Quotes. Entrepreneurs are fascinated with them. They spark our creativity, motivate us to action, and inspire us to greatness. They offer us insights into the spirit behind innovation and genius. And they act as fuel to the blue-flame fire that burns deep within every true entrepreneur.
The 33 quotes below are, in our opinion, some of the best of the best. They come from authors, poets, inventors, scholars, and entrepreneurs – all legends in their own rights. So jot them down on Post-it notes and decorate your workspace. Grab red lipstick and write them in sweeping letters across your mirrors. Pick your favorite and brand it on your…palm. The right words at the right time can be paramount to your success, so do whatever it takes to keep inspiration close at hand.
“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, Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
“In life and business, there are two cardinal sins: The first is to act without thought, and the second is to not act at all.” – Carl Icahn, Investor and Entrepreneur
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Poet
“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” – Richard Branson, Entrepreneur
“Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes; work never begun.” – Christina Rossetti, Author
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” Williams Jenning Bryan, Politician and three-time Presidential candidate
“Watch, listen, and learn. You can’t know it all yourself. Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.” – Donald Trump, Business Mogul
“High expectations are the key to everything.” – Sam Walton, Entrepreneur
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon, Entrepreneur
“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” William Butler Yeats, Poet
“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” - Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect and Entrepreneur
“Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor and Entrepreneur
“If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.” – Ray Kroc, Entrepreneur
“The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” – Benjamin Disraeli, Author, Politician and Scholar
“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.” – Coco Chanel, Entrepreneur
“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.” - David Brinkley, Newscaster
“I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” – G. K. Chesterton, Author
“Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed.” Lloyd Jones
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan, Basketball Legend and Entrepreneur
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor and Entrepreneur
“Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down.” - William M. Winans, Clergyman
“Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity.” William Menninger, Entrepreneur
“My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no one’s doing but my own. I am the force. I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice. My responsibility. Win or lose; only I hold the key to my destiny.” - Elaine Maxwell, Author
“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd American President
“You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.” - Henry Ford, Entrepreneur
“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation.” - Pearl S. Buck, Author
“It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.” – Havelock Ellis, Physician and Author
“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” - Goethe
“With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity.” - Keshavan Nair, Author – Gandhi Biographer
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” - Anatole France, Poet
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T. S. Eliot, Author
“Some people have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.” Willis R. Whitney, American Chemist
“For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” - Mary Kay Ash, Entrepreneur
Got quotes?
Everyone has a favorite quote or two – you may even have a whole list quotes that move and inspire you. If we’ve missed them on this list, be sure to share your favorites in the comments below.
Great list! Here are a couple of my faves:
“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are usually right.” -Henry Ford
“If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves” -Thomas Edison
“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I wouldn’t try writing this one on a post it.
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.” Jim Rohn
Some of my favorites:
“I demolish my bridges behind me… then there is no choice but to move forward.” — Fridtjof Nansen
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” — Alan Kay
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” — Michelangelo
“Not everyone who chased the zebra caught it, but he who caught it chased it.” — South African proverb
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
“In my mind, I’ve always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y’all just didn’t know yet.” — Will Smith
“Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If it’s original, you’ll have to ram it down their throats.” — Howard Aiken
“I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.” — Jonathan Winters
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” — Albert Einstein
“There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.” — Unknown
[...] get entrepreneurial: There’s nothing like a collection of inspirational quotes to stoke your entrepreneurial [...]
“It’s not what you are that holds you back. It’s what you think you’re not.”
- Denis Waitley
“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”
- John F. Kennedy
Love this quote…
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
John le Carre
This one came from a fortune cookie, but it sure is poignant:
“Affirm it, visualize it, believe it, and it will actualize itself”
(And if you’re curious, the “Learn Chinese” word on the back is Mian, meaning Inside.)
Very interesting, thankyou for sharing this great information I enjoyed reading it.
Russell
“Think it, write it, abt on it, stick to the process; count your wins or losses and repeat the process.” This is the whole duty of an entrepreneur. – Ajaero Tony Martins
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An inspirational one:
“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
One of my all-time favorites: “There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had plenty of them.” Casey Stengel
One of my personal favorites:
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve!” –Napoleon Hill
Thoughts were really inspiring………THNx
above 2 were the best acc 2 me……they r:
“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.” – David Brinkley
“I demolish my bridges behind me… then there is no choice but to move forward.” — Fridtjof Nansen
“I celebrate failure – it can temper your character and pave the way for great achievement”
Kamran Elahian, Serial Entrepreneur
It takes decision to start a thing and discipline to finish it.
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.
Warren Buffett
I am a young entrepreneur and I plan on bootstrapping but I am also looking to win a contest, hopefully anyone who reads this can go to this link – http://is.gd/bTVq1 – and vote for “Romp Again” click on @idea_pitch.
in life u may have plans for your life but it is only when u get to a stage thats when u wll realise destiny has also got plans for u
“Don’t wait to be a great man or woman, be a great boy or great girl. Get involved as soon as you can.” – Dick Gordon
“In times of crisis, a leader with a clear vision of what he wants for his people and his country can always rise up to any challenge” – Dick Gordon
“A leader should uplift the level of behavior of a people. He must give them a vision, show them where they are going, and at the same time, consult them too. That’s what we did in Subic.” – Dick Gordon
“I had a vision for Subic , and I was able to convince our volunteers that it can be done. After three years, we no longer got money from the national government. They were drawing money from us. After the first year, we got the tourism destination of the year award… And who did it? The people. People will always be part of the process of change. We hosted APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Conference) in 1996. It was the best proof that Filipinos can create a ‘Bagumbayan’ in their own minds as well as in their community.” – Dick Gordon
Dick Gordon may be a politician but what makes him different is that his leadership style is like that of an entrepreneur. Dick Gordon is the man responsible for reviving Subic Bay, a former American Naval Base in the Philippines. When the Americans left due to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, thousands of people lost their jobs. Dick Gordon, stepped up and led the people of Olongapo to volunteer to clean up the Subic Naval Base…in his leadership, they were able to transform Subic into an economic zone and a local tourist destination. Investors came in so now Subic has provided 200,000+ jobs to its constituents.
@Atapang Those are some good ones. Sen Gordon is quite a leader.
one of my favourites -
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” — Alan Kay
@Russ Love that one!
Great quotes you have there. I coined this out to challenge myself after any unsuccessful venture.
” Dont waste time crying over spilt milk when the cow is still alive, go back and milk again” E Olajitan
One of my personal favorites, which has helped me through many a mental block, is:
“Be like a postage stamp. Stick to it until you get there.” – Bob Proctor
It’s pretty simple, and may even sound ridiculous, but they are my go-to words when I feel like giving up.
I really like this one
“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.” – David Brinkley.
Many people will try to put you down telling you reasons why you can’t be successful including family members. Turning that into motivation and sparked of flames.
Thank you soo much for this 33 quotes.
Great quotes – several of these I had not seen before. Here are a couple of my favorites.
People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.
- Dale Carnegie
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working
together is success.
-Henry Ford
Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.
-Albert Einstein
Experience is a compilation of all your mistakes. Without mistakes you have no experience.
“Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” George Bernard Shaw
“Watch, listen, and learn. You can’t know it all yourself. Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.” – Donald Trump
I guess this is what Donald Trump believed in before he build the Trump Tower.. Plus his simplest quote “think big” i remember reading those words in the book “why we want you to be rich” by R. Kiyosaki and D. Trump.
This article gives me more quote to think of every time i think of entrpreneurship now.