

She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.

Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter.

The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners.

He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

 

Turning to her, he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.

He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

 

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity-the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter.

 

“When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

 

Moral of the story: 

In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is how you choose to react to it and what you make out of it. Life is all about leaning, adopting and converting all the struggles that we experience into something positive.

 

9. The Fox & The Grapes

Short Moral Stories - The Fox & The Grapes

One afternoon a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch.

“Just the thing to quench my thirst,” he thought.

Taking a few steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few paces back and tried to reach them but still failed.

Finally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, “They’re probably sour anyway,” and proceeded to walk away.

 

Moral of the story: 

It’s easy to despise what you can’t have.

 

10. The Lion & The Poor Slave

Short Moral Stories - The Lion & The Poor Slave

A slave, ill-treated by his master, runs away to the forest. There he comes across a lion in pain because of a thorn in his paw. The slave bravely goes forward and removes the thorn gently.

The lion without hurting him goes away.

Some days later, the slave’s master comes hunting to the forest and catches many animals and cages them. The slave is spotted by the masters’ men who catch him and bring him to the cruel master.

The master asks for the slave to be thrown into the lion’s cage.

The slave is awaiting his death in the cage when he realizes that it is the same lion that he had helped. The slave rescued the lion and all other caged animals.

 

Moral of the story: 

One should help others in need, we get the rewards of our helpful acts in return.

 

Summary

Here’s a quick recap on the 10 best short moral stories:

  1. An old man lived in the village
  2. The wise man
  3. The foolish donkey
  4. Having a best friend
  5. The four smart students
  6. The greedy lion
  7. The two friends & the bear
  8. The struggles of our life
  9. The fox & the grapes
  10. The lion & the poor slave

If you haven’t seen our original article, with slightly more detailed inspirational short stories, check it out!

Do you have any other favorite short moral stories? Leave a comment below.

Continue Reading

Top Lists

The 10 Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Published

on

The Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Who are the best motivational speakers of all time?

Motivational speakers have had an enormous impact on my life, and millions of others, no matter what their personal situation in life may be.

Their words are so powerful and inspirational, you just have to listen to their stuff on a daily basis. So it brings me to this post.

I’ve been enjoying a lot of motivational videos recently, have been creating my own, and have ended up listening to a lot of wonderful speeches.

 

Top 10 Best Motivational Speakers

But who are the best motivational speakers in the world?

Here’s my list of the top 10 motivational speakers in the world.

These are the people you need to be following, listening to and watching on YouTube. They have transformed many people’s lives including mine.

 

10. Nick Vujicic

Nick Vujicic - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Nick Vujicic was born on December 4th 1982 in Melbourne, Australia. Vujicic was born with Tetra-Amelia syndrome, a very rare disorder whereby someone is born with an absence of all four limbs.

This no doubt ably, made things incredibly tough for Nick growing up, as he struggled both mentally and physically.

It led to him founding his very own non-profit organization called ‘Life Without Limbs’. Nick Vujicic is a true inspiration to us all, and if you’ve watched some of his motivational speeches on YouTube, you’ll realize just how much he’s been able to adapt to a life without limbs.

Many people with this disorder might not be willing to work hard in order to truly push their abilities.

He can type 43 words a minute on a computer. That’s right, you heard me correctly. This is a guy who has an absence of all four limbs, but can type 43 words per minute on a computer.

I encourage you to watch some of his videos on YouTube, and see exactly what I’m talking about.

“It’s a lie to think you’re not good enough. It’s a lie to think you’re not worth anything.” – nick Vujicic

 

9. Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Brian Tracy was born on January 5th 1944 in Vancouver, Canada, and is the CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company that specifically sets out to help individuals and organizations develop, train and grow.

Brian’s ultimate goal is to help other people achieve their goals more efficiently and be able to achieve their full potential.

That definitely sets the foundation for being one of the best motivational speakers in the world.

His lifetime achievements are phenomenal, consulting huge numbers of businesses, hosting huge numbers of seminars and conducting  years and years of research in Business, Economics, Psychology and Philosophy.

There’s no more to say other than the title given on his website: Professional Speaker, Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur and Success Expert. Check out some of the best Brian Tracy quotes.

“No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve our goals.” – Brian Tracy

 

8. Robin Sharma

Robin Sharma - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Robin Sharma was born in 1964 in Nepal, and straight out of the Dalhousie University School of Law, became a professional lawyer. But he went much further in his career than being a fully qualified and successful lawyer.

Sharma has written a total of 15 published books, from 1995 – 2011, on the subjects of self-help and leadership. One of his most popular books written; ‘The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari’, has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

The book is all about a character called Julian, who decides to sell his home and Ferrari to go on a spiritual journey, after being the victim to a sudden heart attack.

Some may say that Robin Sharma’s more of a motivational author rather than speaker, but he deserves to be on this list. He’s written 12 global best sellers, and is an expert author in the world of leadership and self development.

“Dreamers are mocked as impractical. The truth is they are the most practical, as their innovations lead to progress and a better way of life for all of us.” – Robin S. Sharma

 

7. Wayne Dyer

Dr. Wayne Dyer - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Dr. Wayne Dyer was born on May 10th 1940 in Detroit, and spent the majority of his childhood in an orphanage.

Dyer was in the U.S Navy after graduating high school, from 1958 to 1962. He then received his degree in counselling, a profession that he chose to work in for a while before taking it one step further.

Dyer left his teaching job and started pursuing a career in motivational speaking, holding various lectures across the states and becoming an incredibly popular author.

The first book that Dyer ever wrote has now had over 35 million copies sold and he’s proceeded to continue with his lecture tours, release various audio tapes and publish a regular stream of books.

“Passion is a feeling that tells you: this is the right thing to do. Nothing can stand in my way. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. This feeling is so good that it cannot be ignored. I’m going to follow my bliss and act upon this glorious sensation of joy.” – Wayne Dyer

 

6. Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Zig Ziglar was born on November 6th, 1926 in Alabama, and passed away on November 28th in 2012.

Ziglar has 11 siblings, and at the age of five years old, his father died of a stroke, and his sister passed away two days later. Zig actually served in the army from 1935 – 1946 during World War II.

Ziglar met his wife Jean when he was just 17 years old, and after the war began to work as a salesman for many different companies, eventually becoming the vice president for the Automotive Performance company.

He started taking part in motivational seminars, and also wrote his first book in 1975 titled: ‘See You at the Top’. This was the first of at least 15 books he’d written during the period of 1975 and 2012.

A lot of wisdom has come from Zig Ziglar over the years and he is definitely one of the best motivational speakers in the world.

“You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.” – Zig Ziglar

 

5. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on July 30th 1947, in Austria. We all know him as the world famous professional bodybuilding champion, and there’s a very inspirational story behind Arnie’s bodybuilding success.

Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian army at the age of 18 years old for 1 year, which at the time was compulsory for all 18-year-old males.

During this time, he would still manage to fit in his workouts between all the training and drills, whilst most people were resting. He snuck out of the camp to compete in the Junior Mr. Europe contest, which he ended up winning.

Arnold’s discipline towards his training was incredible, and the fact that he was willing to disobey the rules of the army and sneak out of the camp to compete in the contest, just goes to show how badly he wanted it.

Nowadays, he’s an inspiration to many bodybuilders and a great source of motivation for anyone wanting to be successful.

“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

 

4. Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Jim Rohn was born September 17th, 1930 in Yakima, Washington, and passed away on December 5th, 2009. He was a very successful entrepreneur, at one time being a Vice President of a very successful sales company, Nutri-Bio.

However, after the company eventually went out of business, he was invited to speak at a meeting of one of his clubs.

After this meeting, he was invited to speak at many other events and began making a name for himself. Rohn was a wise businessman and managed to impart much of this wisdom to others.

He’s definitely earned the right to be on this list of the best motivational speakers in the world.

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn

 

3. Les Brown

Les Brown - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Les Brown was born on February 17th, 1945 in Miami, Florida. He was adopted by Mamie Brown, and whilst in grade school, was declared “educably mentally retarded”.

Despite this and the emotional issues, it brought upon him; he was encouraged by others to continue to learn and be the best he could be. Leading him to unlock his full potential.

Les is another motivational speaker who is incredibly popular among the motivational video compilations that others create. Because his speeches are so deep and meaningful that they really get through to people.

His top-selling books: ‘It’s Not over until You Win!’ and ‘Live Your Dreams’ are truly inspirational and well worth the read.

“When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. Let your reason get you back up.” – Les Brown

 

2. Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Tony Robbins was born on February 29th, 1960 in Los Angeles. His life at home when he was young was described by him as abusive and chaotic. It was because of this that he left home at the age of 17.

Originally when starting out in the world of motivational speaking, Robbins was promoting seminars for Jim Rohn. He later decided to begin his own journey by hosting his own seminars.

Tony has affected and changed so many people’s lives in a positive way through his seminars, motivational speeches, inspirational quotes and best-selling books.

Search for him on YouTube and several videos will pop up showing him change someone’s life.

The favorites of mine that I’ve watched, are where he cures a young man’s stutter in 7 minutes and saves another guy’s marriage in 8.

“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.” – Tony Robbins

 

1. Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas - Best Motivational Speakers in the World

Eric Thomas, born and raised in Detroit, was homeless at the age of 16 years old. But Eric decided that he wanted to make a better life for himself, to become someone with a life he could be proud of.

E.T did just that, and you can now check out powerful advice from Eric Thomas on YouTube. Including his “Thank God It’s Monday” series.

He also managed to get the education he missed out on whilst he was homeless and pushed himself further to achieve all the qualifications he dreamed of being able to achieve.

Eric Thomas has become one of the best motivational speakers in the world. His YouTube videos are legendary and his best-selling books have taken in millions of dollars in revenue.

E.T’s speeches are so popular, that you’ll find he’s featured in roughly 90% of the motivational videos that others create and upload to YouTube, using compilations of clips, speeches, and music.

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.” – Eric Thomas

 

Summary

I hope you enjoyed this list of the top 10 best motivational speakers in the world. Many of these speakers are featured within some of the videos we included in our new list of ultimate gym motivation. Take a look and see what you think.

Here’s a quick recap on the list of the best motivational speakers in the world::

  1. Eric Thomas
  2. Tony Robbins
  3. Les Brown
  4. Jim Rohn
  5. Arnold Schwarzenegger
  6. Zig Ziglar
  7. Dr. Wayne Dyer
  8. Robin Sharma
  9. Brian Tracy
  10. Nick Vujicic

Who’s your favorite of the 10 best motivational speakers? Do you still agree with the current order of this list? Leave a comment below.

Continue Reading

Top Lists

The 10 Most Inspirational Short Stories I’ve Heard

Published

on

Top 10 Most Inspirational Short Stories I’ve Heard

Short Inspirational stories are powerful reads;

The great thing about them is that they’re so easy to digest, and there’s always a moral at the end of the story.

Whether they’re true stories or not is another thing, as many of them are legends supposedly hundreds of years old.

However, the stories that I’m talking about are so powerful and inspirational that many of them really do get you thinking and even leave you speechless at times.

 

The 10 Best Inspirational Short Stories

I’ve been reading plenty of these short stories in the past couple of weeks and found the lessons behind them truly wonderful. So I’ve decided to write out this article highlighting the 10 most inspirational short stories I’ve heard.

Next to the subheadings, in brackets, I’ve put what the story’s lesson is all about, with a short description of the moral of the story at the end of each section.

 

10. The Elephant Rope (Belief)

The Elephant Rope (Inspirational Short Stories)

A gentleman was walking through an elephant camp, and he spotted that the elephants weren’t being kept in cages or held by the use of chains.

All that was holding them back from escaping the camp, was a small piece of rope tied to one of their legs.

As the man gazed upon the elephants, he was completely confused as to why the elephants didn’t just use their strength to break the rope and escape the camp. They could easily have done so, but instead, they didn’t try to at all.

Curious and wanting to know the answer, he asked a trainer nearby why the elephants were just standing there and never tried to escape.

The trainer replied;

 

“when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

 

The only reason that the elephants weren’t breaking free and escaping from the camp was that over time they adopted the belief that it just wasn’t possible.

 

Moral of the story:

No matter how much the world tries to hold you back, always continue with the belief that what you want to achieve is possible. Believing you can become successful is the most important step in actually achieving it.

 

9. Thinking Out of the Box (Creative Thinking)

Thinking Out of the Box (Inspirational Short Stories)

In a small Italian town, hundreds of years ago, a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a very old, unattractive looking guy that just so happened to fancy the business owner’s daughter.

He decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely wipe out the debt he owed him. However, the catch was that we would only wipe out the debt if he could marry the businessman’s daughter.

Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look of disgust.

The loan-shark said that he would place two pebbles into a bag, one white and one black.

The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble. If it was black, the debt would be wiped, but the loan-shark would then marry her. If it was white, the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to marry the loan-shark.

Standing on a pebble-strewn path in the businessman’s garden, the loan-shark bent over and picked up two pebbles.

Whilst he was picking them up, the daughter noticed that he’d picked up two black pebbles and placed them both into the bag.

He then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and pick one.

The daughter naturally had three choices as to what she could have done:

  1. Refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.
  2. Take both pebbles out of the bag and expose the loan-shark for cheating.
  3. Pick a pebble from the bag fully well knowing it was black and sacrifice herself for her father’s freedom.

She drew out a pebble from the bag, and before looking at it ‘accidentally’ dropped it into the midst of the other pebbles. She said to the loan-shark;

 

“Oh, how clumsy of me. Never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

 

The pebble left in the bag is obviously black, and seeing as the loan-shark didn’t want to be exposed, he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white, and clear her father’s debt.

 

Moral of the story:

It’s always possible to overcome a tough situation throughout of the box thinking, and not give in to the only options you think you have to pick from.

 

8. The Group of Frogs (Encouragement)

The Group of Frogs (Inspirational Short Stories)

As a group of frogs was traveling through the woods, two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs crowded around the pit and saw how deep it was, they told the two frogs that there was no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs decided to ignore what the others were saying and they proceeded to try and jump out of the pit

Despite their efforts, the group of frogs at the top of the pit were still saying that they should just give up. That they would never make it out.

Eventually, one of the frogs took heed to what the others were saying and he gave up, falling down to his death. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.

He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

 

Moral of the story:

People’s words can have a big effect on other’s lives. Think about what you say before it comes out of your mouth. It might just be the difference between life and death.

 

7. A Pound of Butter (Honesty)

A Pound of Butter (Inspirational Short Stories)

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to a baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the right amount, which he wasn’t. Angry about this, he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he was using any measure to weight the butter. The farmer replied, “Honor, I am primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.”

The judge asked, “Then how do you weigh the butter?”

The farmer replied;

 

“Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker.”

 

Moral of the story:

In life, you get what you give. Don’t try and cheat others.

 

6. The Obstacle In Our Path (Opportunity)

The Obstacle in Our Path (Inspirational Short Stories)

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. He then hid himself and watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many people loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

A peasant then came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to push the stone out of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant went back to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.

The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King explaining that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

 

Moral of the story:

Every obstacle we come across in life gives us an opportunity to improve our circumstances, and whilst the lazy complain, the others are creating opportunities through their kind hearts, generosity, and willingness to get things done.

 

5. The Butterfly (Struggles)

The Butterfly (Inspirational Short Stories)

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.

One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Until it suddenly stopped making any progress and looked like it was stuck.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man didn’t think anything of it and sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with tiny wings and a swollen body.

Despite the kind heart of the man, he didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small opening; were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. To prepare itself for flying once it was out of the cocoon.

 

Moral of the story:

Our struggles in life develop our strengths. Without struggles, we never grow and never get stronger, so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own, and not be relying on help from others.

 

4. Control Your Temper (Anger)

Control Your Temper (Inspirational Short Stories)

There once was a little boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to hand him a bag of nails and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail into the fence.

On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into that fence.

The boy gradually began to control his temper over the next few weeks, and the number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased.

He discovered it was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails into the fence.

Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept his temper under control.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

 

“you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

 

Moral of the story:

Control your anger, and don’t say things to people in the heat of the moment, that you may later regret. Some things in life, you are unable to take back.

 

3. The Blind Girl (Change)

The Blind Girl (Inspirational Short Stories)

There was a blind girl who hated herself purely for the fact she was blind. The only person she didn’t hate was her loving boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:

 

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

 

Moral of the story:

When our circumstances change, so does our mind. Some people may not be able to see the way things were before, and might not be able to appreciate them. There are many things to take away from this story, not just one.

This is one of the inspirational short stories that left me speechless.

 

2. Puppies for Sale (Understanding)

Puppies for Sale (Inspirational Short Stories)

A shop owner placed a sign above his door that said: “Puppies For Sale.”

Signs like this always have a way of attracting young children, and to no surprise, a boy saw the sign and approached the owner; 

 

“How much are you going to sell the puppies for?” he asked.

 

The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.”

The little boy pulled out some change from his pocket. “I have $2.37,” he said. “Can I please look at them?”

The shop owner smiled and whistled. Out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his shop followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur.

One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?”

The shop owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame.

The little boy became excited. “That is the puppy that I want to buy.”

The shop owner said, “No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.”

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his finger, and said;

 

“I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for.”

 

The shop owner countered, “You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies.”

To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the shop owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!”

 

1. Box Full of Kisses (Love)

Box Full of Kisses (Inspirational Short Stories)

Some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”

The man became embarrassed by his overreaction earlier, but his rage continue when he saw that the box was empty. He yelled at her; “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?”

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried;

 

“Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.”

 

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child.

Her father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

 

Moral of the story:

Love is the most precious gift in the world.

 

Summary of the 10 Best Inspirational Stories

Here’s a quick summary of the 10 best short inspirational stories:

  1. Box Full of Kisses (Love)
  2. Puppies for Sale (Understanding)
  3. The Blind Girl (Change)
  4. Control Your Temper (Anger)
  5. The Butterfly (Struggles)
  6. The Obstacle in Our Path (Opportunity)
  7. A Pound of Butter (Honesty)
  8. The Group of Frogs (Encouragement)
  9. Thinking Out of the Box (Creative Thinking)
  10. The Elephant Rope (Belief)

Thanks for reading these inspirational short stories. Some of them left me speechless for a minute or two, and it really does make us think.

If you know of any other inspirational short stories that you think should be featured on the list, then let me know in the comments below or drop me an email and I’ll feature them in part two later on in the year.

Which are your favorite inspirational short stories? Leave a comment below.

Continue Reading

Latest Posts

Zion Williamson Net Worth Profile Zion Williamson Net Worth Profile
NBA Players2 days ago

Zion Williamson Net Worth

What is Zion Williamson’s net worth? Introduction  Zion Williamson is an American professional NBA player for the New Orleans Pelicans...

John Wall Net Worth Profile John Wall Net Worth Profile
NBA Players2 days ago

John Wall Net Worth

What is John Wall’s net worth? John Wall is an American professional NBA player with an estimated net worth of...

Al Horford Net Worth Profile Al Horford Net Worth Profile
NBA Players3 days ago

Al Horford Net Worth

What is Al Horford’s net worth? Al Horford is a Dominican professional NBA player for the Boston Celtics with an...

Klay Thompson Net Worth Profile Klay Thompson Net Worth Profile
NBA Players3 days ago

Klay Thompson Net Worth

What is Klay Thompson’s net worth? Introduction  Klay Thompson is an American professional NBA player for the Dallas Mavericks with...

Kyrie Irving Net Worth Profile Kyrie Irving Net Worth Profile
NBA Players3 days ago

Kyrie Irving Net Worth

What is Kyrie Irving’s net worth? Introduction  Kyrie Irving is an American professional NBA player for the Dallas Mavericks with...

Jayson Tatum Net Worth Profile Jayson Tatum Net Worth Profile
NBA Players3 days ago

Jayson Tatum Net Worth

What is Jayson Tatum’s net worth? Jayson Tatum is an American professional NBA player for the Boston Celtics, with an...

Zach Lavine Net Worth Profile Zach Lavine Net Worth Profile
NBA Players3 days ago

Zach LaVine Net Worth

What is Zach LaVine’s net worth? Zach LaVine is an American professional NBA player for the Chicago Bulls with an...

Paul George Net Worth Profile Paul George Net Worth Profile
NBA Players4 days ago

Paul George Net Worth

What is Paul George’s net worth? Paul George is an American professional NBA player for the Philadelphia 76ers with an...

Devin Booker Net Worth Profile Devin Booker Net Worth Profile
NBA Players4 days ago

Devin Booker Net Worth

What is Devin Booker’s net worth? Devin Booker is an American professional NBA player for the Phoenix Suns, with an...

Tony Parker Net Worth Profile Tony Parker Net Worth Profile
NBA Players4 days ago

Tony Parker Net Worth

Tony Parker's exceptional basketball skills earned him a place as one of the highest earning players in the NBA, bringing him...

Trending