24 Inspiring Quotes To Keep You Moving Toward Your Dream

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” —Steve Jobs

Starting a new business is tough. According to the Small Business Administration, about 95% of all businesses fail within 10 years after they are launched. There are the challenges of time, leadership, and having enough financial resources to survive long enough to make a profit.

When times get tough, take heart in the fact that you are at least giving your dream a try. The best part is you are working, and hopefully making money, for yourself, not someone else.

Here are 24 quotes from a handful of inspiring and thought-provoking people that just may help you get over your new-business blues and onto the important stuff — realizing your dream.

1. “Get mocked at for as much as you can, fail as much as you can, but don’t quit. Let every mockery, every failure, be a source of inspiration for you to reach for greatness, and that greatness will silence your critics.” —Ajaero Tony Martins
2. “Never be ashamed! There’s some who will hold it against you, but they are not worth bothering with.” —J.K. Rowling
3. “Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you are generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes, your best investments are the ones you don’t make.” —Donald Trump
4. “Like success, failure is many things to many people. With positive mental attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, and a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order to prepare to try again.” —W. Clement Stone
5. “Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” —Ray Kroc
6. “When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.” —Mary Kay Ash
7. “Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that.” —Anthony Volodkin
8. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” —Helen Keller
9. “Chase the vision, not the money. The money will end up following you.” —Tony Hsieh
10. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” —Steve Jobs
11. “Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.” —Sara Blakely
12. “Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” —Paul Rand
13. “The only thing worse than starting something and failing … is not starting something.” —Seth Godin
14. “When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say, ‘Wow, that was an adventure,’ not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe.'” —Tom Preston-Werner
15. “What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: Know your product better than anyone. Know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” —Dave Thomas
16. “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” —Arianna Huffington
17. “Small business isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for the brave, the patient, and the persistent. It’s for the overcomer.” —Unknown
18. “I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.” —Walter Cronkite
19. “Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” —Zig Ziglar
20. “I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and I try to ignore the rest.” —Venus Williams
21. “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” —Nolan Bushnell
22. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” —Maya Angelou
23. “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.” —Jeff Bezos
24. “Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead.” —Nelson Mandela

By Entrepreneur.co.za

October 23, 2014