” 20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow line. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain”

Do you have what it takes to succeed? 

Read what some of the most accomplished entrepreneurs, renowned leaders, academics and successful businessmen have to say about what succeeding in business and in life, seeking opportunity, facing challenge,  courage, seizing opportunities, tackling challenge, taking risks, failing, falling and getting back up in the pursuit of success.

On Failure

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of  failure.” - Bill Cosby 

“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” - Bo Bonnett 

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed”       -Michael Jordan 

“Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”-  Steve Jobs  

On Courage

“The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.” - Richard Branson 

“I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.” -Steve Blank 

“The balloons only have one life and the only way of finding out whether they work is to attempt to fly around the world.”- Richard Branson

“Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you  can lose” - Tom Krause 

Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.
— Author Unknown

“One finds limits by pushing them.”-Herbert Simon Risk Taking

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow’” - Mary Anne Radmacher 

“You rarely regret saying no but you often regret saying yes.” - 37 Signals 

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts”- Winston Churchill 

On Motivation

“It is by will alone that set my mind in motion”—Author unknown

“Be amazing. Be everywhere. Be real”- Jason Calacanis

“If you only do what you know you can do—you never do very much”- Tom Krause 

“Whatever you’re thinking- think bigger” - Tony Hsieh, cofounder Zappos

“Get off the bitch train and start”- Gary Vaynerchuck

“The optimist sees opportunity in every danger; the pessimist sees danger in every  opportunity.” - Winston Churchill 

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take”- Wayne Gretzky

 “The real world isn’t a place, it’s an excuse. It’s a justification for not trying.” - 37 Signals

“Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.”- Andrew Grove 

On Willpower and Strength

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. - Jane Adams

“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength” 

“When you’re ready to quit- you’re closer than you think”.- Bob Parson, CEO and Founder, Godaddy

“One finds limits by pushing them.”-Herbert Simon Risk Taking

On Business

 ”Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.” - Warren Buffet 

“Whenever you can, swap “lets think about it’ with “Let’s decide on it” -37 signals 

“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” - Richard Branson

“Regardless of how good a product is, the only product that sells is the one the consumer is aware of.” -Ries and Trout on Marketing

“Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.”- Steve Jobs 

“Marketing begins before the product is launched.”- Seth Godin 

“Implement solutions, not features” - John Geleynse, Apple

“You can’t paint over a bad experience with good marketing”.- 37 Signals

All companies have customers. Fortunate companies have audiences too. - 37 Signals 

“Don’t hire for pleasure; hire to kill pain.” -Jason Fried on Business

“Marketing is not a department, it’s the sum total of everything you do.”

“Decisions are temporary, so make the call and move on”. - 37 Signals

“Great businesses have a point of view, not just a product or service. You have to believe in something.”- 37 Signals

If you build a great experience, customers tell eachother about that. Word of mouth is a very powerful.- Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO, Amazon on Product Design

“9 out of 10 products are introduced to fill a void in the company’s product line, not to fill a void in the market.” Ries and Trout on Product Strategy

“If you’re not working on your best idea right now, you’re doing it wrong”- DHH, Creator, Ruby on Rails on Motivation

 “When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts.” -Larry Ellison, Cofounder and CEO, Oracle 

“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” - Steve Jobs on Business Strategy

“It’s a problem, when it’s a problem” - 37 Signals, Rework Business Strategy

“Complexity is not to be admired. It is to be avoided-Lisa Fortini-Campbell, Ph.D. on Business Strategy

“Chase the vision, not the money. The money will end up following you” - Tony Hsieh, Zappos 

“Always look for the fool in the deal. If you don’t find one, it’s you,”- Mark Cuban, Cofounder Honet Realism

 “In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words; people, product and profits. Unless you’ve got a good team, you can’t do much with the other two.” - Lea Lacocca Business