Top 50 must-know inspiring business quotes

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Said Thomas Edison after trying many times and failing to make an invention work.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Said Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft after many years of trying to grow his startup.

Is your business not performing the way you want it to? Giving up is not an option. Here are 50 Inspiring business quotes that will make your day.

Why are inspirational business quotes important?

It’s normal to have this question in your mind, even though you might not want to voice it out. Inspiring business quotes are direct quotes taken from highly esteemed business owners, founders, successful CEOs/managers, investors, and the like.

Some of these business quotes are cut out of their responses to interviews, part of their public motivational speeches. Some of them are also captivating points directly taken from books written by them.

These quotes can be read and referenced to help other people pass through difficult times. It may (or may not) help them stay motivated and focused.

Inspiring business quotes (alongside motivational speeches and music) can instill positive emotions in readers/listeners, providing just the inspiration they need to achieve their goals.

50 Inspiring business quotes for business owners, CEOs, managers, and investors

1. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
2. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
3. “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” — Chris Grosser
4. “Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” — Albert Einstein
5. “Never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.” — Winston Churchill
6. “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” — Jim Rohn
7. “All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.” — Michael John Bobak
8. “Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.” — Robert Kiyosaki
9. “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” — Steve Jobs
10. “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” — Bruce Lee
11. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell
12. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Albert Schweitzer
13. “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” — Japanese proverb
14. “In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” — Nikos Kazantzakis
15. “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” — Bill Gates
16. “Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” — Paul Rand
17. “Fortunes are built during the down market and collected in the upmarket.” — Jason Calacanis
18. “Data beats emotions.” — Sean Rad
19. “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” — Socrates
20. “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” — Estee Lauder
21. “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” — Oprah Winfrey
22. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill
23. “Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember—the only taste of success some people get is to take a bite out of you.” — Zig Ziglar
24. “The best revenge is massive success.” — Frank Sinatra
25. “What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” — Oscar Wilde
26. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.” — Robert Collier
27. “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” — Pablo Picasso
28. “If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you!” — T. Harv Eker
29. “The No. 1 reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family and neighbors.” — Napoleon Hill
30. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” — Vidal Sassoon
31. “In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it.” — Jane Smiley
32. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” — Thomas Edison
33. “I failed my way to success.” — Thomas Edison
34. “The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” — Robert Hughes
35. “I find that when you have a real interest in life and a curious life, that sleep is not the most important thing.” — Martha Stewart
36. “Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” — John Maxwell
37. “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” — Reid Hoffman
38. “You can’t make anything viral, but you can make something good.” — Peter Shankman
39. “The starting point of all achievement is desire.” — Napoleon Hill
40. “Anything that is measured and watched, improves.” — Bob Parsons
41. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe
42. “Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.” — Tony Hsieh
43. “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t—you’re right.” — Henry Ford
44. “The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.” — Reid Hoffman
45. “You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it.” — Oprah Winfrey
46. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs
47. “Have the end in mind and every day make sure you’re working towards it.” — Ryan Allis
48. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle
49. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas A. Edison
50. “Don’t quit! Wake up! Strive now and live the rest of your life as a champion. See you at the top!”  –Victor Iyiola

Conclusion

As a business owner, you should be like Steve Jobs who only targets where the customers are going, and not where they’ve been. 

Always think outside of the box. But don’t get this wrong and try doing something that will run you out of business. Thinking outside of the box means exploring everything you’re not yet doing to reach your goals.

Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength. There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits to human intelligence, imagination, and wonder. See you at the top!