Entrepreneurship isn’t always easy, and sometimes you feel like giving up. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re 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 won’t 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 don’t have a boss. You’re the business owner and your boss, and you must stay motivated to get anything done. It’ll 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 don’t 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. “If you really go all in, you go all in. Keep trying. If your original idea isn’t working, use what you’ve built to pivot into something else. Keep trying to find a solution to people’s problems.” – Jan Koum
When you decide to become an entrepreneur and set your goals, you’re all in. Don’t withhold your abilities because you must keep trying each day.
Your first idea might not work out, but that doesn’t mean your next one won’t. Don’t stop coming up with new ideas and plans. If you can find solutions to people’s problems, your entrepreneurship is successful.
2. “You 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.” – Matt Mullenweg
Mullenweg explains that as an entrepreneur, you must love what you do. Otherwise, you won’t have any motivation or drive if you dread your plans each day. If you start to feel like you don’t want to do it anymore, it’ll stop working out.
3. “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – 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, you’ll remember to do the things you won’t see the results of immediately.
4. “When a business becomes successful seemingly overnight, no one knows about all the months and years you’ve invested, all the projects you’ve tried before that didn’t work.” – Niklas Zennstrom
Overnight success isn’t an accurate depiction of the experience. Successful businesses take years of time, energy, and investments. It also includes restarting when your plans don’t work out and using failures as building opportunities for a future project.
5. “Don’t worry about being successful but work toward being significant, and the success will naturally follow.” – 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. “The person passionate about what he or she is doing will outwork and outlast the guy motivated solely by making money.” – Reid Hoffman
While making money is essential for paying bills and meeting needs, it’s 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. “If you don’t have big dreams and goals, you’ll end up working for someone that does.” – Unknown
Don’t think that your dreams won’t work out because they’ll 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 you’ll be an employee following orders.
8. “As soon as something stops being fun, I think it’s time to move on. Life is too short to be unhappy. Waking up stressed and miserable is not a good way to live.” – Richard Branson
As an entrepreneur, you must know when something isn’t working. Your career and aspirations should be fun and bring joy, and if they don’t, it’s time to move on. If you have control over your business, you can successfully make the shift to find happiness in your career.
9. “The power of positive thinking is the ability to generate a feeling of certainty in yourself when nothing in the environment supports you.” – 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 doesn’t matter if anyone or anything else does.
10. “Failure is awesome. Failure means you tried something. You tested it, and you learned some things. Failure gives you the tools to move forward.” – Leah Busque
You might get discouraged when something doesn’t 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 don’t give up now because you are a little closer to success.
11. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
Past setbacks can leave you feeling like you can’t make your dreams happen. It’ll 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. “We 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.” – Arianna Huffington
You can do more work in less time if you enjoy what you do. Focusing on what you’re working on without becoming distracted or frustrated allows it to happen much quicker. Don’t be afraid to walk away and take a break sometimes because it’ll help you come back stronger than before.
13. “I didn’t have a business degree. I didn’t have experience to work in somebody else’s 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.” – Hamdi Ulukaya
You don’t 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. “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” – C.J. Walker
No one else will hand success to you. You must get out there and chase your dreams, or you’ll miss out on opportunities.
Get out there and do what it takes to make the life you’ve always dreamed of. Sitting at home making excuses won’t help; it’ll only set you further behind. Because you are in charge of your life, it’s up to you to ensure success.
15. “Too 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.” – Richard Branson
Many people believe that more money means more success in life, but that’s not the authentic experience. So perhaps you should follow Branson’s 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, you’ll 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 aren’t 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.