Entrepreneurship isnât always easy, and sometimes you feel like giving up. Sometimes youâll feel like youâre stuck and not making progress. In those instances, inspiring quotes from successful entrepreneurs can help you keep going.
Entrepreneurship takes lots of work, and you wonât always see results daily. However, putting in the time and effort is still essential if you want to see long-term success in life.
As an entrepreneur, you donât have a boss. Youâre the business owner and your boss, and you must stay motivated to get anything done. Itâll be tempting to give in to being lazy sometimes, but these quotes can help you keep going.
Anytime you need inspiration, these inspiring quotes from successful business leaders can make all the difference. These quotes can motivate you to get through a hard time and work as a pick-me-up during uninspiring times.
Fifteen Inspiring Quotes from Successful Entrepreneurs
Every entrepreneur hits a rough patch where things donât go as planned. There will be bad days and days when you feel like giving up or taking a nap instead of working. These quotes from successful entrepreneurs can offer the motivation needed to get back on track.
1. âIf you really go all in, you go all in. Keep trying. If your original idea isnât working, use what youâve built to pivot into something else. Keep trying to find a solution to peopleâs problems.â – Jan Koum
When you decide to become an entrepreneur and set your goals, youâre all in. Donât withhold your abilities because you must keep trying each day.
Your first idea might not work out, but that doesnât mean your next one wonât. Donât stop coming up with new ideas and plans. If you can find solutions to peopleâs problems, your entrepreneurship is successful.
2. âYou really have to love every single bit of what you do. The moment that you do something that makes you feel queasy to your stomach, the company dies.â – Matt Mullenweg
Mullenweg explains that as an entrepreneur, you must love what you do. Otherwise, you wonât have any motivation or drive if you dread your plans each day. If you start to feel like you donât want to do it anymore, itâll stop working out.
3. âSomeone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.â – Warren Buffett
This quote serves as a reminder that what you do today affects your future long-term. You must nurture your goals each day if you want them to thrive and grow for the future. If you remember this quote, youâll remember to do the things you wonât see the results of immediately.
4. âWhen a business becomes successful seemingly overnight, no one knows about all the months and years youâve invested, all the projects youâve tried before that didnât work.â – Niklas Zennstrom
Overnight success isnât an accurate depiction of the experience. Successful businesses take years of time, energy, and investments. It also includes restarting when your plans donât work out and using failures as building opportunities for a future project.
5. âDonât worry about being successful but work toward being significant, and the success will naturally follow.â – Oprah Winfrey
There are many stepping stones along the way to success. Rather than focusing on success itself, work toward becoming significant instead. Positive results follow when people know who you are and trust your name.
6. âThe person passionate about what he or she is doing will outwork and outlast the guy motivated solely by making money.â – Reid Hoffman
While making money is essential for paying bills and meeting needs, itâs not all your job should be about. As Hoffman explains, a passionate person will do better than the one chasing money. When you need motivation, use this quote as a reminder to focus on your passions, and the rest will fall into place.
7. âIf you donât have big dreams and goals, youâll end up working for someone that does.â – Unknown
Donât think that your dreams wonât work out because theyâll happen for someone. Rather than missing out on your opportunity, focus on your biggest goals. You can make it happen, or you’ll work for someone with the motivation and drive.
Those who focus and work hard toward their goals are the ones that will find success. You can be in charge of your life and income, or youâll be an employee following orders.
8. âAs soon as something stops being fun, I think itâs time to move on. Life is too short to be unhappy. Waking up stressed and miserable is not a good way to live.â – Richard Branson
As an entrepreneur, you must know when something isnât working. Your career and aspirations should be fun and bring joy, and if they donât, itâs time to move on. If you have control over your business, you can successfully make the shift to find happiness in your career.
9. âThe power of positive thinking is the ability to generate a feeling of certainty in yourself when nothing in the environment supports you.â – Tony Robbins
When things get hard, you must remain confident. Push away negative thoughts and replace them with positivity and feelings of certainty. When you believe in yourself, it doesnât matter if anyone or anything else does.
10. âFailure is awesome. Failure means you tried something. You tested it, and you learned some things. Failure gives you the tools to move forward.â – Leah Busque
You might get discouraged when something doesnât work out, but remember this quote. Failure means you learned something. As a result, it allows you to move forward with more knowledge. So please donât give up now because you are a little closer to success.
11. âI have not failed. Iâve just found 10,000 ways that wonât work.â – Thomas Edison
Past setbacks can leave you feeling like you canât make your dreams happen. Itâll seem like each time you make progress, it’s followed by hardship and roadblocks. However, this quote reminds you that each setback is a learning opportunity.
You’ll develop a growth mindset by viewing these experiences as learning opportunities. As an entrepreneur, having a growth mindset is essential to continuing success. It expands your knowledge and helps you become more resilient.
12. âWe think mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of the time we put in at work, instead of the quality of the time we put in.â – Arianna Huffington
You can do more work in less time if you enjoy what you do. Focusing on what youâre working on without becoming distracted or frustrated allows it to happen much quicker. Donât be afraid to walk away and take a break sometimes because itâll help you come back stronger than before.
13. âI didnât have a business degree. I didnât have experience to work in somebody elseâs office, I never built or ran a department. So I was on this journey, and when the time came to make a decision, I was just going with my gut.â – Hamdi Ulukaya
You donât have to have all the tools everyone else has. Building a successful business requires learning along the way and trusting your decisions. Use what you have right now to work toward becoming a successful entrepreneur.
14. âI had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Donât sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.â – C.J. Walker
No one else will hand success to you. You must get out there and chase your dreams, or youâll miss out on opportunities.
Get out there and do what it takes to make the life youâve always dreamed of. Sitting at home making excuses wonât help; itâll only set you further behind. Because you are in charge of your life, itâs up to you to ensure success.
15. âToo many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.â – Richard Branson
Many people believe that more money means more success in life, but thatâs not the authentic experience. So perhaps you should follow Bransonâs advice and measure success based on happiness.
The most important thing in life is living a happy and fulfilling life. If you prioritize money, you force yourself to miss out on a meaningful experience. You can focus on joy and improving your well-being as long as you have everything you need.
Final Thoughts on Inspiring Quotes from Successful Entrepreneurs
As an entrepreneur, youâll sometimes experience a lack of motivation, frustration, and other negative feelings. There will be times when you want to give up or put off important tasks. However, these quotes from successful entrepreneurs can give you the encouragement you need to continue.
Successful business leaders arenât lucky; it doesn’t happen by accident. Of course, it takes dedication, hard work, and persistence. You must also believe in yourself and remember that you can do anything you want.