It’s weird the things that often hit us the hardest. With the most meaning.
If we think back on our lives we can remember these little moments. Maybe it was seeing someone do something. Maybe it was hearing a story. Or maybe it was something we accomplished of ourselves.
Sometimes it can even be a quote that changes our perspective for the better. It might not do the same for others. But for us, in this situation, it can lead to a change. Maybe small at first, but then eventually it becomes something bigger. Something that leads to success.
So here are some business quotes about success. Maybe they will spark a little inspiration for you.
10 Business Quotes About Success
- I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time. – Sam Walton
- You don’t do things right once in awhile. You do things right all the time. – Vince Lombardi
- You have to ask a lot of questions and listen to people, but eventually, you have to go by your own instincts. – Kirk Kerkorian
- I’ve studied the lives of the 20th century’s great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success. – Alex Spanos
- I’ve been the luckiest football player ever. – Bart Starr
- The passenger train is like the male teat – neither useful nor ornamental. – James J. Hill
- I have always served the public to the best of my ability. Why? Because, like every other man, it is to my interest to do so. – Cornelius Vanderbilt
- Things happen so quickly. We don’t have time for one person to tell everybody what to do. Everybody needs to know what to do in those situations. – Bill Belichick
- McDonald’s is a people business, and that smile on that counter girl’s face when she takes your order is a vital part of our image. – Ray Kroc
- A lot of directors don’t want the pressure of a movie the size of Pearl Harbor. But I love it. I thrive on it. – Michael Bay
1. I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time. – Sam Walton
After a few successful years in the retail business, Sam Walton’s store landlord decided that he wouldn’t allow Sam to renew the property. Then the landlord kept the store and put his son in charge of running it.
Sam had worked his entire life up to that point learning the retail business. And it had been incredibly successful at that level. Then it was all taken away.
But he decided to open his own store. He did things a little differently. No franchise this time. No landlord that he couldn’t trust. He went on to create Walmart.
2. You don’t do things right once in awhile. You do things right all the time. – Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi is famous for his quotes. Later in his career he would give a lot of talks at corporate events. Speaking engagements to make money. He had a few things he would say that maybe he didn’t necessarily practice. But they sounded good so he would talk about it.
I don’t believe this was one of those things.
This is one that Vince practiced. He loved regimen. He instilled repetition into his teams. He was famous for believing in simplicity in his offenses. Simplicity that was repeated over and over again so that the team could do it in their sleep. Even if the other team knew it was coming.
It’s also about discipline. You do the right thing all the time. No player did this better than Bart Starr. He was the ultimate Packer on and off the field. You are what you do every day.
3. You have to ask a lot of questions and listen to people, but eventually, you have to go by your own instincts. – Kirk Kerkorian
Kirk was a self-made billionaire. He once bought a used airplane on a Pacific island and flew it back to the US. No one had done it even though the plane could be flipped in the States for big bucks because it was believed that it would run out of fuel.
Kirk bought it and flew it back, barely making it.
It’s important to listen. But it’s also important to have faith in yourself. To make decisions and take action and learn from what happens.
4. I’ve studied the lives of the 20th century’s great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success. – Alex Spanos
Alex Spanos was another self-made billionaire. You build confidence through action. From doing something small really well and building on that. There were times when Spanos wasn’t successful. When he failed. But he would build himself up again and feel confident in his decisions.
5. I’ve been the luckiest football player ever. – Bart Starr
If you’ve read the Good To Great series of books by Jim Collins, you know that many successful people feel that they are lucky. Jim couldn’t figure this out at first. But he came to feel that maybe it’s a mindset. Maybe it’s a requirement to feel that good things can happen. That you’re there to take advantage.
Good things happen to all people. Not exactly the same amount. Not exactly the same way. But sometimes we’re lucky enough to recognize it and take action. And that’s okay.
6. The passenger train is like the male teat – neither useful nor ornamental. – James J. Hill
James J. Hill, in an era of bad railroad building, built successful railroads. He was deliberate. He thought about the long-term. He thought about profit. This quote is about the value in putting lots of commodities in his cars because it was profitable. Grain instead of people. Sometimes you have to make decisions like that. Not because they’re popular, but because they’re right.
7. I have always served the public to the best of my ability. Why? Because, like every other man, it is to my interest to do so. – Cornelius Vanderbilt
It’s good to think about the public good when you’re doing business. It’s good to think about the customer. It’s good to think about your employees. Usually this goes with long-term thinking in business. The longer-term you’re able to think and the more you search for winning situations for as many people, the better off you’ll usually be.
8. Things happen so quickly. We don’t have time for one person to tell everybody what to do. Everybody needs to know what to do in those situations. – Bill Belichick
Belichick is recognized as one of the greatest coaches ever. He does things his way. He isn’t afraid of what others think of him. One of those things is teaching players what to do. He tries to choose the right players and coaches so he can teach them what he wants. But then he trusts them to do it on their own.
In business, you can’t be there all the time. You can’t grow a business that way. You have to teach your team to be capable on their own. You have to trust that they can do it.
9. McDonald’s is a people business, and that smile on that counter girl’s face when she takes your order is a vital part of our image. – Ray Kroc
Think of all the pieces that go into getting a Big Mac into the hands of a customer at McDonald’s… You have to find the beef. You have to source the bread. You have to get it to all the different stores. It’s crazy. And yet it all could be thrown off by a person working behind the counter with a frown on their face.
Ray Kroc knew that. He paid attention to details like that. Everybody that works with you has a role and you have to understand it, respect it, and change it if necessary.
10. A lot of directors don’t want the pressure of a movie the size of Pearl Harbor. But I love it. I thrive on it. – Michael Bay
Put the ball in my hands when the game is on the line. Michael Jordan is famous for it. I thought this quote from Michael Bay was interesting. It was at a time when people kind of wanted to see him fail. This young, successful actor that hadn’t seen any failure to this point in his career. You need this level of confidence to go to new levels in your life. Even if you fail, you have to be willing to try and know that it could work out. If you don’t try it will for sure never happen.