If you want to become a successful business person or an outstanding entrepreneur, you’ve got to follow the footsteps of the greatest business tycoons who have lived in our world. You should take the opportunity to acquire the wisdom, lessons, visions, systems, techniques and attitudes they have held, worked, tested, confirmed and treasured for the benefits of the new generations – where you also belong. They have worked so hard and wise for us to learn. Now let’s read their secrets to success. The following are selective business tips which I have quoted from the famous entrepreneurs of our time and history.
Warren Buffet – (born August 30, 1930) Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and the Forbes 3rd richest person in the world as of 2010
“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
“Our favorite holding period is forever.”
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
William Henry Bill “Gates” III – (born October 28, 1955) Co-founder and Chairman of Microsoft and the Forbes 2nd richest person in the world as of 2010
“I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.”
“We’ve got to put a lot of money into changing behavior.”
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
Steve Jobs – (born February 24, 1955) Co-founder and CEO of Apple, Inc.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.“
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
Oprah Winfrey – (born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) American television host of “the Oprah Show”, actress, producer, and philanthropist.
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”
“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
“I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.”
“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”
Henry Ford – (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) Founder of the Ford Motor Company
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.”
“A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.”
“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.”
John D. Rockefeller – (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) American oil business magnet and considered as the richest man in history
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
“I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.”
“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.”
“Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.”
“The only question with wealth is, what do you do with it?”
Thomas A. Edison – (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) American inventor, scientist, and businessman. Considered to be one of the most prolific inventors in history.
“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.”
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
“I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Sam Walton – (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) Founder of Wal-Mart
“Capital isn’t scarce; vision is.”
“I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time.”
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
“We let folks know we’re interested in them and that they’re vital to us. cause they are.”
“We’re all working together; that’s the secret.”
Walt Disney- (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) Co-founder of Walt Disney Productions
“A man should never neglect his family for business.”
“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.”
“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.”
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
“When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.”
Mark Zuckerberg – (born May 14, 1984) Founder and CEO of Facebook
“By giving people the power to share, we’re making the world more transparent.”
“When you give everyone a voice and give people power, the system usually ends up in a really good place. So, what we view our role as, is giving people that power.”
“The thing that we are trying to do at facebook, is just help people connect and communicate more efficiently.”
“We’re running the company to serve more people.”
Carlos Slim Helu – (born January 28, 1940) Chairman and CEO of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil – Considered as the wealthiest person by Forbes as of 2010
“In this new wave of technology, you can’t do it all yourself, you have to form alliances.”
“I think one of the big errors people are making right now is thinking that old-style businesses will be obsolete, when actually they will be an important part of this new civilization. Some retail groups are introducing e-commerce and think that the “bricks” are no longer useful. But they will continue to be important.”
“I’ve always said that the better off you are, the more responsibility you have for helping others. Just as I think it’s important to run companies well, with a close eye to the bottom line, I think you have to use your entrepreneurial experience to make corporate philanthropy effective.”
“It’s not a question of arriving and putting in a whole new administration, but instead, arriving and “compacting” things as much as possible, reducing management layers. We want as few management layers as possible, so that executives are very close to the operations. We also don’t believe in having big corporate infrastructures.”
Donald Trump – (born June 14, 1946) Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization
“You have to think anyway, so why not think big?”
“The point is that you can’t be too greedy.”
“Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.”
Victorino Q. Abrugar is a marketing strategist and business consultant from Tacloban City, Philippines. Vic has been in the online marketing industry for more than 7 years, practicing problogging, web development, content marketing, SEO, social media marketing, and consulting.
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