Looking for thought-provoking John Lennon quotes?

There were so many to choose from, but here is a collection of some of our favorite John Lennon quotes!

John Lennon Quotes On Life and Music

1. Reality leaves a lot to the imagination. – John Lennon

2. Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears. – John Lennon

3. All we are saying is give peace a chance. – John Lennon

4. A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality. – John Lennon

5. As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot. – John Lennon

6. The more I see, the less I know for sure. – John Lennon

Also check out our list of the best Beatles quotes that reach for a better world.

John Lennon quotes on love

7. Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow. – John Lennon

8. Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. – John Lennon

9. Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. – John Lennon

10. Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty. – John Lennon

11. If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace. – John Lennon

12. Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you’ve got to let it grow. – John Lennon

13. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one. – John Lennon

John Lennon quotes on being who you are

14. You don’t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are! – John Lennon

15. I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It’s just that the translations have gone wrong. – John Lennon

16. If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that… I believe in what I do, and I’ll say it. – John Lennon

17. My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all. – John Lennon

18. Love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep on watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it. – John Lennon

19. It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love. – John Lennon

20. We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight. – John Lennon

21. When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps. – John Lennon

Don’t forget to also read these quotes from Johnny Cash on living a full life.

John Lennon quotes on peace and dreams

22. There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life. – John Lennon

23. I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? – John Lennon

24. The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn’t the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility. – John Lennon

25. It doesn’t matter how long my hair is or what colour my skin is or whether I’m a woman or a man. – John Lennon

John Lennon quotes about world views

26. Love is an answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you’ve got to let it grow. – John Lennon

27. Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear. – John Lennon

28. Love is the greatest refreshment in life. – John Lennon

29. My defenses were so great. The cocky rock and roll hero who knows all the answers was actually a terrified guy who didn’t know how to cry. Simple. – John Lennon

30. Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friends. – John Lennon

31. Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. – John Lennon

32. There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be… – John Lennon

33. If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal. – John Lennon

34. DECLARE IT. JUST THE SAME WAY WE DECLARE WAR. THAT IS HOW WE WILL HAVE PEACE… WE JUST NEED TO DECLARE IT. – John Lennon

You might also like our list of best world peace quotes that will give you hope for humanity.

John Lennon quotes to live by

34. “The more real you get, the more unreal the world gets.”- John Lennon

35. “Art is only a way of expressing pain.” – John Lennon

36. “When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind.” – John Lennon

37. “A mistake is only an error, it becomes a mistake when you fail to correct it.” – John Lennon

38. “You’re all geniuses, and you’re all beautiful. You don’t need anyone to tell you who you are. You are what you are.” – John Lennon

39. “I can’t wake you up. You can wake you up. I can’t cure you. You can cure you.” – John Lennon

40. “Love is all you need.” – John Lennon

41. “Produce your own dream. It’s quite possible to do anything, but not if you put it on the leaders and the parking meters.” – John Lennon

42. “How can I go forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing.” – John Lennon

43. “Trying to please everybody is impossible – if you did that, you’d end up in the middle with nobody liking you. You’ve just got to make the decision about what you think is your best, and do it.” – John Lennon

44. “Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones.” – John Lennon

John Lennon quotes to inspire you

45. “You’re just left with yourself all the time, whatever you do anyway. You’ve got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It’s all down to you, mate.” – John Lennon

46. “Get out there and get peace, think peace, and live peace and breathe peace, and you’ll get it as soon as you like.” – John Lennon
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of soothing breathe quotes to help you relax.

47. “If you want peace, you won’t get it with violence.” – John Lennon

48. “What we’ve got to do is keep hope alive. Because without it we’ll sink.” – John Lennon

49. “I am a violent man who has learned not to be violent and regrets his violence.” – John Lennon

50. “There are no problems, only solutions.” – John Lennon

51. “Happiness is just how you feel when you don’t feel miserable.” – John Lennon

52. “Nobody controls me. I’m uncontrollable. The only one who controls me is me, and that’s just barely possible.” – John Lennon

53. “One thing you can’t hide – is when you’re crippled inside.” – John Lennon

54. “You don’t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!” – John Lennon

55. “If everyone could just be happy with themselves and the choices people around them make, the world would instantly be a better place!” – John Lennon

Powerful John Lennon quotes and sayings

56. “If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that’s his problem. Love and peace are eternal.” –
John Lennon

57. “Get back to where you once belonged.” – John Lennon

58. “Don’t hate what you don’t understand!” – John Lennon

59. “Work is life, you know, and without it, there’s nothing but fear and insecurity.” – John Lennon

60. “My teacher asked me what I want to be when I grow up, I said happy. She told me I don’t understand the assignment, I told her she doesn’t understand life.” –  John Lennon

61. “Meanings of all songs come after they are recorded. Someone else has to interpret them.” – John Lennon

62. “Everyone deserves to believe they are beautiful.” – John Lennon

63. “Everything is clearer when you’re in love.” – John Lennon

64. “Happiness is inside you, not with another person.” – John Lennon

65. “I remember a time when everybody I loved hated me because I hated them.” – John Lennon

More John Lennon Quotes

66. “I was feeling insecure you might not love me anymore.” – John Lennon

67. “Nobody loves you when you’re down and out.” – John Lennon

68. “Make love, not war.” – John Lennon

69. “There is an alternative to war. It’s staying in bed and growing your hair.” – John Lennon

70. “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.” – John Lennon

71. “Peace is not something you wish for; it is something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.” – John Lennon

72. “I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I’m one of those people.” – John Lennon

73. “Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns it calls me on and on across the universe.” – John Lennon

74. “Remember to let her into your heart.” – John Lennon

75. “Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives.” – John Lennon