Quotes that Inspire

On Education:

“Education is more valuable than money, in the long run.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“I am concerned that too many people are focused too much on money and not on their greatest wealth, which is their education. If people are prepared to be flexible, keep an open mind and learn, they will grow richer and richer through the changes. If they think money will solve the problems, I am afraid those people will have a rough ride.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Education is cheap; experience is expensive.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On School:

“The trouble with school is they give you the answer, then they give you the exam. That’s not life.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

On Teaching:

“I have found that the more I teach those who want to learn, the more I learn.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“If you want to be rich the rule of thumb is to teach others how to be rich.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On Passion:

“I’ve learned that, without a strong reason or purpose, anything in life is hard.”– Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“You get one life. Live it in a way that it inspires someone.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On Mistakes and Failure:

“Failure inspires winners. And failure defeats losers. It is the biggest secret of winners. It’s the secret that losers do not know. The greatest secret of winners is that failure inspires winning; thus, they’re not afraid of losing.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake. – Frank Wilczek, 2004 Nobel Prize winner in physics

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’ You won’t believe what you can accomplish by attempting the impossible with the courage to repeatedly fail better.” – Tim Ferriss

“Your choices decide your fate. Take the time to make the right ones. If you make a mistake, that’s fine; learn from it & don’t make it again.” – Robert Kiyosaki

Only those who are asleep make no mistakes. – Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, worlds largest furniture brand

”You will make some mistakes but, if you learn from those mistakes, those mistakes will become wisdom and wisdom is essential to becoming wealthy.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” – Niels Bohr, Danish physicist and Nobel prize winner

“There are no mistakes in life, just learning opportunities.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Remember—boredom is the enemy, not some abstract “failure.” – Tim Ferriss

“One of the great things about being willing to try new things and make mistakes is that making mistakes keeps you humble. People who are humble learn more than people who are arrogant.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Losers quit when they fail. Winners fail until they succeed.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“When you come to the boundaries of what you know, it is time to make some mistakes.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Making mistakes isn’t enough to become great. You must also admit the mistake, and then learn how to turn that mistake into an advantage.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“A winning strategy must include losing.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Success is a poor teacher. We learn the most about ourselves when we fail, so don’t be afraid of failing. Failing is part of the process of success. You cannot have success without failure.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On Success:

“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.” – Tim Ferriss

“The question you should be asking isn’t, “What do I want?” or “What are my goals?” but “What would excite me?” – Tim Ferriss

“The goal is not to simply eliminate the bad, but to pursue and experience the best in the world.” – Tim Ferriss

“It’s lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most time and energy-consuming.” – Tim Ferriss

“It is possible to become world-class, enter the top 5% of performers in the world, in almost any subject within 6-12 months, or even 6-12 weeks.” – Tim Ferriss

Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery, where international postal flight and author of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)

On Learning:

“In today’s fast-changing world, it’s not so much what you know anymore that counts, because often what you know is old. It is how fast you learn. That skill is priceless.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“Once a person stops searching for information and self-knowledge, ignorance sets in.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“Information is useless if it is not applied to something important or if you will forget it before you have a chance to apply it.” – Tim Ferriss

“One of the most stupid things to do is to pretend you are smart. When you pretend to be smart, you are at the height of stupidity.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On Money:

“…one dad had a habit of saying, “I can’t afford it.” The other dad forbade those words to be used. He insisted I ask, “How can I afford it?” One is a statement, and the other is a question. One lets you off the hook, and the other forces you to think.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“Money doesn’t change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice.” – Tim Ferriss

“Today, I often meet people who are too busy to take care of their wealth. And there are people too busy to take care of their health. The cause is the same. They’re busy, and they stay busy as a way of avoiding something they do not want to face.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“$1,000,000 in the bank isn’t the fantasy. The fantasy is the lifestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows.” – Tim Ferriss

“If you’re still doing what mommy and daddy said for you to do (go to school, get a job, and save money), you’re losing.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Often, the more money you make the more money you spend; that’s why more money doesn’t make you rich – assets make you rich.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The only difference between a rich person and poor person is how they use their time” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Becoming a member of the new rich is not just about working smarter. It’s about building a system to replace yourself.” – Tim Ferriss

“The more a person seeks security, the more that person gives up control over his life.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The moment you make passive income [from businesses] and portfolio income [from investments] a part of your life, your life will change. Those words will become flesh.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“You’re only poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something. Most people only talk and dream of getting rich. You’ve done something.”  – Robert Kiyosaki

“If you want to be rich, simply serve more people.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“If you want to be financially-free, you need to become a different person than you are today and let go of whatever has held you back in the past.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The philosophy of the rich and the poor is this: the rich invest their money and spend what is left. The poor spend their money and invest what is left.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Never say you cannot afford something. That is a poor man’s attitude. Ask HOW to afford it.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The love of money is not the root of all evil. The lack of money is the root of all evil.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On Boldness:

“Often in the real world, it’s not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“The most successful people are mavericks who aren’t afraid to ask why, especially when everyone thinks it’s obvious.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On Action:

“It’s easier to stand on the sidelines, criticize, and say why you shouldn’t do something. The sidelines are crowded. Get in the game.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

“Complaining about your current position in life is worthless. Have a spine and do something about it instead.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

It is fatal to know too much at the outcome: boredom comes as quickly to the traveler who knows his route as the novelist who is over certain of his plot. – Paul Thoreau, To the Ends of the Earth

“Regret is past-tense decision-making. Eliminate complaining to minimize regret.” – Tim Ferriss

“Many a false step was made by standing still.” – Tim Ferriss

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. – Benjamin Disraeli, former British Prime Minister

“The most life destroying word of all is the word tomorrow.” – Robert Kiyosaki

All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer . – Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

“I’d rather welcome change than cling to the past.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Most people are fast to stop you before you get started but hesitate to get in the way if you’re moving.” – Tim Ferriss

“Hoping drains your energy. Action creates energy.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually’, just do it and correct course along the way.” – Tim Ferriss

“Business is like a wheel barrow. Nothing happens until you start pushing.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now!” – Tim Ferriss

“You’ll often find that it’s not mom or dad, husband or wife, or the kids that’s stopping you. It’s you. Get out of your own way.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“It isn’t enough to think outside the box. Thinking is passive. Get used to acting outside the box.” – Tim Ferriss

“If you realize that you’re the problem, then you can change yourself, learn something and grow wiser. Don’t blame other people for your problems.” – Robert Kiyosaki

People need to wake up and realize that life doesn’t wait for you. If you want something, get up and go after it.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On Being Different:

“The fear of being different prevents most people from seeking new ways to solve their problems.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“There is no sure path to success, but the surest path to failure is trying to please everyone.” – Tim Ferriss

“The more I risk being rejected, the better my chances are of being accepted.” – Robert Kiyosaki

The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain. – Colin Wilson, British author of the Outsider; New Existentialist

“Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.” – Tim Ferriss

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. – George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionists

“Different is better when it is more effective or more fun.” – Tim Ferriss

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect”. – Mark Twain

On Entrepreneurs:

“Everyone can tell you the risk. An entrepreneur can see the reward.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Find the game where you can win, and then commit your life to playing it; and play to win.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Opportunities abound in bad times as well as good times. In fact, the opportunities are often greater when the conventional wisdom is that everything is going into the toilet.” – Tim Ferriss

“Find out where you are at, where you are going and build a plan to get there.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The richest people in the world build networks; everyone else is trained to look for work.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Skills make you rich, not theories.” – Robert Kiyosaki

What gets measured gets managed. – Peter Drucker, management theorist, author of 31 books, recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom

“When times are bad is when the real entrepreneurs emerge.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“When I started my last business, I didn’t receive a paycheck for 13 months. The average person can’t handle that pressure.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Being an entrepreneur is simply going from one mistake to the next. You must have the fortitude to continue on.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Otherwise, you waste someone else’s time instead of your own, which now wastes your hard-earned cash.” – Tim Ferriss

On Business

The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applies to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. – Bill Gates

When I was younger… I [didn’t] want to be pigeonholed. Basically, now you want to be pigeonholed. It’s your niche. – Joan Chen, actress; appeared in The last Emperor and Twin Peaks

Companies go out of business when they make the wrong decisions or, just as important, make too many decisions. The latter creates complexity. – Mike Maples, cofounder of Motive Communications (IPO to $260 million market cap), founding executive of Tivoli (sold to IBM for $750 million), and investor in companies such as Digg.com

The system is the solution. – AT&T

On Reading People:

“Talk is cheap. Learn to listen with your eyes. Actions do speak louder than words. Watch what a person does more than what he says.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On why just having a job isn’t the answer anymore:

“Workers work hard enough to not be fired, and owners pay just enough so that workers won’t quit.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The problem with having a job is that it gets in the way of getting rich.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“It is predicated on the assumption that you dislike what you are doing during the most physically capable years of your life. This is a nonstarter—nothing can justify that sacrifice.” – Tim Ferriss

By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work 12 hours a day. – Robert Frost, American poet and winner of four Pulitzer prizes

“Financial struggle is often the direct result of people working all their lives for someone else.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“I will take as a given that, for most people, somewhere between six and seven billion of them, the perfect job is the one that takes the least time.” – Tim Ferriss

Choose your words wisely:

“The power of “can’t”: The word “can’t” makes strong people weak, blinds people who can see, saddens happy people, turns brave people into cowards, robs a genius of their brilliance, causes rich people to think poorly, and limits the achievements of that great person living inside us all.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Getting rich begins with the right mindset, the right words and the right plan.” – Robert Kiyosaki

On emotion:

“Emotions are what make us human. Make us real. The word ’emotion’ stands for energy in motion. Be truthful about your emotions, and use your mind and emotions in your favor, not against yourself.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The wealthy buy luxuries last, while the poor and middle-class tend to buy luxuries first. Why? Emotional discipline.” – Robert Kiyosaki

To be a successful business owner and investor, you have to be emotionally neutral to winning and losing. Winning and losing are just part of the game.” – Robert Kiyosaki

There is no difference between a pessimist who says, “oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,” and an optimist who says, “don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.” Either way, nothing happens. – Yvon Choinard, founder of Patagonia

On Focus:

“F.O.C.U.S – Follow One Course Until Successful” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Learn to ask, “If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?” Don’t ever arrive at the office or in front of your computer without a clear list of priorities.” – Tim Ferriss

“What you do is infinitely more important than how you do it. Efficiency is still important, but it is useless unless applied to the right things.” – Tim Ferriss

A schedule defends from chaos and whim. – Annie Dillard, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction, 1975

“Being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing, and is far more unpleasant. Being selective—doing less—is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest.” – Tim Ferriss

Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace. – Robert J. Sawyer

“Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions. The options are almost limitless for creating “busyness”: You could call a few hundred unqualified sales leads, reorganize your Outlook contacts, walk across the office to request documents you don’t really need, or fuss with your BlackBerry for a few hours when you should be prioritizing.” – Tim Ferriss

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. – Henry David Thoreau

On Stress:

“Role models who push us to exceed our limits, physical training that removes our spare tires, and risks that expand our sphere of comfortable action are all examples of eustress—stress that is healthful and the stimulus for growth.” – Tim Ferriss

“Alternating periods of activity and rest is necessary to survive, let alone thrive.” – Tim Ferriss

“Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of mental laziness.” – Tim Ferriss

We create stress for ourselves because you feel like you have to do it. You have to. I don’t feel that anymore. – Oprah Winfrey

“Parkinson’s Law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion.” – Tim Ferriss

On change: 

“Most people want everyone else in the world to change themselves. Let me tell you, it’s easier to change yourself than everyone else.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“In today’s rapidly changing world, the people who are not taking risk are the risk takers.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“It is easy to stay the same but it is not easy to change. Most people choose to stay the same all their lives.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The hardest part of change is going through the unknown.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.” – Tim Ferriss

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and ask myself: “if today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something… Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. – Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, Stanford University commencement, 2005

On Happiness:

“To enjoy life, you don’t need fancy nonsense, but you do need to control your time and realize that most things just aren’t as serious as you make them out to be.” – Tim Ferriss

“People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.” – Tim Ferriss

The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in the state of boredom. – Victor Frankl Auschwitz survivor and founder of Logotherapy, Man’s Search for Meaning

“The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is boredom.” – Tim Ferriss

“Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all.” – Tim Ferriss

People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive. – Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

On Confidence / Fear:

“We all have tremendous potential, and we all are blessed with gifts. Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back is some degree of self-doubt. It is not so much the lack of technical information that holds us back, but more the lack of self-confidence.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.” – Tim Ferriss

“Face your fears and doubts, and new worlds will open to you.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The biggest challenge you have is to challenge your own self doubt and your laziness. It is your self doubt and your laziness that defines and limit who you are.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“The fishing is best where the fewest go and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone is aiming for base hits.” – Tim Ferriss

“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” – Tim Ferriss

On who you spend time with:

“If you want to go somewhere, it is best to find someone who has already been there.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Business and investing are team sports.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Poisonous people do not deserve your time. To think otherwise is masochistic.” – Tim Ferriss

“The richest people in the world build networks; everyone else is trained to look for work.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“You are the average of the five people you associate with most, so do not underestimate the effects of your pessimistic, unambitious, or disorganized friends. If someone isn’t making you stronger, they’re making you weaker.” – Tim Ferriss

“People are fond of using the its not what you know, its who you know adage as an excuse for inaction, as if all successful people are born with powerful friends.” – Tim Ferriss

On Outsourcing / Delegating

“If you spend your time, worth $20-25 per hour, doing something that someone else will do for $10 per hour, it’s simply a poor use of resources.” – Tim Ferriss

“Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Otherwise, you waste someone else’s time instead of your own, which now wastes your hard-earned cash.” – Tim Ferriss

On Seeking Experiences Rather than Material Goods

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: “Is this the condition that I feared?” – Seneca

One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity. – Bruce Lee

It is vain to do with more what can be done with less. – William of Occam, (1300-1350), originator of “Occam’s Razor”