10 Quotes about success and why they inspire me!
May 29, 2017
I love quotes! Somehow they can get a whole world of meaning into just a few words. I find they inspire me in all sorts of different ways. So I thought I’d share a few of my favourites and say how and why they inspire me.
“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing it and by falling over”
Sir Richard Branson
To be successful sometimes I think we have to break the mould and do things that maybe others think are a little crazy. That is not to say we should take silly risks or that we shouldn’t seek good counsel when faced with a decision but mostly we learn by doing. Nearly always that will involve falling over – if running a business is a new thing for you then you will need to learn lots of skills and that will mean falling over. The important thing is that, like a child learning to walk, you just get right back up and try again.
“It’s not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.”
Charles Darwin
The world is changing and the business world especially so. Things that might have been effective a few years ago simply may not be any more. Look at the way social media has changed advertising for example. To me the important thing is always to be ready to change, maybe you’ve planned to do things in particular way then you realise doing it differently may be more effective – well change! If the market changes or your customer base changes then to survive in business you must be prepared to change too.
“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”
Jack Ma (founder of Alibaba group)
Being in business is not always easy. In fact at the beginning I would say it is never easy. It’s almost a guarantee that there will be days when you feel like giving up, and for some that is exactly what they do. But often success might be just around the corner. To be successful you need to be tenacious and get through the tough days to reach the better days.
“I only do what my gut tells me to. I think it is smart to listen to other people’s advice, but at the end of the day you’re the only one who can tell you what’s right for you.”
Jennifer Lopez
I am a strong believer in the power of intuition. I am one of those ‘go with your gut’ people so this is particularly inspiring for me. I do take advice and I am willing to learn but I also listen to my intuition and so far that has been good. If you want to read more about trusting your intuition click here
“The difference between winning and losing is often not quitting”
Walt Disney
Just for the record it is ok to decide that a particular path is not for you. But to me that is more about changing direction than quitting. Often the key to success is simply to keep going, maybe moving your aim slightly but still moving forward. It might not be easy but it will usually bring about success in the long run. But of course you do need to be really clear about you want to achieve, or how will you ever know that you are actually being successful.
“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”
Michael Jordan
In life as well as in business sometimes I find I expect a lot of others. But that simply isn’t fair unless I am also prepared to expect a lot of myself, which I do. The path to being successful in business is paved with high expectations and lots of hard work. Inlife generally I don’t think you can expect others to do things you aren’t prepared to do yourself.
“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong you want to right. If you are not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.”
Steve Jobs
This is one of my most favourites. If you could take it or leave it then running a business will be tough. A sense of passion is what makes it all possible, don’t do something you feel half-hearted about do something that sets you on fire., that way you’ll be happy to make the effort put the hours in and make any sacrifices that are necessary.
“We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”
Whoopi Goldberg
This is linked to the one above, often the thing that can really get people passionate is serving their customers in some way. Helping others reach their potential is what Attuned Success is all about.
“I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.”
Estee Lauder
However passionate you feel, however much you might want to help people, to be successful will involve hard work. It might mean working when everyone else is relaxing, it might mean taking courses to learn new skills it might ell involve spending money as well as time and effort to build your business. So if you’d be happy doing anything else then that’s probably what you should do. If you are determined however and prepared to work hard then the rewards can be great.
“Your true success in life begins when you make the commitment to become excellent at what you do.”
Brian Tracy
Being good at something takes time and effort, it will often involve investment and possible sacrifices. If you want to be successful then you need to make a commitment to becoming excellent.
So where do you find inspiration – why not share your favourite success quotes.
