21 Great Entrepreneurial Quotes

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to get something out of these motivational quotes. I’ve compiled some of the most inspirational things that the world's most influential people have said about surviving business, managing people and life. These quotes keep me going whenever I hit an obstacle or transition point. And if I'm doing anything worth doing, I'm definitely going to experience a large number of setbacks along the way.

1. “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.” – Mario Andretti

2. “Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou

3. “Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison

4. “I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” – Thomas Edison

5. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan, Basketball Legend an Entrepreneur

6. “It’s better to own the racecourse than the racehorse.” – Unknown

7. “One can get anything if he is willing to help enough others get what they want – Zig Ziglar

9. “You can't ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them.  By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.” – Steve Jobs

10. “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” Jim Rohn, Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker

11. “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” – Anonymous

12. “The road to success is always under construction.” – Arnold Palmer

13. “The function of leadership is to build more leaders, not more followers.” –Ralph Nader

14. “An entrepreneur tends to bit off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it.” – Roy Ash

15. “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.” – Peter F. Drucker

16. “People who can put themselves in the place of other people, who can understand the working of their minds, need never worry about what the future has in store for them.” – Owen D. Young

17. “Action expresses priorities.” – Gandhi

18. “Time is the most valuable asset you don't own.” – Mark Cuban

19. “If you aren't getting rejected on a daily basis, your goals aren't ambitious enough.” – Chris Dixon

20. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.  If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

21. “You move forward, make mistakes, learn, change and then repeat.” – Shane Barker

I absolutely love being an entrepreneur.  It is a tremendous amount of hard work and I'm motivated to put in my all day and night.  When things get rough, it's refreshing to have the perspective of these great leaders of our time.  Whether they're sports icons, business moguls or political leaders, we have so much to learn from each one of them.

Please share your motivational quotes in the comments below!