I shall convince you of this 'truth' - I hope - via some carefully chosen inspirational quotes.

And I shall do so despite what that evergreen, somewhat brutish British man with the penchant for Martini would have you believe: you only live twice. No, you only live once, James. Still, as Joe Louis said,

"You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough." -- Joe Lewis

And Joe Lewis should know as he managed to become one of the greatest boxers in history. He didn't do that thinking life was a rehearsal.

And here's another quote to get you living life now!

"What is not started today is never finished tomorrow." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Goethe's got a point, don't you think?

Yesterday, for example, I did not start this article that you're reading now (called Inspirational Life Quotes to Help You Live Your Life NOW!). And that means that, today, I have not been able to finish it.

Thankfully, I did start writing the article *today* - even I have to stop procrastinating sometime - and I'm sure, therefore, that I will have finished it by tomorrow. (Hope you're still following me!) I better had, otherwise you'll never get to read these words. Will you?

Many thanks to Johann, is what I say.

"I can accept failure -- everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." -- Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan, for those of you who don't live in the United States or who have never owned a pair of Nike shoes, was/is a famous basketball player. He may even have been the best basketball player ever, but as my name is Steve Nash (yes, really!) then I couldn't possibly comment on that. Anyway, Michael was a success on the basketball court, for sure. He did quite well in life, too.

And, as Michael puts it, success is about trying to succeed in the first place.

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." -- Calvin Coolidge

That's a lot of words, Calvin, to more or less say what Nike's been advocating for a while, namely: "Just do it."

So, yes, if you don't take the first step, and if you don't carry on, whatever the obstacles, then you'll never, ever get anywhere worth going.

Press on, indeed.

Let's press on with this question: what is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?

Well Douglas Adams told us, in his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that the answer was 42. Now this answer doesn't help us that much, I agree. So perhaps we should look to someone more eminent than Adams (if that is possible!) for an answer. Step forward one Abraham Lincoln - 16th president of the United States. And he calmly stated this one day:

"Always remember: Life is for enjoying. " -- Abraham Lincoln

Hmm, well isn't life so much more meaningful if we do remember Lincoln's words. (Well, it's probably more meaningful than remembering the number 42, anyway.)

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -- Albert Einstein

Ah, Albert - the man forever with the grey hair and wide-eyed look! How could you become famous for being the scientist that discovered relativity and yet still come up with a blasphemous (if you're a scientist, anyway) and beautiful inspirational life quote as this?

Miracles are everywhere, I humbly agree. And it is to our individual credit that we live life believing so.

"Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened." -- Dr Seuss!

What does Dr Seuss mean with these few words? Does he mean that you should feel no pain or remorse at the mistakes you make, especially when you really know you could have done better if only...?

Or does he mean that if you've lost something that matters to you then you should rejoice in the fact that you took enough risks in life for something to matter so much that now you've lost it, it hurts?

Hmm, perhaps you can see why Dr Seuss became the famous author of numerous best-selling books containing few words, and why I will never do the same.

Still, whatever way you want to look at it, I think Dr Seuss is talking sense.

"We come into this world crying while all around us are smiling. May we so live that we go out of this world smiling while everybody around us is weeping." -- Persian proverb

Wouldn't it be great if we could truly live life knowing that this is what we leave behind. A tear. A smile. A fond memory. And, better still, maybe even the inspiration for someone to try and live their life like you did - giving it everything they've got, despite the occasional setback, in an effort to achieve their true goals in life. I think so.

And with that, I shall thank you for reading these inspirational life quotes, and wish you well wherever you may find yourself to be...