Words of Wisdom
"We didn't know if it was humanly possible to reach the top of Mt. Everest. And even using oxygen as we were, if we did get to the top, we weren't at all sure whether we wouldn't drop dead or something to that nature."
- Edmund Hillary (commenting on climbing the tallest mountain on the planet)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
"We all have tremendous potential, and we all are blessed with gifts. Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back is some degree of self-doubt. It is not so much the lack of technical information that holds us back, but more the lack of self-confidence."
"Who are you working for? Who are you making rich?"
So many people waste their time struggling to climb the corporate ladder
"Why not own the ladder?"
"Investing time when I had no time, and investing money when I had very little money is what made me rich,"
"Often in the real world, it's not the smart that get ahead, but the bold."
"Life pushes all of us around. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the lesson and move on. They welcome life pushing them around. To these few people, it means they need and want to learn something. They learn and move on. Most quit, and a few like you fight."
"Passion is anger and love combined."
"People are so afraid of losing, they lose."
"I want to be with people who are moving boldly forward.
I do not want to be with those left behind."
"Deep down you were terrified of taking risks. You really wanted to win, but the fear of losing was greater than the excitement of winning. Deep inside, you and only you will know you didn't go for it. You chose to play it safe."
"To spend life living in fear, never exploring your dreams, is cruel."
"Few people realize that luck is created."
"The trick was to have the discipline to actually put into action what I had learned."
Think and Grow Rich
“He had no money to begin with. But he did have initiative, faith, and the will to win.”"Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with such temporary defeat,
and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is QUIT. That is exactly what the majority of men do."
"Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches."
"God seems to throw himself on the side of the man who knows exactly what he wants,
if he is determined, to get JUST THAT!"
"Any person who is educated is one who has learned to get whatever he wants in life without violating the rights of others."
"The world has the habit of making room for the man whose words and actions show that he knows where he is going."
"The time to nurse an idea is at the time of its birth.""There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.""I found no quality save PERSISTENCE, In either of them, (Henry Ford and Thomas Edison) that even remotely suggested the major source of their stupendous achievements."
"Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time.
One or the other must dominate. It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind."
"Emperor of Fate, King of Chance, Man of Destiny, I Salute You!"
"It begins with study, analysis, and understanding of three enemies which you shall have to clear out. These are INDECISION, DOUBT, and FEAR!"
"If you neglect to make the start, or stop before you arrive,
no one will be to blame, but YOU."
Good to Great
"The question of greatness is not why, but how."
"Most men would rather die, than think. Many do."
"Greatness is not a function of circumstance.
Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice."
Level 5 Leadership – Self-effacing, quiet, reserved, even shy—these leaders are a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. They are more like Lincoln and Socrates than Patton and Caesar.
First Who…Then What – Great companies first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats—and then they figured out where to drive it.
Confront the Brutal Facts – You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality.
The Hedgehog Concept – If you cannot be the best in the world at your core business, then your core business absolutely cannot form the basis of a great company.
A Culture of Discipline – When you have disciplined people, you don’t need a hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you don’t need a bureaucracy. When you have disciplined action, you don’t need excessive controls. When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magic alchemy of great performance.
“You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.”
- Harry S. Truman
"Great vision without great people is irrelevant."
“Either you know your stuff or you don’t.”
“I don’t know where we should take this company, but I do know that if I start with the right people, ask them the right questions, and engage them in vigorous debate, we will find a way to make this company great.”
“We will never give up. We will never capitulate.
It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail.”
“I never lost faith. I never doubted. I knew I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which in retrospect, I would not trade.”
- Admiral Jim Stockdale
"It's all about the application!"
"Let the results do most the talking."
"We run best at the end. We run best at the end of workouts. We run best at the end of races. And we run best at the end of the season, when it counts the most."
"Perhaps, then, you might gain the rare tranquility that comes from knowing that you’ve had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution."
"Indeed, you might even gain the deepest of all satisfactions: knowing your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered."