Quotation Collection

Laughing at an ignorant person for asking questions is like laughing at a fat person for being at the gym. Anonymous

• criticism

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge. Stephen Hawking

• science
• knowledge
• ignorance

[I]f you don't know somebody very well, you can ask them, "Who are your heroes?" You can learn a lot about someone by knowing who their heroes are. Steve Jobs

• heroes

When you start looking at a problem, it seems really simple—because you don't understand its complexity. And your solutions are way too oversimplified, and they don't work. Then you get into the problem and you see it's really complicated. And you come up with all these convoluted solutions. That's where most people stop, and the solutions tend to work for a while. But the really great person will keep going and find the key underlying principle of the problem and sort of come full circle with a beautiful, elegant solution that works. Steve Jobs

• simplicity

Most people don't know why they're doing what they're doing. They imitate others, go with the flow, and follow paths without making their own. They spend decades in pursuit of something that someone convinced them they should want, without realizing that it won't make them happy. Derek Sivers

• purpose

This is the source.

You can't please everyone, so proudly exclude people. Derek Sivers

• criticism

This is the source.

A business plan should never take more than a few hours of work. Hopefully no more than a few minutes. The best plans start simple. A quick glance and common sense should tell you if the numbers will work. The rest are details. Derek Sivers

• business

This is the source.

If you think your life's purpose needs to hit you like a lightning bolt, you'll overlook the little day-to-day things that fascinate you. If you think revolution needs to feel like war, you'll overlook the importance of simply serving people better. When you're on to something great, it won't feel like revolution. It'll feel like uncommon sense. Derek Sivers

• purpose

This is the source.

Present each new idea or improvement to the world. If multiple people are saying, "Wow! Yes! I need this! I'd be happy to pay you to do this!" then you should probably do it. But if the response is anything less, don't pursue it. Derek Sivers

• business

This is the source.

Never forget that absolutely everything you do is for your customers. Make every decision—even decisions about whether to expand the business, raise money, or promote someone—according to what's best for your customers. Derek Sivers

• business

This is the source.

If you want to be useful, you can always start now, with only 1 percent of what you have in your grand vision. It'll be a humble prototype version of your grand vision, but you'll be in the game. You'll be ahead of the rest, because you actually started, while others are waiting for the finish line to magically appear at the starting line. Derek Sivers

• business
• initiative

This is the source.

Ideas are just a multiplier of execution. Derek Sivers

• ideas
• execution

This is the source.

Never forget that there are thousands of businesses, like Jim's Fish Bait Shop in a shack on a beach somewhere, that are doing just fine without corporate formalities. As your business grows, never let the leeches sucker you into all that stuff they pretend you need. They'll play on your fears, saying that you need this stuff to protect yourself against lawsuits. They'll scare you with horrible worst-case scenarios. But those are just sales tactics. You don't need any of it. Derek Sivers

• business
• bureaucracy

This is the source.

You need to confidently exclude people, and proudly say what you're not. By doing so, you will win the hearts of the people you want. Derek Sivers

• business

This is the source.

Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn't that enough? Derek Sivers

• service
• contentment
• business

This is the source.

How do you grade yourself? It's important to know in advance, to make sure you're staying focused on what's honestly important to you, instead of doing what others think you should. Derek Sivers

• values
• excellence
• self improvement

This is the source.

There's a big difference between being self-employed and being a business owner. Being self-employed feels like freedom until you realize that if you take time off, your business crumbles. To be a true business owner, make sure you could leave for a year, and when you came back, your business would be doing better than when you left. Derek Sivers

• business

This is the source.

Anything you hate to do, someone else loves. So find that person and let him do it. Derek Sivers

• management

This is the source.

No matter which goal you choose, there will be lots of people telling you you're wrong. Just pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you. Pay close attention to when you're being the real you and when you're trying to impress an invisible jury. Derek Sivers

• goals
• criticism

This is the source.

[I]n all my years of private practice I've never heard one of my young clients (the children) mention "quality time." All a child knows is that he wants your time and your attention, whether it's to watch him do somersaults and cartwheels or to take him for a Big Mac. In trying to find time for your children, don't worry too much about how much "quality" is in it. Give them all the time you can and the quality will take care of itself. Kevin Leman

• priorities
• children

Reality is a great teacher, and if you teach children to learn from reality, its lessons will continue through their whole lives. Kevin Leman

• education

Don't let yourself be victimized by the age you live in. It's not the times that will bring us down, any more than it's society. When you put the blame on society, then you end up turning to society for the solution. Just like those poor neurotics at the Care Fest. There's a tendency today to absolve individuals of moral responsiblity and treat them as victims of social circumstance. You buy that, you pay with your soul. It's not men who limit women, it's not straights who limit gays, it's not whites who limit black. What limits people is lack of character. What limits people is that they don't have the fucking nerve or imagination to star in their own movie, let alone direct it. Tom Robbins

• responsibility

The whole story of human and personal progress is an unmitigated tale of denials today-denials of rest, denials or repose and comfort and ease and pleasure-that tomorrow may be richer. James Carroll

• sacrifice

Happy people learn that happiness, like sweat, is a by-product of activity. You can only achieve happiness if you are too busy living your life to notice whether you are happy or not. Frank Pittman

• action
• happiness