Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.

I would hear stories about Steve Jobs and feel like he was at 100 percent exactly what he wanted to do, but I’m sure even a Steve Jobs has compromised. Even a Rick Owens has compromised. You know, even a Kanye West has compromised. Sometimes you don’t even know when you’re being compromised till after the fact, and that’s what you regret.

It’s physical. If you keep on writing for three years, every day, you should be strong. Of course you have to be strong mentally, also. But in the first place you have to be strong physically. That is a very important thing. Physically and mentally you have to be strong.

A great thing can only be done by a great person; and they do it without effort.

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense.

The closest I ever came to getting married was just before I started singing. In fact, my first record saved my neck.

Originality is a thing we constantly clamour for, and constantly quarrel with.

This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.

I was raised on, ‚You go get a nine-to-five job, earn your pay and work your way up.‘

No sooner said than done – so acts your man of worth.

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

Nobody likes to fail. I want to succeed in everything I do, which isn’t much. But the things that I’m really passionate about, if I fail at those, if I’m not successful, what do I have?

The idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all.

While we should never give up our principles, we must also realize that we cannot maintain our principles unless we survive.

I try to use my experience and the fact that I grew up in the ghetto – I tell people you don’t have to rob or steal to get out of the ghetto.

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.

Ideas have a short shelf life. You must act on them before the expiration date.

The potential financial reward for building the ‚next Windows‘ is so great that there will never be a shortage of new technologies seeking to challenge it.

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn’t been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that’s really worthwhile.

If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it.

I still have my first paycheck. It was just, I think, a dollar or two that I got when I started as a songwriter with BMI, and I had some songs there that I had through the company, and in the mail I got this big old check for, like, a dollar and a half or something. Somebody had recorded one of my songs.

Everywhere I go, the kids call me ‚the book lady.‘ The older I get, the more appreciative I seem to be of the ‚book lady‘ title. It makes me feel more like a legitimate person, not just a singer or an entertainer. But it makes me feel like I’ve done something good with my life and with my success.

If you look at anyone who has achieved great success and wealth, people like Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, or Lance Armstrong, they have all focused intensely in order to win.

Pray that success will not come any faster than you are able to endure it.

Well, I wouldn’t say that I was in the great class, but I had a great time while I was trying to be great.

I think we are at the dawn of a new era in commercial space exploration.

Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business.

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‚Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.

When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we have frustrated, why should we fear for our future? We have come safely through the worst.

Whatever you do, do with all your might.

I think Tesla will most likely develop its own autopilot system for the car, as I think it should be camera-based, not Lidar-based. However, it is also possible that we do something jointly with Google.

We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when we neglect to do it.

We was able to become real successful in the mixtape space.

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.

He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.

I’ll never, ever be full. I’ll always be hungry. Obviously, I’m not talking about food. Growing up, I had nothing for such a long time. Someone told me a long time ago, and I’ve never forgotten it, ‚Once you’ve ever been hungry, really, really hungry, then you’ll never, ever be full.‘

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.

Years ago, when I first started being a big star, I had fans that were fanatical. It was when ‚Jolene‘ was a big hit.

Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely.

I bought a company in the mid-’90s called Dexter Shoe and paid $400 million for it. And it went to zero. And I gave about $400 million worth of Berkshire stock, which is probably now worth $400 billion. But I’ve made lots of dumb decisions. That’s part of the game.

Goodness is the only investment that never fails.

I think the first thing you should know is that nobody in country music ‚made it‘ the same way. It’s all different. There’s no blueprint for success, and sometimes you just have to work at it.

I want to go down in the history books with what I’ve achieved.

Do not be in a hurry to succeed. What would you have to live for afterwards? Better make the horizon your goal; it will always be ahead of you.

Often, in the real world, it’s not the smart that get ahead but the bold.

Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.

Time and the hour run through the roughest day.

Bottom line is, I didn’t return to Apple to make a fortune. I’ve been very lucky in my life and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. I decided then that I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life. There’s no way you could ever spend it all, and I don’t view wealth as something that validates my intelligence.

People think because I’ve got some success, I’ve made it, but in my eyes it’s like, ‚How long has Jay Z been in the business? How many albums has he got?‘ Not that I’m trying to be Jay Z, but I am trying to be around for a long time.

That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.

The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold.

I am results-oriented.

At Virgin, we have always backed the power of the entrepreneur and inventor to find solutions to tricky problems. Why should climate change and the battle against carbon be any different?

I want to be part of that long list who have achieved great things with McLaren, won races and championships.

‚Soul Plane‘ put me in a position to succeed. I’m glad I had the opportunity to be the lead man.

Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.

When I have an idea, I turn down the flame, as if it were a little alcohol stove, as low as it will go. Then it explodes and that is my idea.

Men are born to succeed, not to fail.

With Virgin, I’ve just loved creating things. And as a private company, I can get away with moving Virgin from records to airlines to train companies to space companies to whatever, without ever having to worry about analysts knocking the value of my stock.