This week I was on a panel at the BUPA national conference in Wellington, speaking on “Fresh Leadership – The Secret Ingredients”. And boy was I in good company. There was Paul and Liz Blackwell who own the booming Pak ‘n’ Save Albany and the Breakers basketball team; the CEO of NZ Post, Brian Roche; the CEO of The Radio Network, Jane Hastings; and Merinda Jackson, an 18-year-old who is doing great things in Wellington. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her leading the country in a few years, so impressive was she. She may only be finishing school this year, but she still had some great stuff to share.
Which reminded me of this great article I found online recently, which shares clever quotes from inspiring young entrepreneurs. Everyone on the list started a company in their teens or early twenties and have achieved amazing success. I’ve shared a few of my favourites below, but have a look at http://www.incomediary.com/top-young-entrepreneur-quotes if you want to read all 50 of them. (And remember to keep an eye out for the name Merinda Jackson in a similar list in the future!)
“I think not focusing on money makes you sane because in the long run it can probably drive you crazy.” Kevin Systrom, Instagram
“People tend to think that in order to start a new business they have to come up with something new and dazzling, but that’s a myth – and it’s often propagated by venture capitalists.” Gurbaksh Chahal, RadiumOne
“It’s not about how many years of experience you have. It’s about the quality of your years of experience.” Jacob Cass, Logo of the Day
“There’s no committee that says, ‘This is the type of person who can change the world – and you can’t.’ Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.” Adora Svitak, Flying Fingers
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions.” Catherine Cook, MyYearbook
“The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is that you’ll fail ten times for every success.” Adam Horwitz, Mobile Monopoly
“Over-deliver every time.” Alex Maroko, Game Speed Insider
“Every startup should address a real and demonstrated need in the world. If you build a solution to a problem lots of people have, it’s so easy to sell your product to the world.” Kevin Systrom, Instagram
“A poorly implemented feature hurts more than not having it at all.” Noah Everett, Twitpic
“Focusing on one thing and doing it really, really well can get you very far.” Kevin Systrom, Instagram
I’ve found some other great quotes to inspire and motivate too – sometimes it’s what you need on a Monday morning to give you an extra push in the right direction! Flick me an email, zac@businesschanging.com, if you’d like to see ’em or for business coaching and business planning. How cool would it be if we could get you quoted like the above people in the not too distant future?
Leave a Reply