Entrepreneurship Quotes
525 quotes
Entrepreneurship
Business wisdom from innovators who changed the world
525 Quotes
If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration
— Interview, 1942, as recounted in 'My Inventions'
You’ll never reach the summit if you’re afraid to leave the well-trodden path; real progress is found where few are willing to go.
— Speech at Startup Grind Global Conference, 2018
Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit
— Think and Grow Rich, 1937
When people say you can’t do it, do it twice and take pictures
— /social media (anonymous)
My biggest successes came from being naïve enough to not know what couldn’t be done
— Book: The Innovation Stack, 2020
Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.
— Speech at Arizona State University, 2017
If you’re always waiting for certainty, you’ll be waiting for permission that never comes
— Inc. 5000 Keynote, 2017
The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world
— Interview, The Steve Jobs Way documentary
The cowards never started and the weak died along the way
— Shoe Dog (memoir)
Success is not just about making money; it’s about making a difference
— Virgin Group Blog, 2014
Wealth is not the man that possesses, but the man who enjoys
— Emile, or On Education (1762)
Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success
— Speaking at SXSW Startup Village, 2017
It takes humility to realize that we don’t know everything, not to rest on our laurels and know that we must keep learning and observing
— Interview with Forbes, 2011
The next big thing is the one that makes the last big thing usable
— Interview with The New York Times, 2006
If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way
— Think and Grow Rich, 1937
The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams
— Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2008 Commencement Address
The only way you become a god is to make your own world
— Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (2014)
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work
— attributed, various interviews
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often
— Speech to the House of Commons, June 23, 1925
The world rewards those who make themselves irreplaceable, not those who simply fit in
— Atomic Habits
It is not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen
— /Book: Making Ideas Happen (2010)/
Pioneering spirit should continue, not to conquer the planet or space ... but rather to improve the quality of life
— Speech at the United Nations, discussing innovation and exploration
There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them
— Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? (2010)
You need three things to build a company: a vision, a team, and a culture of relentless execution
— Interview with Forbes, 2014
Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled
— Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, 2000
It’s not about having the right opportunities. It’s about handling the opportunities right
— High-Profit Prospecting (book, 2016)
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do
— Attributed in his published interviews and biographies
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business
— As quoted in Observer (23 May 1936)
If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward
— Speech at Spelman College, 1960
The best companies are those that can think like pirates and execute like the navy
— Speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2009
When you cease to dream you cease to live
— As quoted in Forbes magazine editorials, c. 1970s
The path to greatness begins with a willingness to be misunderstood for a long time
— Interview with Charlie Rose, 2013
There is no substitute for persistence; the greatest mistake is giving up too soon
— HP archives, company speeches
The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas
— Quoted in Origins of Genius by Dean Keith Simonton (1999)
Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats
— As quoted in Fortune magazine, 1947
Done is better than perfect.
— Facebook office motto, as cited in Lean In (2013)
Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people
— Interview, Advertising Hall of Fame induction
If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help build theirs
— Public speeches, various
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life
— Speech at Howard University, 1967
If you don’t understand the details of your business you are going to fail
— Discussion at re:MARS conference, 2019
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late
— Quote widely circulated in startup culture talks; TechCrunch Disrupt SF, 2014
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning
— Business @ The Speed of Thought (1999)
The speed of iteration beats the quality of iteration
— Masters of Scale podcast, Episode 1
Somebody once told me the definition of hell: on your last day on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become
— The Ed Mylett Show podcast
Beware the investment activity that produces applause; the great moves are usually greeted by yawns
— Annual Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders, 1984
Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again
— Losing My Virginity (autobiography), Ch. 16
The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs… one step at a time.
— Book: How to Sell Anything to Anybody (1977)
I knew that if I wanted to change my life, I had to be the one to do it
— Interview with Forbes, 2012
If you’re not a little confused by what’s going on, you’re not paying attention
— Wesco Annual Meeting, 2000
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do
— Carnegie’s personal reflections, quoted in 'The Wisdom of Andrew Carnegie as Told to Napoleon Hill'
If you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on
— Yale School of Management Commencement Speech, 2012
The joy is in creating, not maintaining
— Lecture to young coaches, late 1960s
Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things, and make them great
— Macworld Conference, 2004
The only way you are going to have success is to have lots of failures first
— Stanford University talk (2002)
As you start to walk on the way, the way appears
— Quoted in various translations of Rumi's works
It’s not about money or connections – it’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone
— Interview, TechCrunch Disrupt (2011)
Adventure is worthwhile in itself
— Book: The Fun of It (1932)
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome
— Up from Slavery, Chapter II
The most successful entrepreneurs I know are optimistic. It’s part of the job description
— Blog post on Caterina.net, 2009
The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken
— Lecture at University of Florida, 1998
The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket
— Lecture "The Road to Business Success," 1885
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take
— Various motivational speeches, popularized in business circles
The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them right now
— Interview with Guy Kawasaki, 'Art of the Start' event, 2004
Innovation comes from saying no to a thousand things
— Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, 1997
You don’t learn by following the rules, you learn by doing and by falling over
— Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life, 2006
The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing
— Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (book, 2008)
Whatever you are, be a good one
— /Attributed in various speeches and letters (often cited, though origin uncertain)
The world’s most successful entrepreneurs play hard, but they work even harder
— Screw It, Let's Do It (book)
A company is the lengthened shadow of one person’s character
— Essay: 'Self Reliance'
When you innovate, expectation is always that something wonderful will happen, but chaos often arrives first
— Book: Only the Paranoid Survive (1996)
In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed
— The Descent of Man, 1871
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty
— .
The intersection of technology and humanity is where I have always found the greatest excitement
— Interview with The Wall Street Journal, 2011
Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful
— Shareholder letter, 1986
An entrepreneur is someone who will jump off a cliff and assemble an airplane on the way down
— All Things Digital D9 Conference, 2011
Obsess over customers, not competitors
— Letter to Amazon shareholders, 2016
Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions
— Reading 3744-2, 1933
Relentless curiosity keeps me chasing what’s possible, even before the market sees it
— Keynote speech, Forbes Women's Summit 2017
The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it
— .
It’s not about how many ideas you have. It’s about how many you make happen.
— Remarks at TED Conference, 2007
To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted
— Art and Science of Creativity (book, 1965)
Be so good they can’t ignore you; excellence is the only currency that compounds in every field.
— Cal Newport's book 'So Good They Can’t Ignore You', referencing Martin’s career advice
Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher
— Interview in O Magazine, 1999
Success is not in what you have, but who you are
— Book: Year to Success
I like to think that the future is something you build, not something you enter
— Talk at Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2014
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for
— Salt from My Attic (1928)
If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan
— The Art of Exceptional Living (Seminar)
Energy and persistence conquer all things
— letter to Samuel Johnson, 23 July 1782
The most valuable commodity I know of is information
— Film 'Wall Street' (1987)
The worst thing you can do is nothing
— Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman)
Rejection is merely a redirection; a course correction to your destiny
— O, The Oprah Magazine, February 2007
Success is making those who believed in you look brilliant.
— Inc. interview, 2010
You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over
— Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way (1998)
The value of a company is the sum of the problems you solve together
— speech at Caltech commencement, 2012
All humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies, but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA
— The Start-up of You (Book, 2012)
Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone; the best things are done together
— Keynotes and entrepreneurial panels (precise primary source not specified)
Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once
— South by Southwest conference, 2013
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing
— Interview with USA TODAY, 1988
In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield
— Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Letter, 1985
In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders
— Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (2013)
I have always found that optimism is the only practical attitude. It is not so much a faith as a strategy
— Interview with Rolling Stone, 2017
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing
If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete
— Winning, 2005
Competition is the fuel, but originality is the engine
— Let My People Go Surfing (book), 2005
The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity
— BusinessWeek interview, 2001
The money you make is a symbol of the value you create
— Book: Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability (2011)
Boredom signals that you’re not pushing hard enough toward something worth being excited about
— The Naval Podcast, Episode 6, 2019
Don’t play games you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them
— Delivering Happiness, 2010
If you’re going to do something innovative, you’re going to get called crazy before you’re called brilliant
— Interview with LinkedIn, 2017
You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you
— Only the Paranoid Survive (book), 1996
When you focus on delighting your users, everything else tends to fall into place
— Interview at First Round Review
There are no traffic jams along the extra mile
— Attributed, various speeches
Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them
— As quoted in Leadership Promises for Every Day (John C. Maxwell, 2003)
Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen
— Interview, Success Magazine, 1998
You don't climb mountains by accident; fierce intention and stumbling feet shape the ascent
— Interview, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2012
Chase the vision, the numbers will end up following you
— Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose (2010)
Pursue the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you
— Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose (2010)
Creativity is intelligence having fun
— Attributed (various sources)
Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get
— From book 'Grinding It Out' (1977)
When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts
— Oracle OpenWorld Keynote, 2010
When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for people telling you that you are nuts
— Interview with Financial Times, 2003
The most valuable thing you will ever build is belief—first in yourself, then in the possibility that others will believe with you
— TechCrunch Disrupt, 2018 (paraphrased from conversation)
Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals
— Ogilvy on Advertising (book)
Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it
— Attributed (various sources)
The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.
— Attributed in The Gospel According to Coco Chanel
My best successes came on the heels of failures known only to those closest to me
— Real Simple magazine interview, 2016
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted
— Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.
— Interview with Charlie Rose, 2001
You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want
— See You at the Top (1975)
When you are surrounded by talented people with a shared mission, each day unfolds with a kind of unpredictable urgency
— Interview with Stanford Graduate School of Business
Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business
— Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, 1991
Big results require big ambitions
— Profile interview, 1990s
Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm
— Attributed in various speeches and writings
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower
— Interview in 'The Lost Interview' (1995)
If you push through that feeling of being scared, that feeling of taking risk, really amazing things can happen
— Interview with NPR, 2012
Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not
— Inc. Magazine interview, 1999
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late
— Multiple talks and writings (circa 2014); widely quoted in startup circles
If you want to make a dent in the universe, you must be possessed by a sense of possibility that borders on delusion
— Reed Hastings' commencement speech at Carnegie Mellon University, 2017
The best way to predict the future is to create it
— Commonly attributed; appeared in 'Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices' (1973)
It’s not about how to get started; it’s about how to get noticed
— Quoted in various interviews about entrepreneurship and building businesses
The most dangerous poison is the feeling of achievement. The antidote is to every evening think what can be done better tomorrow
— Interview, The Financial Times, 2011
We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience
— Democracy and Education (1916)
When I bet on something, I bet big
— Reported in Forbes and various interviews
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few
— Book: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970)
Play by the rules, but be ferocious
— Shoe Dog (memoir), 2016
Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is
— Interview referencing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, applied to his ventures
If you leave your growth to randomness, you’ll always live in the land of mediocrity
— Book: High Performance Habits (2017)
Disruptive innovation is not about new products, but about creating new markets and reshaping existing ones
— The Innovator's Dilemma (1997)
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities
— The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (book)
The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake – you can’t learn anything from being perfect
— Interview with Adam Osborne, various sources
We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details.
— All Things Digital conference, 2011
Don't worry about mapping out every step; momentum reveals paths that planning cannot
— Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman, 2005
In the end, a vision without the ability to execute it is probably a hallucination.
— Book: The Third Wave (2016)
Never mistake motion for progress; a rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any forward advance
— The Supreme Philosophy of Man (1958)
There’s a way to do it better—find it
— Attributed in interviews and writings
Don’t worry about being successful, but work toward being significant and the success will naturally follow
— Howard University commencement address, 2007
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it
— Interview with Santa Clara Valley Historical Association, mid-1990s
Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.
— Speech at Garage Technology Ventures
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together
— /attributed aphorism, often referenced by business leaders
In handicaps, some see obstacles, others opportunity. The difference is not in the handicap, but in the mindset
— Interview, MasterClass on Entrepreneurship, 2019
No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it
— The Gospel of Wealth, 1889
Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again
— Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life and Business, 2006
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work
— Stanford Commencement Address, 2005
There are no traffic jams along the extra mile
— Interview with Dallas News, 1989
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure
— Speech at Howard University, 1994; also in 'My American Journey'
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea
— Citadelle (The Wisdom of the Sands), 1948
The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order
— Process and Reality (1929)
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man
— Man and Superman (1903), Maxims for Revolutionists
Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith
— Stanford Commencement Address, 2005
If you're changing the world, you're working on important things. You're excited to get up in the morning.
— Interview with Fortune Magazine, 2012
Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like
— YC Startup School (2014)
The drumbeat of doubt is often loudest before the first step; after that, rhythm takes over and fear recedes
— MasterClass session, 2019
A brand is simply trust, not a logo or a promise, but the consistent performance that earned it
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life (2011)
If you are determined enough and willing to pay the price, you can get it done
— Interview with Dateline NBC, 2008
When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us
— As quoted in 'The World and Himself' by Helen Keller
If you want to go anywhere, it is best to dream big and act with unwavering resolve
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (2011)
Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you
— Quoted in A Gift for God, 1975
Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up
— Interview with Chris Anderson at TED2013
There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard
— As quoted in On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A’Lelia Bundles
Every company’s greatest assets are its customers because without customers there is no company
— Book: How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life (1987)
If you’re interested in the living heart of what you do, focus on building things rather than talking about them
— Tweet, 2017
A founder’s stamina must outlast the storms that others mistake for the end
— MasterClass lesson (2021)
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity
— Letter to crisis committee, Princeton (1931)
Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop
— Twitter post, 2011
The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war
— Attributed in various speeches and interviews
The best investment is in the tools of one's own trade
— Poor Richard's Almanack, 1758
Mistakes are the portals of discovery
— Ulysses (1922)
Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week for someone else.
— Inc. Magazine Interview, 2013
Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking
— Attributed in various essays and speeches
The only way to do great work is to love what you do
— Stanford University Commencement Address, 2005
If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative
— Interview, 1979
Make every detail count and limit the number of details to perfection
— Interview with Y Combinator, 2013
Great opportunities are not seen with your eyes. They are seen with your mind
— Lecture in Singapore, 2001
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning
— Business @ the Speed of Thought, 1999
I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist
— 2011 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit
Embrace bad news to learn where you need the most improvement
— Speech at the University of Washington, 2011
Don't worry about failure; you only have to be right once
— TechCrunch Disrupt SF, 2013
When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor
— Interview with Y Combinator, 2016
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be
— Tao Te Ching, Chapter 44
I skate where the puck is going to be, not where it has been
— Interview, various sources
Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that
— Twitter post, 2013
The hardest thing to do is start. You have to take that first step: just get going
— Speech at Babson College, 2007
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do
— As quoted in The Book of Business Anecdotes, by Peter Hay (1914)
Sometimes the only difference between audacity and foolishness is a five-year timeline and unshaken persistence
— Interview with Guy Raz, How I Built This, 2016
Rejection is an invitation to create again, only better
— Interview with Guy Raz, NPR How I Built This podcast
Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable
— Quoted in 'Chanel: A Woman of Her Own' by Axel Madsen
The way to capture value is to invent something and own it, not just to follow trends but to create your own trajectory
— Zero to One (book)
The only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment
— Commencement Address, University of Michigan, 2009
The world doesn’t need another copy of an existing idea masquerading as innovation
— Various public speeches and interviews about innovation
It’s not about having the right opportunities. It’s about handling the opportunities right
— How to Win at the Sport of Business (book)
You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere
— Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, 2007
The most important lesson I learned is that nobody owes you anything; you have to earn it every day
— #GIRLBOSS (book)
Going against the grain means accepting that you’ll be misunderstood for a very long time
— From interviews and business talks (exact primary source unclear)
You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over
— Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life, 2006
The thing about smart people is that they sound crazy to dumb people
— Unknown, attributed in conversation with Steve Wozniak
The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
— Attributed in various interviews and writings, widely circulated
If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large
— Amazon corporate principle, cited in press and biographies
If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow
— Interview with the New York Times, 2011
The walls we build around us to keep out sadness also keep out joy
— Seminar on Personal Development, late 1980s
The customer experience is the next competitive battleground
— Speech at Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, 2002
Aspire not to have more, but to be more
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (2011)
If you’re not living life on the edge, you’re taking up too much space
— Interview with Outside Magazine (1999)
The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first
— Book: Acts of Faith, 1993
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago
— Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Letter, 2010
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood
— Citizenship in a Republic, speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, 1910
If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough
— Interview with The New Yorker, 2001
No grand idea was ever born in a conference room, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there
— Attributed; no definitive print source
You don’t get any points for predicting rain. You get points for building arks
— Shareholder letter (2001)
The most powerful tool we have as creators is our ability to notice what others overlook and then act upon it
— Inc. Magazine interview, 2017
If you want to innovate, you have to be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time
— Interview with the Academy of Achievement, 2001
I have always believed that the only way to keep a competitive edge is through constant innovation
— Speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2015
You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over
— Screw It, Let's Do It (2006)
A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved; chase understanding before you chase solutions
— Delivering Happiness (book), Chapter 7
Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them
— Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
The true test is not whether you avoid failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere
— Commencement address, Arizona State University, 2009
You can't innovate by copying; true progress whispers from the unknown corners you dare to explore
— Interview with NPR, 2012
In the business world, the rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield
— Fortune magazine interview, 1989
The most important thing is to enjoy what you are doing, because that is when you do your best work
— Interview with The Good Life Project, 2016
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it
— Attributed in various biographies and memoirs
I’ve always believed that you build a company the way you build a cathedral—one stone at a time, every day, with purpose
— Interview in The Atlantic, 2018
In the age of transparency, honesty, and generosity, even in the form of an apology, generate goodwill
— Business Model Generation (book), 2010
Beware of listening to experts whose actions don't echo their own advice
— Advice column, Virgin Blog
Don’t count the days, make the days count
— Interview with CNBC Make It
The glass is always filling—it’s never just half full or half empty, because you’re constantly pouring into it
— TEDxEast talk, 2010
Never start a business just to make money. Start a business to make a difference
— Interview with Forbes, 2013
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few
— Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970)
Sometimes you jump off the ledge and find the wings on the way down
— Screw Business as Usual (book)
A year from now you may wish you had started today
— Often cited in productivity literature; original essay
Success is walking up one more flight of stairs after everyone else has stopped trying
— .
Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself
— Speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2008
Great things never come from comfort zones
— Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose (2010)
If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space
— From his keynote presentations and writings on personal growth
A question asked with audacity can be the beginning of a revolution in how the world works
— Interview, Wait But Why blog, 2015
Screw it, let’s do it
— Screw It, Let's Do It (book title)
The most dangerous thing you can do in business is not evolve
— Interview with CNBC, 2017
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new
— Attributed; various sources
Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind
— The Crack-Up, 1936 essay
The best products come from relentless dissatisfaction with the status quo and a willingness to endure countless iterations
— Interview on First Principles Thinking, Tim Urban, Wait But Why (2015)
I never dreamed about success. I worked for it
— Interview, various attributions
Customer service shouldn’t just be a department, it should be the entire company
— Delivering Happiness (2010)
Don’t be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value
— /Play: Death of a Salesman (1949), character Ben/
Don’t measure yourself by the critics' yardstick; build quietly, let your results address the noise.
— TED Talk, 'Meet a Young Entrepreneur, Cartoonist, Designer, Activist' (2013)
The greatest danger is not standing at the edge but forgetting that the edge keeps moving
— .
Business opportunities are like buses; there's always another one coming
— Richard Branson's autobiography 'Losing My Virginity' (1998)
The greatest thing to be achieved in advertising, in my opinion, is believability, and nothing is more believable than the product itself
— Speech at American Association of Advertising Agencies, 1967
The greatest challenge any entrepreneur faces is not external competition, but their own willingness to doubt yesterday’s limits
— Talk at Dreamforce Conference, 2018
You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end
— The Confidence Code Interview, 2014
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep
— The Dilbert Principle (1996)
When people are determined they can overcome anything
— Speech at the Laureus World Sports Awards, 2000
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others
— From "Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting" (1711)
When you cease to dream you cease to live
— Often cited in speeches and magazine editorials
Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine
— World Economic Forum, 2015
Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth
— /Unknown; often cited in leadership and business contexts/
The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything
— Keynote speech, various interviews; widely attributed to Buffett
I never lose. I either win or learn
— Remark attributed in multiple interviews
The path to success is to take massive, determined action
— Awaken the Giant Within (1991)
You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed – you’re not gonna succeed all the time, and I know that
— Interview with USA Today (2014)
As long as you're going to be thinking anyway, think big.
— Book: The Art of the Deal (1987)
Life is too short to hang out with people who aren't resourceful
— Recode Code Conference, 2016
Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work
— Letter to Gertrude Tennant, 1876
Sometimes you have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down
— Interview, multiple attributions
It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen
— Book: Making Ideas Happen
Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person
— Address to the National Prayer Breakfast, 1994; famous in her speeches and ethos
The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence—it is to act with yesterday’s logic
— Managing in Turbulent Times (Book, 1980)
The biggest challenge is never the mountain ahead, but convincing yourself that the climb is worth it
— Interview with Fast Company, 2015
I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it
— Said at various Microsoft events and quoted in multiple interviews
A company is only as extraordinary as the questions its leaders are willing to ask
— Creativity, Inc. (book), Chapter 5
The best way to learn is by doing; the only way to build is to begin
— Interview with David Rubenstein, Bloomberg, 2018
If you are born poor, it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor, it’s your mistake
— Speech at a high school in 2008
What is dangerous is not to evolve.
— Amazon annual letter to shareholders, 2016
A marketplace rewards not the one who shouts the loudest, but the one who listens until the world reveals where it’s hungry
— Y Combinator Startup School Lecture, 2015
You can’t fake passion. It is the fuel that drives any dream and makes you happy to be alive
— Think Like a Billionaire (2004)
If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary
— The Art of Exceptional Living (1985)
Comfort is the enemy of progress
— Various interviews and writings, attributed in Delivering Happiness
Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful
— Interview with Wired Magazine, 1999
The journey is the reward
— Inscribed on a wall inside Apple's early offices; Interview reference, 1990s
Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming
— Various interviews, public talks
You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club
— From his essay 'Getting Into Print'
My model for business is The Beatles: they were four guys who kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts
— Interview with 60 Minutes, 2003
Some men see things as they are and say, Why? I dream of things that never were and say, Why not?
— Back to Methuselah (1921)
Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you
— From his book 'Delivering Happiness' (2010)
Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation
— TED Talk, 2002
Entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital, so that you can do more of it and move forward with it
— Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life (book, 2006)
People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do
— Apple 'Think Different' campaign, 1997
Companies rarely die from moving too fast, but they frequently perish from moving too slowly
— Interview with Harvard Business Review (2015)
You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you're not passionate enough from the start, you'll never stick it out
— Smithsonian Institution Oral History Interview, 1995
Most overnight successes take about ten years
— Inc. Magazine, interview, 1997
Mistakes are the portals of discovery
— Ulysses (1922)
The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are ever after secure in your ability to survive
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (2011)
The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do
— Book: Competitive Strategy, 1980
Seek discomfort; if you’re always at ease, you’re not advancing, you’re stagnating
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (2011)
The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea
— Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (2012)
It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure
— Speech at Microsoft event, 2002
The best way to learn is by doing. Stop waiting and bring your ideas to life, even if they scare you.
— Inc. magazine interview, 2017
If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together
— Tata Group Annual General Meeting, 2012
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity
— The Art of War, Chapter 5
I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow
— Stanford 2013 Commencement Address
Every breakthrough business idea begins with solving a simple problem that annoys a lot of people
— Speech at Virgin Disruptors conference, 2013
In the end, you have to play by your own rules if you want to win in the long run
— The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions (book, 2008)
Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that
— Personal blog post, 2011
You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water
— Stray Birds, 1916
Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success
— Interview and personal blog, 2011
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire
— Business periodicals, various publications
I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it
— Attributed, as quoted in The Prince and other works
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood
— Citizenship in a Republic, The Sorbonne, Paris, 1910
To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart
— Speech to IBM employees in the 1940s (exact date unknown)
Make your product easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them, not you
— How to Win at the Sport of Business, Chapter 5
The scarcest resource is not money or talent, but relentless attention
— Interview with The New Yorker, 2008
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been
— .
Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect
— Startup School, 2013
The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks
— Interview at Y Combinator Startup School, 2011
The only thing worse than starting something and failing is not starting something
— Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Book)
Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket
— The Temper of Our Time (1967)
If you want to succeed, double your failure rate
— attributed, IBM leadership lectures
If you’re changing the world, you’re working on important things. You’re excited to get up in the morning
— Interview with Wired Magazine, 2013
I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying
— Interview with Academy of Achievement, 2001
When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor
— Interview with Y Combinator, 2016
The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything
— Quoted by Bill Gates at Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting, 2011
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
— Reported in various biographies of Walt Disney
If you want to change the rules, first master them; the greatest disruptors begin as students of the old order.
— Lecture series at Stanford University, CS183: Startup
The best companies are the ones that obsesses over the customer experience.
— Podcast interview, 'How I Built This', 2017
You don’t learn to walk by following rules, you learn by doing and by falling over
— Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life, Chapter 2
If you see a bandwagon, it’s too late
— Business Interview, The Sunday Times (1987)
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future
— Stanford Commencement Address, 2005
The question I ask myself almost every day is, 'Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?'
— Interview, TechCrunch, 2011
The person who is waiting for something to turn up might start with their shirt sleeves
— English Social History, Book 5, 1942
Every day that we spent not improving our products was a wasted day
— Joel on Software (blog), "Strategy Letter VI"," 2002
If everything you’ve done so far seems to fit neatly inside the box, you’re not aiming big enough
— Unknown, reported in interviews
Creativity is just connecting things
— Interview with Wired Magazine, February 1996
The secret of getting ahead is getting started
— Attributed (see Mark Twain’s Notebook, 1904)
Revolutions are the locomotives of history
— Book: The Class Struggles in France (1850)
The last 10 percent it takes to launch something takes as much energy as the first 90 percent
— Inc. Magazine interview, 2010
Success is largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go
— The Business of Life (1949)
You can’t discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore
— Often attributed, original source disputed but widely cited in entrepreneurial circles
Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.
— Internal Facebook memo (2009), quoted in various speeches
The secret to my success is that we consistently focused on solving problems no one else bothered to tackle, no matter how small they seemed at first
— Interview with MasterClass, 2021
You don’t get harmony when everyone sings the same note
— Floyd’s business columns, date unknown
Every act of creation is first an act of destruction
— As quoted in 'Picasso on Art: A Selection of Views' (1982)
In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield
— Annual Shareholder Letter, 1986
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail
— Essay: Self-Reliance (1841)
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses
— Commonly attributed, no direct written source, but referenced in innovation literature
In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield
— Annual Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders, 1985
You can’t build a reputation on what you haven’t done
— Attributed, The Ford Methods and the Ford Shops (1915)
Chase problems worth solving, and your work will always have meaning
— Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2010
I saw a gap and decided to fill it; everything after that was improvisation
— Stanford Graduate School of Business View From The Top talk
The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it
— . Attributed in various sources; long associated with Michelangelo’s legacy as an embodiment of vision and ambition.
Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself
— Speech at Harvard University, 2007
Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough
— Facebook corporate motto, interviews
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others
— Harper's Monthly Magazine, 1932
You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over
— Interview with The Entrepreneur.com, 2007
Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success
— Speech at UCLA Anderson School of Management, 2011
The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed
— Bob Parsons' business blog
The question I ask myself almost every day is, 'Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?'
— Stanford Q&A session, 2005
I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one
— Interview with Charlie Rose, 1994
The best way to escape competition is to build something so valuable that others cannot compete
— Zero to One (Book)
You build trust not with grand gestures, but with a thousand quietly kept promises
— Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, 2014
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
Great things in business are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people.
— Quoted in 'Steve Jobs' biography by Walter Isaacson, 2011
You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end
— Interview, Forbes, 2014
Do not be lulled into complacency by early wins; build your company as if it must survive a storm you can’t yet see
— Stanford Graduate School of Business lecture, 2012
If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful
— Interview with Inc. Magazine, 2004
The greatest danger is not that your hopes are too high and you fail, but that they are too low and you reach them
— Letter to his apprentice, attributed
The edge comes not from resources, but from relentless ingenuity combined with purposeful urgency
— Interview with Wired, 2013
The essential thing is not knowledge, but character
— Shoe Dog (2016)
As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big
— The Art of the Deal (book, 1987)
Persistence is far more important than intelligence in achieving what most people consider impossible
— Essay: Mind the Gap (2004)
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all
— "The Critic As Artist," Intentions (1891)
Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth
— Reflections on her career, multiple interviews
You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive or else a strategy is useless
— The Edge of the Sword (Le Fil de l’épée), 1932
Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway
— Interview with The Saturday Evening Post, 1967
The dangerous thing about an idea is not that it is wrong, but that it might be right and ignored
— Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (Book)
A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits: they will be embarrassingly large
— .
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity
— War as I Knew It (book), 1947
A company is simply a group of people working together to create a legacy that will matter
— Unknown, leadership interviews
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work
— /As quoted in the New Yorker, 1956/
We are really competing against ourselves, we have no control over how other people perform
— Interview with The Guardian, 2013
I never worry about the problem. I worry about the solution
— Interview with Entrepreneur magazine, 2014
A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping-stone to the optimist
— From her essay, You Learn by Living, 1960
If I see further, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants who came before me, paving roads in the dark
— Commencement address, Bowdoin College, 2018
It’s through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path
— Inc. Interview, 1999
When you’re the first person whose beliefs are different, you’re basically saying, I’m right and everyone else is wrong
— Forbes Interview, 2016
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it
— Dhammapada, verse 166
People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it
— Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (2009)
My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long university education that I never had – every day I’m learning something new
— Interview with The Good Men Project
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose
— Speech at the National Urban League, 1997
The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me
— Atlas Shrugged (1957)
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known
— Cosmos: The Personal Voyage (TV series), Episode 13, 1980
If you see a bandwagon, it’s too late
— Interview, The Sunday Times (1987)
Sometimes the only difference between vision and delusion is how long you’re willing to hold your nerve
— TED Interview, 2017
Build what you wish you had existed when you needed it most
— Speech at Rhode Island School of Design, 2016
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet, especially for those who plant and tend to their own orchards
— Let My People Go Surfing, 2005
You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute
— Bossypants (book)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s
— Zero to One (2014)
Success is the result of good judgment, good judgment is the result of experience, and experience is often the result of bad judgment
— Awaken the Giant Within, 1991
The greatest danger is not standing at the edge but forgetting that the edge keeps moving
— 2015, Stanford Graduate School of Business talk
Skepticism is fuel; every doubt directed at your idea is a chance to refine it into something more resilient
— Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman (2005)
It always seems impossible until it’s done
— Speech, 17 May 2001, London
You cannot mandate productivity, you must provide the tools to let people become their best
— Interview with Business Week, 1993
It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it
— Interview in The Observer, 1973
If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary
— .
You are remembered for the rules you break
— Reminiscences (1964, autobiography)
It is better to create than to learn! Creating is the essence of life
— Attributed by historian Suetonius in The Twelve Caesars
The scarcest resource is not money or talent, but relentless attention
— Interview with Harvard Business Review, 2015
Business opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them
— Often attributed in various publications; first appeared in Reader’s Digest, 1975
Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming
— Losing My Virginity (autobiography)
I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow
— Interview with Vogue, August 2013
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all
— Essay: The Critic as Artist (1891)
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful
— Attributed (speech, writings)
I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.
— Interview with Fast Company, 2015
A small business is an amazing way to serve and leave an impact on the world you live in.
— Interview with Forbes, 2019
Being relentless means demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever demand of you
— Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable (book)
If you tune it so that you have zero chance of failure, you usually also have zero chance of success
— Interview, Wired Magazine, 2012
If you think you are too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room
— Quoted in various interviews and speeches
The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new
— Attributed; Exact source uncertain, often cited in entrepreneurial circles
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall
— Speech at Laureus World Sports Awards, 2000
Always deliver more than expected
— Referenced in various talks and interviews, including Google company meetings
If you want to change the world, don’t become a leader, become an example.
— World Economic Forum, 2018
You can’t have a good day with a bad attitude, and you can’t have a bad day with a good attitude
— The Everyday Life Bible: The Power of God's Word for Everyday Living
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work
— Stanford Commencement Address (2005)
To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted
— The Art and Science of Creativity (Book, 1965)
I don’t believe in taking right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right
— Speech at the National Institute of Technology, 2012
You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first
— Attributed, various sources
The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm
— Address to IBM Employees, 1935
Imagination is the draftbook of the entrepreneur; realities are the blueprints drawn from it
— Interview in Entrepreneur Magazine, 2011
There is no finish line. There are only mile markers
— Nike Company Philosophy
The best way to predict the future is to invent it
— 1971 Xerox PARC meeting (attributed)
I built my first computer because I wanted a computer that I could afford and enjoy
— Interview with Forbes (2015)
Success is often nothing more than moving from one set of problems to another, learning faster each time
— MIT Technology Review Q&A, 2013
There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living
— From Mandela’s autobiography, 'Long Walk to Freedom'
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure; life is either a daring adventure or nothing
— The Open Door (1957), Chapter 10
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life
— Stanford University Commencement Address, 2005
A plan gives you comfort; improvisation gives you traction
— Rework (book), 2010
If you don’t ask, the answer is always no
— Frequently attributed; stated in interviews
The value of an idea lies in the using of it
— Interview, 1921
If you want to do something, go for it. You’ve got nothing to lose
— Interview with Charlie Rose, 2015
To double your income and success, triple your investment in personal development and professional mastery
— Interview, Forbes, 2016
The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself
— Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare
— Attributed by Bill Gates in Microsoft keynote, 1990s
Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith
— Stanford Commencement Address, 2005
Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together
— His autobiography, Fifty Years with the Golden Rule (1950)
A river cuts through rock not by power, but by persistence and finding the seams where no one else dares to dig
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul, 2011
Some of the best paths are discovered by walking where maps end
— Interview on growth and innovation (2015)
The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer
— The Practice of Management, 1954
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
— Book: Business @ the Speed of Thought (1999)
The best companies are the ones that use their products, like their customers, obsessively
— Interview with Wired, 1999
Build a company that you would never want to leave
— Keynote at Airbnb Open (2016)
The secret of getting ahead is getting started
— Commonly attributed; appears in 'Mark Twain's Notebook' (1935)
It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it; if you think about that, you'll do things differently
— .
The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity
— Book: The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence (2010)
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been
— Frequently cited by Gretzky himself; also popularized in business and entrepreneurship discussions
Great companies start because the founders want to change the world, not make a fast buck
— Art of the Start (2004)
Some of the world’s best discoveries are simply questions that refused to go unanswered
— MasterClass entrepreneurship session
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary
— Often attributed; various business interviews
If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.
— Profile Interview, Car and Driver Magazine, 1994
You never lose in business, either you win or you learn
— Book: Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months (2010)
You are not your resume, you are your work
— What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn)
I am constantly trying to persuade people to stop being unnecessarily afraid
— Interview with TED, 2017
The most important decisions you make are not the things you do, but the things you decide not to do
— As told in various interviews, including at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)
There is a huge difference between being interested and being committed. When you are interested, you do what is convenient; when you are committed, you do whatever it takes
— Innovation for the Fatigued (Book)
I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one
— Q&A at University of Washington (2007)
My biggest successes came from being naïve enough to not know what couldn’t be done
— #GIRLBOSS (book, 2014)
The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world
— Speech at Dreamforce conference, 2013
If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete
— Speech at GE and The Wall Street Journal interviews
The most successful people are those who are good at plan B
— /Speech at University of Maryland, early 1990s/
If you double the number of experiments you do per year, you’re going to double your inventiveness
— Interview at the Academy of Achievement, 2001
A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well
— Speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2010
You have to let go of who you were to become who you want to be
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (2011)
Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice
— Book: Innovation and Entrepreneurship (1985)
If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.
— Interview at Startup School, 2014
Your margin is my opportunity
— The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
The secret to success is to know something nobody else knows
— Attributed in many interviews and biographies
If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original
— TED Talk: Do Schools Kill Creativity? (2006)
If you’re not making someone else’s life better, then you’re wasting your time
— Speech at Entrepreneurs 2012 event
A plan gives you comfort; improvisation gives you traction
— LinkedIn article, 2019
People don’t want to move molecules, they want to change things; and for a short time, if you’re lucky, you are the thing that changes them
— Interview with The New Yorker, 2019
You are far more likely to die from indifference than from errors of ambition
— The Hard Thing About Hard Things (book)
In the long run, your only as good as the people you hire
— Grill the Real Book, 1977
Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work
— Letter to Gertrude Tennant, 1876
If you don’t understand the details of your business you are going to fail
— Fireside Chat at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, April 2018
The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces
— Attributed, various sources
The most effective way to do it, is to do it
— .
It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure
— Speech at University of Washington, 2011
If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late
— Startup Lessons Learned Conference, 2011
You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over
— Business Stripped Bare (book)
Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.
— Syndicated newspaper column
Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations
— Interview with Michael Moritz, 1985 (Playboy Magazine)
Every time you make a decision about money, you are making a statement about what you value
— Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook (2013)
There are no finish lines; there are only mile markers
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul (book)
The best way to out-think your competition is to out-listen them
— Interview, Masters of Scale podcast
The speed of iteration beats the quality of iteration
— The Lean Startup (book)
Fortune does favor the bold and you’ll never know what you’re capable of if you don’t try
— Barnard College Commencement Address, 2011
Success is a poor teacher; it seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose
— Business @ the Speed of Thought (1999)
Great companies are built on great products
— Interview with Wired, 2012
If you live for weekends or vacations, your shit is broken
— Interview with Reddit AMA, 2016
As long as you're green, you're growing. As soon as you're ripe, you start to rot
— From his memoir 'Grinding It Out'
When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible
— Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (book, 2011)
The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do
— Attributed in essays and biographies
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change
— Attributed summary from 'On the Origin of Species'
The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes
— Speech at Leadership Summit, 2000
I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance
— Interview with Jessica Livingston, Founders at Work, 2007
The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing
— Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? (Book, 2010)
If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just
— Book: Business as Unusual, 2000
The business of life is to go forward
— Letter to Sir Joshua Reynolds, July 20, 1775
An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory
— Letters and Social Aims, 1876