Success consecrates the most offensive crimes.

When a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself a public property.

I nearly failed when Virgin was in its infancy; I nearly failed in the early 1980s, and, of course, I have nearly died more than once trying to achieve a world record for boating or ballooning. But through a combination of luck and planning, both Virgin and I are still here.

The rise of capitalist practice and morality brought with it a radical revision of how the commons are treated, and also of how they are conceived.

Only he is successful in his business who makes that pursuit which affords him the highest pleasure sustain him.

No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.

Diligence is the mother of good fortune.

We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action.

When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.

Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.

Don’t lie about anything, ever. Lying leads to Hell.

Your attitude towards failure determines your altitude after failure.

No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like.

Every man has a right to be conceited until he is successful.

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.

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.

Ambition can creep as well as soar.

As a man sow, shall he reap. and I know that talk is cheap. But the heat of the battle is as sweet as the victory.

How could man rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men?

I have a good team. It’s good to have a good team.

About morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.

If you’re going to do something tonight that you’ll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late.

As your career grows, the list of things that makes you happy should not become smaller, it should become bigger.

Do not ask for what you will wish you had not got.

The use of the atomic bomb, with its indiscriminate killing of women and children, revolts my soul.

Success is due to our stretching to the challenges of life. Failure comes when we shrink from them.

Modesty forbids what the law does not.

To be is to do.

The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch.

There’s no real excuse for being successful enough as an actor to do what you want and then selling out. You do it pure. You don’t try to adapt it, make it commercial.

Only a man’s character is the real criterion of worth.

If you get something right, you really feel it, right in your chest, on stage. I think it’s an incomparable experience.

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

The rich are those who play to win. The middle class plays not to lose.

For me, money is not my definition of success. Inspiring people is a definition of success.

High moral character is not a precondition for great moral accomplishments.

Richard Burton came from the same town as me, so I thought I’d follow my nose, and follow my luck. I think I’ve been very lucky.

A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.

States are not moral agents.

I think you can have 10,000 explanations for failure, but no good explanation for success.

The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.

Do FBI Agents and FBI directors have political beliefs? Sure they do. But they’re not supposed to act on them.

Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.

Life is about conduct and how we conduct ourselves. But two wrongs never make a right.

There never was a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous.

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

People say ‚I want to be rich‘. The question is, ‚Are you willing to do what it takes?‘

The great thing about America is that you can come from the worst circumstances and become something remarkable.

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.

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

We will naturally pursue our goals on the strength of our own resources, skills and enterprise. But, we know that we will be more successful when we do this in partnership with the world.

I always feel like it’s two key ingredients when it comes to following your dreams, making something happen that the average person deems difficult. If you truly believe it, that’s step one. Step two, is, you know, the hard work that goes along with it.

By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation.

A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions.

All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.