ref: Adapted from articles taken from Forbes.com
When a great dream shows up, follow it -
“I dreamed of doing it and finally I achieved it and that is when I came to realize that fantasizing, projecting yourself into a successful situation is the most powerful means there is of achieving personal goals.” - Leonard Lauder, Connecticut College 1989
“Overall, I know it seems like the world is crumbling out there, but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy, follow your curiosity, and be ambitious about it. Don’t give up on your dreams. The world needs you all!” - Larry Page, University of Michigan 2009
Life is short; Try the Unexpected -
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005
“Open to the unexpected, about making room for the improbable and unlikely.” “People will tell you to plan things out as best you can. They will tell you to focus. They will tell you to follow your dreams. They will all be right. But they will also be a little bit wrong. Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to consider the unexpected. Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to entertain the improbable opportunity that comes looking for you. And never be so faithful to your plan that when you hit a bump in the road – or when the bumps hit you – you don’t have the fortitude, grace, and resiliency to rethink and regroup.” - Elizabeth Warren
Be bold and take risks; You’ll Never Again Be so Unburdened -
“The best advice I could give any graduate is to spend your time working on whatever you are passionate about in life,”. If your degree is focused upon one particular area, you shouldn’t let that stop you from moving in another direction; and if college hasn’t worked out for you, don’t let that put you off. “You may decide to take a break and consider your options. I would urge you to travel, take on new experiences and draw upon those when it comes to making the decisions that will shape your future. The amount of business ideas that people pick up from traveling the world is enormous.” - Richard Bronson
“I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story.” – Jeff Bezos, Princeton University 2010
The Power of the Pause -
“Before you go out and press that fast forward button, you’ll have the courage to first press the pause button.” “Pausing allows you to take a breath in your life. As everybody else is rushing around like a lunatic out there, you to do the opposite.” “Be committed to communicating the truth. Don’t get so caught up along the way in what you’re doing and where you’re going that you lose sight of your core values: who you are and what’s important in your life. And finally, remember this: Whenever you’re in doubt: PAUSE - take a moment. Look at your options - check your intentions - and then? Take the high road.” - Maria Shriver
Embrace failure and learn from it -
“It doesn’t matter how far you might rise. If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher, higher the law of averages not to mention the Myth of Icarus predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this, remember this: there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.” - Oprah Winfrey, Harvard University 2013
“I have always believed and I have taught my children and grandchildren that great success is not built on success. It is built on failure, frustration and sometimes even calamity.” - Sumner Redstone, Northwestern University 2002
Be of service: make the world better -
“In the course of your lives, without any plan on your part, you’ll come to see suffering that will break your heart. When it happens, and it will, don’t turn away from it; turn toward it. That is the moment when change is born.” - Melinda Gates, Stanford 2014
Use your imagination -
“Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” - J.K. Rowling, Harvard University 2008
Be flexible -
“You don’t need a grand plan. Whatever plan you do have is probably going to change 100 times before you’re 30. And you don’t need to be an expert in something to try it.” – Michael Bloomberg, University of North Carolina 2012
Work hard and be irrepressible.
“Irrepressible is kind of tenacious, but with optimism. You just have it in you. You keep going and going. You could say, isn’t that the same as passion. It’s not. Passion is the ability to get excited about something. Irrepressibility and tenacity is about the ability to stay with it.” – Steve Ballmer, University of Southern California 2011
Don’t let money drive you -
“The truth is, I’ve never cared for money. I realize that sounds strange coming from a billionaire, and I recognize that many people do work for money, but I would wager that those who become extremely successful are more strongly motivated by the desire to achieve, by a commitment to excellence and by an obsessive drive to win.” – Sumner Redstone, Northwestern University 2002
“I dreamed of doing it and finally I achieved it and that is when I came to realize that fantasizing, projecting yourself into a successful situation is the most powerful means there is of achieving personal goals.” - Leonard Lauder, Connecticut College 1989
“Overall, I know it seems like the world is crumbling out there, but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy, follow your curiosity, and be ambitious about it. Don’t give up on your dreams. The world needs you all!” - Larry Page, University of Michigan 2009
Life is short; Try the Unexpected -
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005
“Open to the unexpected, about making room for the improbable and unlikely.” “People will tell you to plan things out as best you can. They will tell you to focus. They will tell you to follow your dreams. They will all be right. But they will also be a little bit wrong. Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to consider the unexpected. Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to entertain the improbable opportunity that comes looking for you. And never be so faithful to your plan that when you hit a bump in the road – or when the bumps hit you – you don’t have the fortitude, grace, and resiliency to rethink and regroup.” - Elizabeth Warren
Be bold and take risks; You’ll Never Again Be so Unburdened -
“The best advice I could give any graduate is to spend your time working on whatever you are passionate about in life,”. If your degree is focused upon one particular area, you shouldn’t let that stop you from moving in another direction; and if college hasn’t worked out for you, don’t let that put you off. “You may decide to take a break and consider your options. I would urge you to travel, take on new experiences and draw upon those when it comes to making the decisions that will shape your future. The amount of business ideas that people pick up from traveling the world is enormous.” - Richard Bronson
“I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story.” – Jeff Bezos, Princeton University 2010
The Power of the Pause -
“Before you go out and press that fast forward button, you’ll have the courage to first press the pause button.” “Pausing allows you to take a breath in your life. As everybody else is rushing around like a lunatic out there, you to do the opposite.” “Be committed to communicating the truth. Don’t get so caught up along the way in what you’re doing and where you’re going that you lose sight of your core values: who you are and what’s important in your life. And finally, remember this: Whenever you’re in doubt: PAUSE - take a moment. Look at your options - check your intentions - and then? Take the high road.” - Maria Shriver
Embrace failure and learn from it -
“It doesn’t matter how far you might rise. If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher, higher the law of averages not to mention the Myth of Icarus predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this, remember this: there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.” - Oprah Winfrey, Harvard University 2013
“I have always believed and I have taught my children and grandchildren that great success is not built on success. It is built on failure, frustration and sometimes even calamity.” - Sumner Redstone, Northwestern University 2002
Be of service: make the world better -
“In the course of your lives, without any plan on your part, you’ll come to see suffering that will break your heart. When it happens, and it will, don’t turn away from it; turn toward it. That is the moment when change is born.” - Melinda Gates, Stanford 2014
Use your imagination -
“Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” - J.K. Rowling, Harvard University 2008
Be flexible -
“You don’t need a grand plan. Whatever plan you do have is probably going to change 100 times before you’re 30. And you don’t need to be an expert in something to try it.” – Michael Bloomberg, University of North Carolina 2012
Work hard and be irrepressible.
“Irrepressible is kind of tenacious, but with optimism. You just have it in you. You keep going and going. You could say, isn’t that the same as passion. It’s not. Passion is the ability to get excited about something. Irrepressibility and tenacity is about the ability to stay with it.” – Steve Ballmer, University of Southern California 2011
Don’t let money drive you -
“The truth is, I’ve never cared for money. I realize that sounds strange coming from a billionaire, and I recognize that many people do work for money, but I would wager that those who become extremely successful are more strongly motivated by the desire to achieve, by a commitment to excellence and by an obsessive drive to win.” – Sumner Redstone, Northwestern University 2002
