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What’s your Favorite Quote about Entrepreneurship?

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1 month ago

February 14, 2023

terkel

What’s your favorite quote about entrepreneurship?

From “To go fast, go alone…” to “Success is not final…”, here are 15 answers to the question, “What are your favorite quotes about entrepreneurship, and what do you love about them?”

To Go Fast, Go Alone; to Go Far, Go Together
Quit Talking and Begin Doing
Tie Your Life to a Goal
Have the Courage to Follow Your Heart
Escape Competition Through Authenticity
Go the Distance
Who Are You Serving?
The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Create It
Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You
Never Give Up
Love What You Do
It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You
Spend Your Life the Way Most People Can’t
I Have Not Failed
Success is Not Final, Failure is Not Fatal

To Go Fast, Go Alone; to Go Far, Go Together

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb

I love how this speaks to the power of collaboration in business. It captures the idea that we are stronger and better situated for long-term success when working together with others who have a common goal and complementary skill sets.

For an uncommon example of this concept, I think about open-source software development, where communities of developers come together around shared missions and help each other make greater strides than any one person could manage on their own.

Tasia Duske, CEO, Museum Hack

Quit Talking and Start Doing

“I found the way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing it.” – Walt Disney

I love this quote because it helped me overcome the mental barriers that were holding me back from pursuing entrepreneurship. Like many others, I was raised in a family that follows a certain formula: study well, get a good job, and save for retirement. However, as I was growing up, I slowly dreamed of being able to take control of my life.

9-5s did not impress me, and I wasn’t interested in being bossed around. In my 20s, I already knew that entrepreneurship was the key to the fruition of that dream. However, that quote from Walt Disney helped propel me to get past my hesitations, my doubts, and the fears that were holding me back from diving head-first into the world of entrepreneurship. I believe that the hardest thing with entrepreneurship is getting started. That quote helped me get past that stage.

Paw Vej, Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Tie Your Life to a Goal

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein

I have had this quote framed in my office since I started my own entrepreneurial journey over 15 years ago. It’s a perfect quote for an entrepreneur starting out, and they will realize that they want to set a goal for something that will bring them happiness and not a physical thing.

My personal goal is to have the freedom to go to all my kids’ events or games. I didn’t focus on making a million dollars or buying a fancy car, but more on being able to set my own hours and enjoy going to work every day. This quote will help you create the right mindset of where you want to be in your career. It’s not all about things, but having goals that will make your life happy.

Evan McCarthy, President and CEO, SportingSmiles

Have the Courage to Follow Your Heart

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs always had quotes for aspiring entrepreneurs because no one was quite as bold, brave, and aspiring as him. His words were always so straightforward and inspiring. I absolutely love his quote.

If you know in your gut that you’re on the right path to success based on your gifts and passion—then that’s all the reinforcement you need. You may hear naysayers, and you may sputter at different times in your career, but as long as you still have that belief in yourself and that comfort in knowing that you’re doing what you love, you will be successful.

Brittany Dolin, Co-Founder, Pocketbook Agency

Escape Competition Through Authenticity

“Escape competition through authenticity.” – Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant makes a strong case for authenticity and highlights how businesses can easily escape the rabbit hole of outperforming their competitors by being more true to themselves.

He’s 100% on point here—if you try to emulate someone else, you’re always going to have competition and you’ll forever be stuck in the trap of trying to one-up them. But when you carve your own path and stay true to your unique strengths, you make your way out of this labyrinth and differentiate yourself from others.

Harry Morton, Founder, Lower Street

Go the Distance

“Go the distance! Every time you start to feel adversity, that is usually right when the breakthrough is near.” – Anon.

I love this quote in particular because it focuses on how the entrepreneurship journey has some very unpredictable twists and turns. Find a way not to quit because what I have learned is that it is more of a faith walk.

Entrepreneurship will make you pivot and make adjustments to cater to the needs of those you serve. If you have this mindset and understand that routines and systems will be your saving grace and have a positive attitude about whatever is happening will attract the tribe that will have your back as you grow in entrepreneurship.

Shana Sanders, CEO, Bold Creative Brand

Who Are You Serving?

“Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.” – Marian Wright Edelman

The quote reminds us that service should always lead our business. If we focus on doing what we do solely for money, not only will our ventures be less impactful on the world, but less lucrative in the long run. The two go hand in hand. It’s important to ask ourselves who we want to serve. Are we leaving the world better ‌than it was before we arrived? If not, we know we need to shift our focus.

Liza Kirsh, Chief Marketing Officer, Dymapak

The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Create It

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

This quote encapsulates the entire entrepreneurial spirit in a few simple words. Creation and innovation are the keys to being a successful entrepreneur, and the skill of understanding what your customer needs before they know it themselves.

When entrepreneurs can spot a gap in the marketplace and understand how to fill it, they create their own future. It’s essential for entrepreneurs to think outside of the box and use innovation to create new products that the public wants.

Anthony Martin, Founder and CEO, Choice Mutual

Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You

“Be so good they can’t ignore you.” – Steve Martin

I’m a big fan of Steve Martin as a comedian and as a businessman. His quote is absolutely true. Whether you’re a business owner or an employee, consistently doing your best, learning from your mistakes, and taking initiative will get you noticed more than any flashy gimmicks. It’s about hard work, consistency, and continuous improvement.

Gates Little, President and CEO, altLINE Sobanco

Never Give Up

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

I really love this quote because it shows that success as an entrepreneur is not a matter of luck or predetermined fate; rather, it directly results from hard work and dedication.

To become successful as an entrepreneur, one must put in the extra effort when things don’t go as planned, take risks, and persevere against all odds. I think this saying especially resonates with people trying to start their own businesses—likely because failure is a real possibility that comes hand-in-hand with entrepreneurship.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs will face many obstacles on the path towards creating something new and innovative—but Edison’s words remind us that those setbacks should not discourage us from reaching our goals; instead, they are chances for us to learn and grow even more resilient in our pursuits!

Travis Lindemoen, Managing Director, nexus IT group

Love What You Do

“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. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs.

The quote emphasizes the importance of passion and dedication in one’s career. The quote suggests that work is an integral part of our lives and that we should therefore strive to find work we are passionate about and that aligns with our values and goals.

We can be delighted and fulfilled in our careers by doing the work we love. The only genuine success to create is that which does not solely focus on accruing wealth or status, but that takes on more profound meaning and positively impacts the world.

Kevin Miller, Founder, kevinmiller.com

It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You

“It’s not who you know that matters—it’s who knows you that’s important.” – Jarod Kintz

This quote perfectly illustrates how important it is to build a strong personal brand. A personal brand is the total of all the impressions that people have of you. And it’s more important than ever to have a personal brand because it’s how people will identify you and what you offer.

So it’s crucial to be intentional about building your personal brand. You need to be consistent with who you are and what you stand for. And you need to be visible so that people can find you and connect with you.

Once you’ve created a strong personal brand, you’ll be better positioned to attract customers, prospects, partners, and investors. You’ll also be better positioned to build your business.

Luciano Colos, Founder and CEO, PitchGrade

Spend Your Life the Way Most People Can’t

“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life as most people won’t so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” – Anon.

This was never attributed, but this quote is priceless because it inspires entrepreneurs to think long-term and to make sacrifices today so we can reap the rewards tomorrow. It also emphasizes that, for entrepreneurs, the journey is often more important than the destination.

Victor Mathieux, Co-Founder and CEO, Miracle Brand

I Have Not Failed

“I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison’s famous words have stuck with me since I was young. Whenever I attempt something, whether in business or in my personal life, that fails, I repeat these words to myself. They serve as a reminder that just because something doesn’t work one way doesn’t mean it won’t work at all. I just need to try a different approach.

So often today, I see people give up when their first idea isn’t an instant success. Who knows where they would be if they viewed their failure through Edison’s eyes? Even if it takes 10,000 tries, never give up.

Andrew Adamo, VP, Bullion Shark

Success is Not Final, Failure is Not Fatal

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill.

I love this quote because it speaks to the resilience and determination that are necessary to be successful in entrepreneurship. It emphasizes that success is not a onetime achievement but a continuous journey of learning.

Isabella Meyer, Editor, Art in Context