“Life is really simple as far as I’m concerned. There is no luck, you work hard and study things intently. If you do that for long and hard enough you’re successful.” – Jason Calacanis

Commentary: Jason Calacanis basically started from nowhere, to starting an obscure tech magazine in New York City, to starting Weblogs, Inc. (which he sold to AOL for $30 million) and now as the founder of Mahalo with $20 million in Venture Capital. He didn’t whine along the way about not having the right education, the right opportunities, the right location, he just did as he says above: work hard, study, repeat – you’re successful.

“Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.”  – Winston Churchill

Commentary: A constant theme on this blog is that taking risks and failing are a natural part of running a small business and are, in fact, necessary, if you want to make any real progress. The same applies to life in general: try, fail, don’t beat yourself up, learn, try again – follow that formula and success is virtually guaranteed.

“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.”  - Michael E. Gerber

Commentary: This quote comes from one of our most highly recommended books: The E-Myth. The section of the book this quote comes from is the part about creating your “Primary Aim” and is integral to your success in business and in life. Explore more of our recommended small business books.