Gerry Schwartz Quotes: How to Build a Conglomerate from Scratch

Today, I will be sharing with you Gerry Schwartz quotes and strategies for building a conglomerate from scratch. Gerry Schwartz is the Canadian billionaire founder of Onex Corporation; one of the largest conglomerate in Canada and in this article, he outlined his step by step strategy for building a business conglomerate from scratch.

Are you interested in starting a business from scratch and growing it into a conglomerate? Then read on as I share with you Gerry Schwartz strategies for building a conglomerate from scratch.

Gerry Schwartz Quotes: How to Build a Conglomerate from Scratch

1. I’ve always liked transactional things. And I always knew that I’d go into business. But the person I was in high school wouldn’t recognize me today. I had no inkling, not even a slight one, of building a company as large and as much fun as Onex.

2. As a kid, I worked Friday nights and Saturdays in my family’s retail store. I remember a salesman who was just fantastic. I marveled at his ability. I didn’t close any big deals. But I loved having customers and closing a sale.

3. I wanted to be an executive and to have a big job that would pay at least $10,000 a year. I thought $10,000 was a big deal.

4. I can’t remember a day growing up without my father talking to me about business. If he bought real estate, he’d explain how and why.

5. Onex is a holding company and takes an active role in the strategic and financial direction of its subsidiaries. Our goal has always been to build individual subsidiaries into a position of being number one or two in market share in the world, or at least in their niche.

6. The digital revolution and e-commerce are just in their infancy, and we’ve been trying to find ways to put our hook into that rocket ship as it goes up.

7. I enjoy the independence of single-handling a boat. I like controlling the elements, making the wind and the waves and the water work for me.

8. One of the hallmarks of Onex is that since I started the company in 1983, every professional who has joined the company at our Toronto head office is still here. We’ve had no turnover.

9. Collectively, we make Onex a dynamic and collegial place to work, which is why we’ve had almost no turnover among our professional staff in the more than 20 years since we started the company.

10. I consider myself fortunate to work with one of the most capable teams in our business. They are as tireless as they are inventive, and those qualities have served the interests of shareholders as well.

Gerry Schwartz Quotes: How to Build a Conglomerate from Scratch

11. We operate it in a very team-oriented, team-spirited way, and very non-hierarchical. It’s more of a partnership than like a hierarchical corporation.

12. The strength of Onex is the strength of that team of people. And not just the team as it is today. We keep adding to it all the time, younger people who work their way up.

13. The personality still comes from the Chief Executive.

14. We take an excruciating length of time to buy an asset. We did nothing in the late 1980s because of all the pressure to do deals. That’s not our game.

15. Every decision Onex makes is made on the basis of creating long-term value. Our philosophy is to operate like a forever owner of an asset.

16. I am very excited by this transaction because of the opportunity to make a paradigm shift in an unbelievably important industry that has been limping or broken for probably 25 years.

17. In every business we’ve been, employment is higher than when we started.

18. Everybody’s spending all their time talking about whose hand is in whose pocket. That’s not the issue. The issue is, what can this airline become? Combine these two companies, and you’ll have a $9 billion, highly profitable domestic franchise that can go out and conquer the world.

19. I think Canadians are entitled to see the Maple Leaf go around the world and know that it’s Canadian owned.

20. That is 800 million in new revenue and thousands of Canadian jobs.

Gerry Schwartz Quotes: How to Build a Conglomerate from Scratch

21. The hardest lesson I’ve learned has been to not repeat the dumb mistakes I’ve made over the years, which are too numerous to list.

22. I thought I’d have assistants do that stuff for me, which is why I missed the value of the digital era in so many ways. You can’t understand the power of technology unless you use it.

23. He gave me a Palm Pilot. I got on a plane from Seattle to Florida, a five-hour flight, and started on the instruction book. I couldn’t figure it out.

24. I said, ‘That’s it.’ I decided to learn. From that day forward, I’ve insisted Onex be on the leading edge of information technology.

25. It mystified me. But when the stocks kept going up and up, I began to not believe in myself. I thought I was from a bygone era that wasn’t useful anymore. The things I believed in, like value, just didn’t seem to make sense anymore.

26. I’m still a long distance from smart. But I’m also a long distance from dumb.

27. There is no such thing as high returns without risk.

28. I want to grow. I don’t want to get stuck doing the same thing over and over and think I’m the best at it. It would hurt. But we’ll dust ourselves off and we’ll come back.

29. I’m a nationalist who believes huge opportunities are lost with every head office departure. We need to make things easier for Canadian-based companies. And I’m not talking about a lower dollar. That just sells our labour cheap.

30. I went to school in the United States, and I lived in the U.S. for seven years after that. I wanted to come back to Canada. I would say that at least half of the professional staff here have all been educated in the U.S. and worked in the U.S. but wanted to come back to Canada.

Gerry Schwartz Quotes: How to Build a Conglomerate from Scratch

31. We are a very Canadian company. Our head office is here. All our senior people live here and want to live here. We have a group in New York of quite senior people as well, but the bulk of the management team are Canadians who want to live in Canada.

32. We need an environment that fosters entrepreneurship and encourages young people in the new economy. If those people are there and want to stay in Canada, there would be lots of venture capital money for them. Money will follow the people and the ideas, not the other way around.

33. We’re a global business for sure. Our revenues last year were $15 billion and my guess would be that maybe $1 billion of that was in Canada. The rest of it was around the world. Does that make us a Canadian company or does that make us a company which is headquartered in Canada? I think we’re a Canadian company.

34. We would like to make a major Canadian acquisition. We would like to have a business that operates in Canada and provides either goods or services to Canadians. More people, more transactions; larger amounts of capital and identical philosophy.

35. Everybody is a real partner. And it makes a big difference.

36. Investments are like trains, and if you miss one, don’t worry because another one will come down the line.

37. We’ve got customers. We’ve got suppliers. We’ve got employees. We’ve got unions. We’ve got communities. We’ve got all of these things that go into making up whether a business succeeds or fails.

38. I've got a long time. I've got a long time. I've got 25 to 30 years of this; maybe longer. As long as I am healthy, I’m not going to retire.

39. Dying rich has always struck me as dumb…There is still lots I want to accomplish, and I have a number of philanthropic interests to support.

Madame C. J. Walker Quotes on Life and Success

Today, I want to share with you some quotes about life and success from Madame C. J. Walker; the first American millionaires who rose from slavery to financial freedom. If you are ready to learn from this self made millionaire, then below are Madame C. J. Walker quotes on life and success.

Madame C. J. Walker Quotes on Life and Success

1. I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.

2. God answered my prayer, for one night I had a dream, and in that dream a big black man appeared to me and told me what to mix up for my hair. Some of the remedy was grown in Africa, but I sent for it, mixed it, put it on my scalp, and in a few weeks my hair was coming in faster than it had ever fallen out. I tried it on my friends; it helped them. I made up my mind I would begin to sell it.

3. When we began to make $10 a day, my ex-husband thought that was enough, thought I ought to be satisfied. But I was convinced that my hair preparation would fill a long-felt want. And when we found it impossible to agree, due to his narrowness of vision, I embarked on business for myself.

4. I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations….I have built my own factory on my own ground.

5. I got my start by giving myself a start.

6. I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race.

7. 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.

8. Perseverance is my motto.

9. I am not ashamed of my past. I am not ashamed of my humble beginning.

Ralph Lauren Quotes on Goals, Vision, Success and Business

Today, I will be sharing with you the quotes and sayings of one of the world’s respected drop out billionaires in the fashion industry. This drop out billionaire is no other person than Ralph Lauren; the founder of Polo. Below are his quotes on goals, vision, success and business.

Ralph Lauren Quotes on Goals, Vision, Success and Business

1. Those ties were handmade, by the way. Back then, ties, even designer ones, didn't sell for more than $5 apiece. Mine were $12 to $15. Such luxury in something so simple was revolutionary.

2. I was working for a tie manufacturer doing private label for stores such as Brooks Brothers and Paul Stuart. I tried to convince them to do their own brand but they weren’t interested. So I approached another tie maker from Cincinnati and they got it.

3. At some point in my long relationship and love of cars, I became aware of a powerful degree of admiration for these highly creative individuals such as Ettore Bugatti and Enzo Ferrari, and David Brown at Aston Martin and Jaguar’s William Lyons. These men were spiritually connected to the cars they were developing. They were their brands. Their origins were based in something I look on or beyond as exciting sensibility. And that ‘exciting sensibility’ is an important part of what it takes to make people connect with what these automotive innovators were creating.

4. My goal in design is to achieve the best reality imaginable. I believe in design that has integrity, design that lasts, and whatever it is, it must be part of the lifestyle and become more personal with time.

5. Your vision is very important. You should know whom you’re selling to, what your marketing and advertising says about you, and whom it’s speaking to. Me personally, I don’t try to please everyone. I understand who I am selling to and I work towards that vision all the time.

6. I’m totally involved with all of my products. Everything I make is my message and for years my goal has been to make the things I love.

7. I am not looking like Armani today and somebody else tomorrow. I look like Ralph Lauren. And my goal is to constantly move in fashion and move in style without giving up what I am.

8. I’ve always loved sports but it didn’t make much sense to call my brand ‘Basketball’ or ‘Baseball’ so I decided on ‘Polo.’ Of course I didn’t play polo but I liked that it represented a feeling of being international, European and yet very healthy American.

9. It was the sport of kings. It was glamorous, sexy, and international.

10. What I do is about living. It’s about living the best life you can and enjoying the fullness of the life around you – from what you wear, to the way you live, to the way you love.

11. What matters the most to me are clothes that are consistent and accessible. When I look at the people I’ve admired over the years, the ultimate stars like Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Astaire, the ones who last the longest are the ones whose style has a consistency, whose naturalness is part of their excitement.

12. When you think of the blur of all the brands that are out there, the ones you believe in and the ones you remember, like Chanel and Armani, are the ones that stand for something. Fashion is about establishing an image that consumers can adapt to their own individuality. And it's an image that can change, that can evolve. It doesn't reinvent itself every two years.

13. It’s about broadening your scope through history and living your life. Tune in and pay attention.

14. There is something exciting about buying something you have to save for, as opposed to people who have had these things all their lives. There is more of a discerning taste that you develop.

15. I felt we were not connecting as much to young people from 14 to 29, so I created Rugby, which is more irreverent and schoolboy in feel than Polo.

16. The best thing you can do is go away from this saying, ‘I can do this too,’ because it’s all possible and I’m living proof.

17. I didn’t play finance as a kid. I played basketball.

18. For 30 years I had run a very successful private company. We went public at a very high number; then the market changed. And I was in a new game. I was in a world I didn't know. I could control everything else I did. I could work hard. I could run the company, and I had a good team, but they weren't Wall Street savvy.

19. There is a way of living that has a certain grace and beauty. It is not a constant race for what is next, rather, an appreciation of that which has come before.

19. What matters the most to me are clothes that are consistent and accessible. I believe in clothes that last, that are not dated in a season. The people who wear my clothes don't think of them as fashion.

20. Back then when I mentioned Polo most people would look at me funny and say ‘You mean like Marco Polo?’ I’m forever grateful that the company then through now has always had a substance of great dimensions and the potential to grow on a vast number of levels with attitudes and ideals shaped by my initial dream to express myself.

21. I’ve always believed one could live many lives through the way we dress and the places we travel to, even if just in our imagination. The world is open to us, and each day is an occasion to reinvent ourselves.

John Johnson Quotes on Business Success and Entrepreneurship

Today, I want to share with you some quotes on business success and entrepreneurship from John Johnson. John Johnson is the founder of Johnson Publishing Company; publishers of Negros Digest, Ebony magazine and Jet. He started Johnson Publishing from scratch and grew it into a success; and it’s these same business success strategies that he will be sharing with you today.

Without wasting much of your time, below are John Johnson quotes on business success and entrepreneurship.

John Johnson Quotes on Business Success and Entrepreneurship

1. When I see a barrier, I cry and I curse, and then I get a ladder and climb over it.

2. I was a working child. I learned how to work before I learned how to play.

3. Both my mother and I were determined that we weren't going to stay on welfare. We always worked toward doing better, toward having a better life. We never had any doubts that we would.

4. Failure is a word I don't accept.

5. The word I wanted to hear, then and now, was success. The energy I sought, then and now, was the energy that comes from focusing all your powers, like a beam, on a single point.

6. I used to lock myself up in my office and say the word success out loud, over and over, like a Buddhist monk chanting his mantra. I used to say to myself, 'John Johnson you can make it, John Johnson, you can make it, John Johnson, you can make it. John Johnson you can make it, John Johnson, you can and must make it.

7. Long shots do come in and hard work, dedication and perseverance will overcome almost any prejudice and open almost any door.

8. I would tell young people to start where they are with what they have and that the secret of a big success is starting with a small success and dreaming bigger and bigger dreams, I would tell them also that a young Black woman or a young Black man can't dream too much today or dare too much if he or she works hard, perseveres and dedicates themselves to excellence.

9. What a relief it was to discover that I wasn’t really an idiot! I simply had a learning disability.

10. All have disappointments; all have times when it isn't worthwhile.

John Johnson Quotes on Business Success and Entrepreneurship

11. Dream small dreams. If you make them too big, you get overwhelmed and you don't do anything. If you make small goals and accomplish them, it gives you the confidence to go on to higher goals.

12. Every day I run scared. That's the only way I can stay ahead.

13. It's better to get smart than to get mad. I try not to get so insulted that I will not take advantage of an opportunity to persuade people to change their minds.

14. My mother was the influence in my life. She was strong; she had great faith in the ultimate triumph of justice and hard work. She believed passionately in education.

15. Retirement is not in this company's vocabulary. If you are well and able to work, you can stay at the company and that's what I plan to do.

16. To succeed, one must be creative and persistent.

17. When I go in to see people – and I sell an occasional ad now – I never say, 'Help me because I am black' or 'Help me because I am a minority.' I always talk about what we can do for them.

18. You spend so much time in your profession it ought to be something you love.

19. My management style is based on the art of communication. For communication is an art, not a science. It is an emotion, not a statistic. And the best communicators know instinctively that to communicate effectively you must bypass intellectual centers and tap into the deepest fears, hopes and emotions of your audience.

20. I'm a hands-on, hands-in, hands-wrapped-around manager, and I believe it's impossible to separate good management from good communication.

John Johnson Quotes on Business Success and Entrepreneurship

21. If you can't finish this job today, maybe I can't sign your check on payday.

22. If you don't understand it, how do you expect me to understand it?

23. She believed in me and taught me to believe in myself. She taught me to dream, to dare and to never give up.

24. I'm convinced that the only way to get ahead in this world is to live and sell dangerously. You've got to live beyond your means. You've got to commit yourself to an act or vision that pulls you further than you want to go and forces you to use your hidden strengths

25. For you are stronger than you think you are. And what you need–what all men and women need–is an irrevocable act that forces you, on pain of disgrace, jail, or death to be the best you that you can be.

Lilian Vernon Quotes and Advice on Starting a Small Business

Today, I want to share with you some powerful insights and advice for starting a business from scratch. These business advice and quotes are the proven success principles of one of the world’s most respected women entrepreneur; Lilian Vernon.

In this article, Lilian Vernon will be sharing some insights on starting and running a business. She will also be sharing with us how to handle business challenges as a female entrepreneur and how to handle business risk. So I will suggest you read on as I share with you Lilian Vernon quotes and advice for starting a small business.

Lilian Vernon Quotes and Advice on Starting a Small Business

1. I first got started in business because I needed to supplement the family income. This was a good way to do it because I was going to have a child. Frankly, I was 20-odd years old and didn't know anything.

2. It was a risk. I had a husband and I was pregnant with my oldest son. But I don't look at risk the way other people do. When you're an entrepreneur, you have to go in feeling like you're going to be successful.

3. It's a quality you're born with, being an entrepreneur. I put an ad in a magazine and it worked. If it hadn't worked, I would have gone home and had five or six children.

4. My father ran his own business and it was successful. He certainly encouraged me. Don't forget I was an immigrant – my family immigrated to the United States from Germany during World War II. It was hard for him because he needed to learn the English language. He built a new business (in leather goods) when he came here. There are different ways of doing business in Europe. He had to learn how to do business in the United States.

5. If you're an entrepreneur, you keep adding. First, it was handbags and belts. Then I added household goods, which didn't do too well at first. So I went back to handbags and belts. That was a good way to grow the business. I had no idea how fast it would grow. It wasn't professional like it now is. We didn't have financial projections then.

6. I think there's one secret to all successes in any merchandising business, and that's the merchandise. I have been and still am a really great merchant. I have won many awards in the industry for being a great merchant.

7. I don't know how you can learn instinct. If you figure it out, call me back. I have been more right than wrong about merchandise over the years.

8. How did you balance growing the business with raising a family? "You just do. I had a business, a lot of orders, and a baby howling for supper. You balance it. You give your baby supper first and then get your orders in. I have worked on more holidays… but what are you going to do?"

9. It's hard for an entrepreneur to be a great manager. Many great entrepreneurs don't know how to balance the books. They need someone to do the financial end of the business. A great entrepreneur and a great manager are usually not the same person. The skills are very different.

10. I don't know if I'm a great manager. I think I'm a good manager. I'm tight-fisted, but have been good to employees and really cared about them. That's the advice I would give to other women entrepreneurs.

Lilian Vernon Quotes and Advice on Starting a Small Business

11. What is the biggest risk you have taken? "Probably when I got on the plane to go to China in 1980. It was a very strange country to me back then… the food, the rooms, the cockroaches. I said, 'The hell with it, I'm not going to be able to do business sitting from home.' I needed to go to see what (merchandise) China had to offer."

12. What do you see as your greatest success? "The fact that I was able to create a good home life and a good business life. I have maintained good relationships with my children. Both of my sons were involved in the business, though they're not any more. Also my good health, endurance and determination to feel that I'm on the right course."

13. What was your greatest challenge? "Staying alive as a business, staying ahead of the game, and melding my business life with my personal life."

14. I am a stick-with-it person. It's just my personality. I never give up. I had some buddies who taught me the jewelry business, others who taught me the mail-order business. When I went to China, friends there taught me how to import. As you go along in business, everyone will help you, but you have to ask for it.

15. The biggest mistake was that I didn't hire all the right people. I should have done better reference checks. I should have defined the roles in a much more professional manner. I hired people who just couldn't do the job.

16. The business had a really tough time during 9/11 – it was too tough for me to go on. So I put the business up for sale. With the whole anthrax thing, no one would buy from a mail-order catalog. I'm still involved in the business, but I don't run anything.

17. Work hard, that's the bottom line. Don't spend more money than you've got. Don't spend money before you've got it.

18. Don't try to be all things to all people. Concentrate on selling something unique that you know there is a need for, offer competitive pricing and good customer service.

19. I would advise those starting out to carefully research your niche and know your competition and the marketplace before you start a small business.

20. The competition is steep in the retail industry for the consumer dollar and customer loyalty is becoming less common. To start a successful business, you must have a unique product or service that the competition doesn't offer. You should also have enough capital reserved to sustain you through the first few years in business when your emphasis is on building your brand and a customer base.

Lilian Vernon Quotes and Advice on Starting a Small Business

21. I became successful due to several reasons. I never gave up and I never let anyone or anything get in my way. I use the power of positive thinking to tackle obstacles and challenges so they don't defeat me. Passion for my work and my business is another important reason. I really love my work and I get great satisfaction from it.

22. Our philosophy is "helping customers live better for less" and I live by these same principles. My home contains many Lillian Vernon products because I don't believe in selling products that I don't use or would not give as a gift.

23. Toughness is a good thing, yet it is considered good only in men. When a woman is tough, men can't stand it. I like being tough; tough and smart.

Michael Dell Quotes and Advice for Young Startup Entrepreneurs

Today, I will be sharing with you some quotes and advice for young startup entrepreneurs from one of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs; Michael Dell. Michael Dell is the billionaire founder of Dell and is on the list of drop out billionaires. From his wealth of experience, Michael Dell will be dropping some advice here on this business blog for young startup entrepreneurs and business owners.

If you are ready for some kick ass undiluted advice, then read on as I share with you Michael Dell’s business quotes and advice for young entrepreneurs.

Michael Dell Quotes and Advice for Young Startup Entrepreneurs

1. It is through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we've always mapped our path at Dell. There's always an opportunity to make a difference.

2. There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don't like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don't spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.

3. Our business is about technology, yes. But it's also about operations and customer relationships.

4. 20 years and $40 billion; they seem like good round numbers.

5. The interesting thing is when we design and architect a server, we don't design it for Windows or Linux; we design it for both. We don't really care, as long as we're selling the one the customer wants.

6. We have enormous potential to keep growing. It provides lots of learning opportunity for me and it is fun to see how so many people, so many communities are affected in a positive way by what we're doing here. I love my job and I'm not giving it up.

7. At the root of it, I was probably just opportunistic. I had and still have a great interest in computers. There was a business opportunity [with] this product that I really liked, and it all kind of lined up together.

8. I saw that you'd buy a PC for about $3,000, and inside that PC was about $600 worth of parts. IBM would buy most of these parts from other companies, assemble them, and sell the computer to a dealer for $2,000. Then the dealer, who knew very little about selling or supporting computers, would sell it for $3,000, which was even more outrageous.

9. Well, we started the company by building to the customer's order. And interestingly enough, we didn't do it because we saw some massive paradigm in the future. Basically, we just didn't have any capital to mass-produce.

10. One of the things I benefited from when I started this business was that I didn't know anything. I was just instinct with no preconceived notions. This enabled me to learn and change quickly without having to worry about maintaining any kind of status quo, like some of my bigger competitors.

Michael Dell Quotes and Advice for Young Startup Entrepreneurs

11. I had to give it a full go and see what happened. I couldn't resist the opportunity. The deal was, I would start into business full time in May, and at the end of August we would take a look and decide if it was doing well.

12. Sometimes you just have to belly up to the bar and take a chance. We made some mistakes, but we also had the strength to work our way out.

13. I think the '90s are going to see a greater integration between the human mind and the computer. Today, you have to communicate with a computer by a keyboard that is somewhat awkward and clumsy. We are working on other ways to do this. The best computer is the one you don't even know is there.

14. Don’t spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, that you miss the right opportunity.

15. Recognize that there will be failures, and acknowledge that there will be obstacles. But you will learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others, for there is very little learning in success.

16. Whether you’ve found your calling, or if you’re still searching, passion should be the fire that drives your life’s work.

17. The key is to listen to your heart and let it carry you in the direction of your dreams. I’ve learned that it’s possible to set your sights high and achieve your dreams and do it with integrity, character, and love. And each day that you’re moving toward your dreams without compromising who you are; you’re winning.

18. They were probably $800 or something like that, not super expensive and not very powerful either. They had cassette drives instead of hard-disk drives. It was even before the floppy disks. I'd largely do programming with Basic. I was kind of fascinated with the computing power and what that could do and what that would mean. It was just an enchanting device for me.

19. I dropped out of college because that's what I thought would happen. So, that for me was in 1984 and I started a company around that idea, believing that more and more people would know how to use PCs; that they would become easier to use, that even people could buy them without going to a store. We had a sense for it in the early '80s but certainly couldn't say we imagined it. It is just the way it happened.

20. I was, you know, rebellious–an 18, 19-year-old and just did what I wanted to do and all worked out OK.

Dave Thomas Quotes and Sayings about Life and Business

Dave Thomas is the drop out billionaire founder of Wendy’s and I will be sharing with his famous quotes and sayings about life and business.

Dave Thomas Quotes and Sayings about Life and Business

1. In the beginning there was nothing and God said 'Let there be light', and there was still nothing but everybody could see it.

2. It all comes back to the basic. Serve customers the best-tasting food at a good value in a clean, comfortable restaurant, and they'll keep coming back.

3. There's no one to stop you but yourself.

4. If there are things you don't like in the world you grew up in, make your own life different.

5. You can do what you want to do. You can be what you want to be.

6. I think the harder you work; the more luck you have.

7. I need 30 Ken Popes. I need guys with that demeanor. A great family guy. He's a great model for what we want.

8. If you want it bad enough…and try hard enough…you can get it? You can make your dreams come true.

9. What people forget is that every movie that gets made keeps making money for somebody FOREVER.

10. Jack has provided outstanding leadership and delivered excellent results during his 25-year career at Wendy's. He has the right combination of restaurant industry experience, management skills and strategic planning ability to lead our organization.

Dave Thomas Quotes and Sayings about Life and Business

11. There is not enough time to fix the wheel that's been broken. So this will give us some breathing room and will put pressure on those in leadership to get the job done this year.

12. Think about it. Any time you have family and you have people sitting around the table, normally our business should be good.

13. The more you give, the more you get in return.

14. Every child deserves a permanent home and loving family. If just one foster child is adopted, all of our work has been worth it.

15. When I was eight years old, I dreamed that I would one day own the best restaurant in the world. My restaurant would serve great tasting hamburgers made just the way you like them, and all of the customers would love the food and come back again and again. – From a school essay he wrote at 15 yrs called "The Pursuit of happiness."

16. Hard work is good for the soul, and it keeps you from feeling sorry for yourself because you don't have time.

17. Only in America would a guy like me, from humble beginnings and without a high school diploma become successful. America gave me a chance to life the life I want and work to make my dreams come true. We should never take our freedoms for granted, and we should seize every opportunity presented to us.

18. I thought if I owned a restaurant, I could eat for free.

19. Thomas said, “Mary Kay Ash, 3 April 2002 Foundation Watch founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once told me something I’ll never forget. She said the one suggestion she got in life that helped her most was to ‘pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, “Make me feel important.’

20. Anytime I had any doubts, you know what I would do? I’d have a double cheese with mustard, pickle and onion, a bowl of chili and a Frosty. And I’d say, ‘I know we can sell
this. It’s fantastic.”

Dave Thomas Quotes and Sayings about Life and Business

21. I mean, if I’m dead, why would I care about it anyway? I’d rather be remembered while I’m living.

22. If we take care of our customers every day and exceed their expectations, we’ll earn their loyalty. It all comes back to the basics: serve customers the best tasting food at a good value in a clean, comfortable restaurant and they’ll keep coming back.

23. I’m just a hamburger cook.

24. Giving back is the right thing to do. If you can provide financial support to community groups, do that. If you can only afford to give your time and energy, that's just as important. When you give back, you get something important in return – the knowledge you've made a positive change in the community and lent a hand to someone in need.

25. A great leader is someone who practices what they preach. They lead by example, create a sense of loyalty and teamwork, and are active in the community sharing their success with those in need.

26. You can't have a clean floor with a dirty mop bucket. To be successful, you need to take care of the basics of your business – and that means making sure you don't overlook the little details.

27. What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone. Know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.

28. Everyone has an opportunity to succeed. You can be anything you want within the laws of God and Man.

29. Take care of your business and your business will take care of you.

30. Share your success and help others succeed. Give everyone a chance to have a piece of the pie. If the pie's not big enough, make a bigger pie.

Dave Thomas Quotes and Sayings about Life and Business

31. Whether you sell hamburgers or computers, we're all in the customer service business. Our goal must be to exceed our customers' expectations every day.

32. Everyone, at any age, should be involved in their communities. Giving back doesn't just mean financial support…it's also an investment of time and energy. By supporting our communities, we are making them a better place to live.

33. The more you give, the more you get in return.

34. We have a responsibility to help others who can't help themselves.

35. Believe in your dream. People may tell you that you won't make it, that you're wasting your time. If you keep your dream in mind, have done your research and are willing to work hard, you can make it come true.

36. What's the secret to success? It's no secret. You need a winning attitude, honesty and integrity, and a burning desire to succeed.

37. You earn your reputation by the things you do every day.

38. When you greet someone, look them in the eye and say their name. It's a sign of respect.

39. Get all the education you can. Who knows what more I could have achieved if I'd stayed in school and went to college? The possibilities are endless when you have an education.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

Today, I will be sharing with you the success quotes and formula of one of the world’s greatest motivational speaker and personal development quotes and that person is no other than “Jim Rohn.” Jim Rohn was an American entrepreneur, motivational speaker, success and personal development coach. During his life time and even in death, his success formula and teachings continues to influence millions of lives all over the world.

The success quotes and success formula of Jim Rohn is so effective that it influenced positively the lives of people like Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, T. V. Eker and it’s this same success formula and quotes that I will be sharing with you today. If you are ready to be inspired; then read on as I share with you Jim Rohn’s success formula and quotes for achieving greatness.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

1. A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.

2. A novel is never anything, but a philosophy put into images.

3. Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.

4. Asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don't go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won't laugh at you.

5. Better understated than overstated. Let people be surprised that it was more than you promised and easier than you said.

6. Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming.

7. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

8. Don't bring your need to the marketplace, bring your skill. If you don't feel well, tell your doctor, but not the marketplace. If you need money, go to the bank, but not the marketplace.

9. Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it.

10. Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

11. Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.

12. Either you run the day or the day runs you.

13. Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.

14. Failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.

15. For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward.

16. Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.

17. Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are with the gift of your attention.

18. Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.

19. Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.

20. Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

21. If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.

22. If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.

23. 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.

24. If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree.

25. If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us.

26. It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.

27. It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.

28. Labor gives birth to ideas.

29. Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.

30. Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

31. Make measurable progress in reasonable time.

32. Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't go well.

33. Miss a meal if you have to, but don't miss a book.

34. Money is usually attracted, not pursued.

35. Part of your heritage in this society is the opportunity to become financially independent.

36. Some people plant in the spring and leave in the summer. If you're signed up for a season, see it through. You don't have to stay forever, but at least stay until you see it through.

37. Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

38. Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.

39. Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.

40. Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

41. Success is steady progress toward one's personal goals.

42. Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.

43. Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.

44. Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experience and invest them in the future.

45. The book you don't read won't help.

46. The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path.

47. The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.

48. The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.

49. The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.

50. The more you know the less you need to say.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

51. The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself.

52. The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.

53. The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized – never knowing.

54. There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes; it’s what we do with them that is important.

55. Things that I felt absolutely sure of but a few years ago, I do not believe now. This thought makes me see more clearly how foolish it would be to expect all men to agree with me.

56. Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.

57. To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?

58. We get paid for bringing value to the market place.

59. We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.

60. Whatever good things we build end up building us.

Jim Rohn Quotes and Success Formula for Achieving Greatness

When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it. Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness – great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.

61. Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.

62. Words do two major things: They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.

63. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.

64. You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.

65. You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.

66. You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.

67. Your philosophy determines whether you will go for the disciplines or continue the errors.

Walt Disney Quotes on Dreams, Imagination and Life

Today, I will be sharing with you some of Walt Disney’s quotes on dreams, imagination and life. But before I share Walt Disney’s quotes with you, let’s take a glance at his bio.

Walt Elias Disney was an American film producer; animator, director, entertainer, entrepreneur, screen writer and voice actor. He is the co-founder of The Walt Disney Company; a billion dollar company. Walt Disney is well known for his creative imagination; which saw the creation of one of the most popular character “Mickey Mouse.”

Walt Disney is on our list of school dropped billionaires; as he dropped out of school at the age of 16. Before his death, Walt Disney left behind some quotes on dreams, imagination and life.

Walt Disney Quotes on Dreams, Imagination and Life

1. “I am interested in entertaining people, in bringing pleasure, particularly laughter, to others, rather than being concerned with 'expressing' myself with obscure creative impressions.”

2. “We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public.”

3. “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.”

4. “When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do. And one thing it takes to accomplish something is courage.”

5. “I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess.”

6. “Somehow I can't believe there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C's. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is Confidence. When you believe a thing, believe it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.”

7. “I never called my work an 'art.' It's part of show business, the business of building entertainment.”

8. “I am not influenced by the techniques or fashions of any other motion picture company.”

9. “Whenever I go on a ride, I'm always thinking of what's wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.”

10. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

Walt Disney Quotes on Dreams, Imagination and Life

11. “The era we are living in today is a dream of coming true.”

12. “Tomorrow can be a wonderful age.”

13. “You are dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.”

14. “I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn't know how to get along without it.”

15. “You reach a point where you don't work for money.”

16. “I have no use for people who throw there weight around as celebrities, or for those who fawn over you just because you are famous.”

17. “Adults are interested if you don't play down to the little 2 or 3 year olds or talk down. I don't believe in talking down to children. I don't believe in talking down to any certain segment. I like to kind of just talk in a general way to the audience. Children are always reaching.”

18. “A man should never neglect his family for business.”

19. “When we consider a project, we really study it–not just the surface idea, but everything about it. And when we go into that new project, we believe in it all the way. We have confidence in our ability to do it right. And we work hard to do the best possible job.”

20. “Biggest problem? Well, I'd say it's been my biggest problem all my life; ‘money.’ It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true. From the very start it was a problem; getting the money to open Disneyland. About seventeen million it took. And we had everything mortgaged including my personal insurance.”

Walt Disney Quotes on Dreams, Imagination and Life

21. “It's no secret that we were sticking just about every nickel we had on the chance that people would really be interested in something totally new and unique in the field of entertainment.”

22. “When we opened Disneyland, a lot of people got the impressions that it was a get-rich-quick thing, but they didn't realize that behind Disneyland was this great organization that I built here at the Studio, and they all got into it and we were doing it because we loved to do it.”

23. “We did it (Disneyland), in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a financial disaster – closed and forgotten within the first year.”

24. “I first saw the site for Disneyland back in 1953, In those days it was all flat land – no rivers, no mountains, no castles or rocket ships – just orange groves, and a few acres of walnut trees.”

25. “It's something that will never be finished; something that I can keep developing and adding to.”

26. “Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.”

27. “I'm doing this because I want to do it better.”

28. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

29. “I don't have depressed moods. I'm happy, just very, very happy.”

50 Famous Life Quotes about Success in Business

Today, I will be sharing with you 50 famous quotes about life; specifically tailored for entrepreneurs. Do you want to know the hard core truth about achieving success in business and life? Do you want to know what it takes to go through the entrepreneurial process of starting a business? Do you need inspiration to face your business challenges squarely?

Do you want to know what it takes to build a successful business and become a billionaire? Then read on as I share with you 50 famous life quotes about success in business for entrepreneurs and business owners.

50 Famous Life Quotes about Success in Business

1. “Share your success and help others succeed. Give everyone a chance to have a piece of the pie. If the pie's not big enough, make a bigger pie.” – Dave Thomas

2. “The greatest failure is not to try. Had I listened to all the people during the course of my life who said, “You can’t. You’ll fail. It won’t work. You don’t have…,” I wouldn’t be here today.” – Debbi Fields

3. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estee Lauder

4. “Luck, naïveté, willingness to roll the dice to do something productive, were all individual parts of the puzzle.” – Fred Smith

5. “There is no such thing as high returns without risk.” – Gerry Schwartz

6. “From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.” – Robert Noyce

7. “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me. And I have done that ever since, and I win by it. I know.” – Harland Sanders

8. “You must be very patient, very persistent. The world isn't going to shower gold coins on you just because you have a good idea. You're going to have to work like crazy to bring that idea to the attention of people. They're not going to buy it unless they know about it.” – Herb Kelleher

9. “I am an extreme optimist, while my husband likes to play the devil’s advocate. He wants to know the worst thing that can happen. I don’t even want to think about the worst case. I provide the discipline and stick-to-it-iveness.” – Jenny Craig

10. “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.” – Jim Rohn

50 Famous Life Quotes about Success in Business

11. “I'm convinced that the only way to get ahead in this world is to live and sell dangerously. You've got to live beyond your means. You've got to commit yourself to an act or vision that pulls you further than you want to go and forces you to use your hidden strengths.” – John Johnson

12. “When my company started really growing, I didn’t have any help in my house at all. I had the upkeep of my daily life, I had a one year old and a three year old, and I had my house. So I had to prioritize.” – Julie Aigner Clark

13. “That’s why I am always conservative. I never forget to maintain stability while advancing, and I never forget to advance while maintaining stability.” – Li Ka Shing

14. “It was a risk. I had a husband and I was pregnant with my oldest son. But I don't look at risk the way other people do. When you're an entrepreneur, you have to go in feeling like you're going to be successful.” – Lilian Vernon

15. “I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations….I have built my own factory on my own ground.” – Madame C. J. Walker

16. “It’s called working your ass off. The difference is what you are willing to sacrifice. For every writer who wants balance in their life, there is a guy like me who gives up a lot to make their dreams come true. There is always going to be someone out there that knows they have to compensate for maybe having less talent with harder work and preparation.” – Mark Cuban

17. “I find that when you have a real interest in life and a curious life, that sleep is not the most important thing.” – Martha Stewart

18. “Don’t spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, that you miss the right opportunity.” – Michael Dell

19. “I think those challenges are really critical and really important. What you learn from them is, of course, kind of what they say, ‘If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger,’ and it’s true. And what you learn from those challenges and those failures are what will get you past the next ones.” – Pierre Omidyar

20. “If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.” – Ray Kroc

50 Famous Life Quotes about Success in Business

21. “It was an extremely satisfying experience. Taking smart risks can be very gratifying.” – Reed Hastings

22. “Whenever I see an opportunity and a chance to change something, I go at it and I lay out all the facts to everybody…And when I come to this space, I'm going to come with talent, I'm going to come with focus. And I'm going to do the job as competitively as the next guy.” – Robert Johnson

23. “Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction.” – Sam Walton

24. “Above all, you want to create something you are proud of. That’s always been my philosophy of business. I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive, then I believe you are better off doing nothing.” – Richard Branson

25. “It is better to aim at perfection and miss it than to aim at imperfection and hit it.” – Thomas Watson

26. “Do something. Either lead; follow or get out of the way.” – Ted Turner

27. “And that's the secret. Timing, hard work and smart partners. Using that formula, I've either founded or funded over 80 companies, and none have gone bankrupt. Most have done very well.” – Terry Matthew

28. “I never thought I'd be successful. It seems in my own mind that in everything I've undertaken I've never quite made the mark. But I've always been able to put disappointments aside. Success isn't about the end result; it's about what you learn along the way.” – Vera Wang

29. “Overcoming hardships and working around and through their obstacles to achieve an education is what I call a true success.” – Wayne Huizenga

30. “If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just.” – Anita Roddick

50 Famous Life Quotes about Success in Business

31. “For whatsoever thy hands find to do, do it with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave.” – Ecclesiastes 9: 10

32. “You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you towards success? Or are they holding you back?” – W. Clement Stone

33. "Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you are generally better off sticking with what you know and the third is that sometimes, your best investments are the ones you don't make." – Donald Trump

34. “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” – Bill Gates

35. "Behind every adversity is an opportunity. If you lament over the adversity, you will miss the opportunity." – Ajaero Tony Martins

36. "It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste." – Henry Ford

37. "If you see a snake, just kill it. Don't appoint a committee on snakes." – Henry Ross Perot

38. “Time is your most important resource. You can do so much in ten minutes. Ten minutes; once gone is gone for good.” – Ingvar Kamprad

39. "Anything is possible if you've got enough nerve." – J. K. Rowling

40. "Patience; this is the greatest business asset. Wait for the right time to make your moves." – J. Paul Getty

50 Famous Life Quotes about Success in Business

41. “I do not believe in excuses. I believe in hard work as the prime solvent of life’s problems.” – James Cash Penny

42. “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.” – Jeff Bezos

43. "Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great." – John D. Rockefeller

44. "The most important aspect of my personality as far as determining my success goes; has been my questioning conventional wisdom, doubting experts and questioning authority. While that can be painful in your relationships with your parents and teachers, it's enormously useful in life." – Larry Ellison

45. “You are nuts and you should be proud of it. Stick with what you believe in.” – Trip Hawkins

46. "When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure." – Mary Kay Ash

47. “You have to be open-minded when those early opportunities present themselves; take advantage of them whether they’re going to make you a lot of money or not.” – Rachael Ray

48. "Start small and dream big." – Rich Dad

49. “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice; and most important, 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

50. “Let us do or die.” – Warren Buffett