I am a big fan of quotes. For me, quotes help me enter the minds of geniuses and people whom i know i would never meet because they are dead or people i have not had the opportunity of meeting yet. I respect entrepreneurs. This is because i see entrepreneurs as dreamers, creators, marketers and leaders. Everything we see around us was initially an idea. Apple was an idea, Facebook was an idea cars were first an idea. It took an individual to sit down and say "i can really bring this idea to life" then he started creating or inventing whatever it is you see today. One interesting thing about an idea is, the one who brings it to life or makes something out of it is not the only person who has actually thought of it. I bet there were thousand and one others who also thought of the same idea. But that is what differentiates the entrepreneur from others. An entrepreneur is willing to create something when everybody has had the same thought and discarded it. They end up working extremely hard to bring their ideas be it a service or a product to fruition. Therefore it is little wonder that the idea that succeeds makes these entrepreneurs extremely rich. We enjoy the goods and services we have to day thanks to the creative thinking of entrepreneurs. But entrepreneurship is not easy that is why many startups fail. Therefore as an aspiring entrepreneur i have some great quotes by successful people i live by. Here are a few of them.
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.-Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison is a storied entrepreneur and inventor of the light bulb and this quote by him really strikes a chord with me. I mean 10,000 ways? seriously? this by any means is is too large a number for failure that a lot of people would give up. If a perceived genius is failing this number of times then what hope is there for the rest of us. Because whatever idea it is the entrepreneur is not succeeding at costs money, time energy and the emotional pain. Hell! by the 5th or 6th try and it's not working i'm done not to talk of 10,000 (that is why i have not played lumosity for a while now). But the core of this quote is noteworthy. In that, it teaches the tenets of hard work, perseverance, focus and agility. Which are all must haves if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.
A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd-Max Lucado
This is such a powerful quote that really sums up the entrepreneurs relationship with naysayers. I know by now you've read or heard countless stories by entrepreneurs who said initially their ideas were discouraged and rejected. There are many stories out there especially in the book/publishing industry where some of the best selling books were rejected by renowned publishing houses. This quote therefore is powerful for me in the sense that, since most ideas shared by entrepreneurs to his friends, family, associates among others are usually new and unheard of, it is bound to receive some level of resistance. But most times successful entrepreneurs have to go with their gut and intuition therefore expect as an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur "this would not work" sentence when you share your idea with family and friends. A lot of close relations say this to you because they feel they care about you to see sink your money, time and energy into something that might not work out. This quote therefore is all about your determination to make a difference with your idea. One way to measure whether you idea will be successful is to evaluate whether it would solve a social problem . This quote and "if i had asked people what they wanted" quote by Henry Ford are cousins.
I was dyslexic, i had no understanding of schoolwork whatsoever. I certainly would have failed IQ tests. And it was one of the reasons why i left school. And if i'm not interested in something i don't grasp it.- Sir Richard Branson
I heard of Sir Branson because he's the founder of Virgin Airlines and i honestly thought of him as an airline industry veteran. i figured, for someone who owned a successful airline he had worked in the airline industry for years and after he had mastered the art of running an airline he started Virgin. It wasn't until i read his bio that i learnt how he dropped out of school to start working on his own. For someone who did not even finish high school how did he become so successful? That is when i noticed his bio said he started doing business at age 16, virgin was founded in 1984 which means he had had 18 years of training working as an entrepreneur before founding Virgin airlines. This is a long period of education and personal training again throw in the 10,000 hour rule and you have a successful entrepreneur. The quote has an emphasis on "interest" which i think is key because developing interest for something be it a sport, skill or an art would make you want to learn more about it and if you fail your passion for that interest would likely make you want to try again and that is how you gradually build knowledge and stamina as an individual. Be prepared for failure if you want to be an entrepreneur and see failure not as a problem but rather as a learning curve and a challenge.
We face neither East nor West: We face forward-Kwame Nkrumah
This is a great quote from Dr. Kwame Nkrumah one of Africas' greatest leaders of all time and a proud national of Ghana my country. Ask who Dr Nkrumah was and you would get responses such as 'visionary', 'strong-willed' etc and i would like to add 'entrepreneur'. A lot of projects and things he did in Ghana are still being enjoyed today just like we enjoy Thomas Edisons' light bulb. I love this quote from this great leader because it is about focus and having a sense of direction. Usually when an entrepreneur has no sense of direction, he/she can be easily swayed to unimportant matters that is not part of his mission. Having a sense of focus also gives stamina and perseverance.
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