Being an entrepreneur or business leader is not for the faint of heart. The pressures, demands, and stress can mount to levels that few can truly appreciate. As they say—it’s lonely at the top.
And sometimes, there’s nothing more helpful than hearing from those who’ve been there before. (That’s exactly why Encore’s CEO Peer Groups are so popular.)
Here’s a few of our favorite quotes to help motivate you on the entrepreneurial roller coaster:
- “People are the most important thing. Business model and product will follow if you have the right people.” — Adam Neumann, Co-founder of WeWork
- “If you tune it so that you have zero chance of failure, you usually also have zero chance of success. The key is to look at ways for when you get to your failure checkpoint, you know to stop.” — Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn
- “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.” — Richard Branson, founder Virgin Group
- “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
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” — Bill Gates
- “The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.” — Reid Hoffman, co-founder LinkedIn
- “Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.” — Jack Dorsey, founder Twitter
- “Make your team feel respected, empowered and genuinely excited about the company’s mission.” — Tim Westergen, Pandora Founder
- “The best leaders are servant leaders – they serve those they lead.” — Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
- “Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is. Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world. Love what you do or don’t do it.” — Mark Cuban
- “Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.” — Sara Blakely, founder SPANX
- “We led with our conviction rather than rational, because rational said it was impossible.” — Daniel Ek, Co-founder and CEO Spotify
- “We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.” — Jeff Bezos
- “Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” — Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
- “Realize that you won’t be able to bring the same focus to everything in the beginning. There won’t be enough people or enough hours in the day. So focus on the 20 percent that makes 80 percent of the difference.” — Marc Benioff, Salesforce CEO
- ‘Most decisions are not binary, and there are usually better answers waiting to be found if you do the analysis and involve the right people.” — CEO & Chairman of JPMorgan
- “Do every job you’re in like you’re going to do it for the rest of your life, and demonstrate that ownership of it.” — Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors
- “Don’t do things the way they’ve always been done. Done try to fit into the system. If you do what’s expected of you, you’ll never accomplish more than others expect.” — Howard Schultz, Executive Chairman Starbucks
- “The best innovation comes from inclusive work environments that foster diverse ideas, nurture people with diverse talent and backgrounds, and create strong relationships with diverse communities. — Mark Parker, Nike
- “Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people…or find a different room.” — Michael Dell, CEO Dell