The starting point of all achievement is desire.

Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.

My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.

It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.

Devote each day to the object then in time and every evening will find something done.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

The smart thing in the art world is to have one good idea and never have another.

I don’t tell people, ‚You’re okay the way that you are.‘ That’s not the right story. The right story is, ‚You’re way less than you could be.‘

Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career.

Fame itself… doesn’t really afford you anything more than a good seat in a restaurant.

Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.

Whenever you give up something, you must replace it with something.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

We will all fail in life, but nobody has to be a failure. Failing at a thing doesn’t make you a failure. You are only a failure when you quit trying.

We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

Ideas excite me, and as soon as I get excited, the adrenaline gets going and the next thing I know I’m borrowing energy from the ideas themselves.

Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.

If you want to thrive in today’s economy, you must challenge the status quo and get the financial education necessary to succeed.

People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.

Create a ladder of values and priorities in your life, reminding yourself of what really matters to you.

The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.

When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.

I just feel like, with rappers, there’s so much complacency. It’s like, ‚Oh, I’m a rapper. I’m successful. I make money. That’s all that matters.‘ But there’s a lot of stuff going on in the world. Whether or not you’re aware of it, it’s happening.

When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn’t set out to build a business empire… For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that’s going to make a real difference to other people’s lives.

By indignities men come to dignities.

The right man is the one who seizes the moment.

Writing is a dreadful labor, yet not so dreadful as Idleness.

You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.

Our work is never over.

It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don’t sell that many records.

Man wants to live, but it is useless to hope that this desire will dictate all his actions.

No foreign policy – no matter how ingenious – has any chance of success if it is born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of none.

There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.

My ultimate goal is to end up being happy. Most of the time.

If four things are followed – having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work, and perseverance – then anything can be achieved.

Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.

I have goals.

We are not retreating – we are advancing in another direction.

The greenhorn is the ultimate victor in everything; it is he that gets the most out of life.

The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.

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

The presence of passion within you is the greatest gift you can receive. Treat it as a miracle.

When I do something, I do it full steam ahead.

Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.

Must is a hard nut to crack, but it has a sweet kernel.

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.

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.

So many objections may be made to everything, that nothing can overcome them but the necessity of doing something.

I do not like the man who squanders life for fame; give me the man who living makes a name.

The unsuccessful person is burdened by learning, and prefers to walk down familiar paths. Their distaste for learning stunts their growth and limits their influence.

If you don’t set the tone for the day, the devil will set it for you.

I’m an entrepreneur. I’m a young mogul. I’m blessed.

Working hard is very important. You’re not going to get anywhere without working extremely hard.

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Even though I had won in other categories, I didn’t have any expectations when I came into F1. Qualifying fifth, finishing sixth? I didn’t expect it.

Just do some kind of workout. Doesn’t matter if it’s going for a walk around the block, going for a jog, doing some calisthenics, lifting weights, going to a pool and swimming – you name it. But do something that gets your blood flowing and gets your mind in the game.

Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up.