Date posted: 09/02/2017 3 min read

25 inspiring quotes every entrepreneur should live by

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, soak up these 25 quotes from those who have taken that journey

In brief

  • Budding entrepreneurs can learn a lot by studying out how other entrepreneurs achieved their success
  • These 25 quotes from CEOs, world leaders and activists have inspired others to achieve greatness
  • The quotes includes wisdom from Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Henry Ford on entrepreneurship

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, study someone who is a successful entrepreneur to find out how they did it.  

Whether you are already an entrepreneur, or are on the road to becoming one, here are 25 inspiring quotes from CEOs, world leaders and activists.

  1. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”
    Estée Lauder, Estee Lauder companies
  2. “‘Entrepreneur’ is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create.”
    David Karp, Tumblr founder and CEO
  3. “To any entrepreneur: if you want to do it, do it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it.”
    Catherine Cook, co-founder of MyYearbook
  4. “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.”
    Nolan Bushnell, entrepreneur
  5. “If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” 
    Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook
  6.  “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
    Chinese proverb
  7. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
    Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company
  8. “If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.”
    Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s
  9. “Watch, listen, and learn. You can’t know it all yourself. Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.”
    Donald Trump, chairman of The Trump Organisation, the Trump Plaza Associates, LLC – and current US President
  10. “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” 
    Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple
  11. “Being aware of your fear is smart. Overcoming it is the mark of a successful person.”
    Seth Godin, marketing expert and bestselling author
  12. "Don’t take too much advice. Most people who have a lot of advice to give – with a few exceptions – generalise whatever they did. Don’t over-analyse everything. I myself have been guilty of over-thinking problems. Just build things and find out if they work."
    Ben Silbermann, Pinterest founder
  13. "All you have in business is your reputation – so it's very important that you keep your word."
    Richard Branson, Virgin group founder
  14. “We are currently not planning on conquering the world.” 
    Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google  
  15. “Don’t worry about funding if you don’t need it. Today it’s cheaper to start a business than ever.”
    Noah Everett, founder Twitpic
  16. "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."
    Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
  17. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those doing it."
    Chinese proverb
  18. "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."
    Eleanor Roosevelt, American politician, diplomat, and activist 
  19. "Chase the vision, not the money. The money will end up following you."
    Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO
  20. "The value of an idea lies in the using of it."
    Thomas Edison, General Electric co-founder
  21. "It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen."
    Scott Belsky, Behance co-founder
  22. "Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once."
    Drew Houston, Dropbox founder and CEO
  23. "Fail often so you can succeed sooner." 
    Tom Kelley, IDEO partner
  24. "Data beats emotions."
    Sean Rad, Adly and Tinder founder
  25. "If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late."
    Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn founder