June is synonymous with late night barbeques, outdoor adventures and the culmination of years of hard work paying off in the form of post-secondary graduations across the globe.

Powerful commencement ceremony speeches by famous keynote speakers flood the web around this time encouraging new graduates to go out into the world and follow their dreams, think big, and make a difference.

Whether we graduated just yesterday or decades ago, we can all benefit from a dose of inspiration. Read on for six inspirational quotes from some very influential business minds.

1. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

– Steve Jobs, Cofounder & CEO of Apple Inc.

2. “Bring your whole self to work. I don’t believe we have a professional self Monday through Friday and a real self the rest of the time. It is all professional, and it is all personal.”

–Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook

3. “Do something you are passionate about, do something you love. If you are doing something you are passionate about, you are just naturally going to succeed, and a lot of other things will happen that you don’t need to worry about. There are so many opportunities and choices that women can make or anyone can make about what they do. Do something you are passionate about. Life is too short.”

– Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors

4. “There is an opportunity to create a new vision of the American Dream. A new vision that says achieving balance in your life is more important than the balance in your checking account. A new vision that says what you do does not define who you are.”

– Chris Gardner, Entrepreneur, Investor

5. “Let excellence be your brand. When you are excellent, you become unforgettable. Doing the right thing, even when nobody knows you’re doing the right thing will always bring the right thing to you.”

– Oprah Winfrey, Media Proprietor

6. “Success is no longer a simple ascension of steps. You need to climb sideways and sometimes down, and sometimes you need to swing from the jungle gym and establish your own turf somewhere else on the playground.”

– Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder, LinkedIn

Feeling inspired? These best-selling books will help you turn inspiration into action and better your career.