Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.

Luck marches with those who give their very best.

Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

To a profound pessimist about life, being in danger is not depressing.

Thanks to my fans that have been with me from the beginning, I was able to sell out arenas on my own.

A BMW can’t take you as far as a diploma.

In the world today many people rightfully feel entitled to have success and the good things in life, but they usually understand it will require sacrifice and hard work.

Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.

We can all be successful and make money, but when we die, that ends. But when you are significant is when you help other people be successful. That lasts many a lifetime.

I never expected any sort of success with ‚Mockingbird’… I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement.

How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.

Peace is liberty in tranquillity.

Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.

I don’t know the law, the kind of law of quantity and quality, but I think the opportunity of people being able to express themselves and to have the means of production is a great thing. It’s also changing how we’re telling stories.

Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.

Luck is believing you’re lucky.

As long as somebody finances you, can make a film and get it seen any place and in any language; then, hopefully, it’s a success.

As an athlete, you’d better laugh at yourself when you slip in the mud.

Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.

Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.

All I ever wanted to do with my life was own a little house. I did that way back with ‚Rocky,‘ so now everything I do is just icing on the cake.

Well, you know, I’m the forever optimist.

What is common sense isn’t common practice.

I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.

Little things affect little minds.

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.

It would be a terrific innovation if you could get your mind to stretch a little further than the next wisecrack.

Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them.

This healthy eating stuff, it’s here to stay, and we now have everything we need to seize the opportunity and give all our kids the healthy futures they so richly deserve.

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.

Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.

Aim for the highest.

Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner.

The love of life is necessary to the vigorous prosecution of any undertaking.

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

I’ve been blessed to be somebody that’s been climbing that success mountain top for years of hard work, you know, but now it’s all connecting. And now, the whole world is watching, you know what I’m saying, and it feels good ‚cause it’s good energy. This is all positive vibes, and good vibes and good energy, so it feels incredible.

If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you’re a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.

I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.

To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.

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

I’m sure the feeling of fear, as long as you can take advantage of it and not be rendered useless by it, can make you extend yourself beyond what you would regard as your capacity. If you’re afraid, the blood seems to flow freely through the veins, and you really do feel a sense of stimulation.

When a team takes ownership of its problems, the problem gets solved. It is true on the battlefield, it is true in business, and it is true in life.

Think and grow rich.

The most successful war seldom pays for its losses.

Check your ego at the door. The ego can be the great success inhibitor. It can kill opportunities, and it can kill success.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Singleness of purpose is one of the chief essentials for success in life, no matter what may be one’s aim.

The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.

Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.

The success I have achieved in bodybuilding, motion pictures, and business would not have been possible without the generosity of the American people and the freedom here to pursue your dreams.

My secret to staying young… Having no sense of time.

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

Success is not a stop sign.

The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.

With ideas it is like with dizzy heights you climb: At first they cause you discomfort and you are anxious to get down, distrustful of your own powers; but soon the remoteness of the turmoil of life and the inspiring influence of the altitude calm your blood; your step gets firm and sure and you begin to look – for dizzier heights.

There’s a long way to fall when you pretend that you’re so far away from the earth, far away from reality, floating in a bubble that’s protected by fame or success. It’s scary, and it’s the thing I fear the most: to be swallowed up by that bubble. It can be poison to you, fame.

Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven’t courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.

Hollywood has a way of making everything seem like an overnight success.

Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.