“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” - Albert Einstein

Commentary: There is something to be said about sustained thinking and obsessing over a problem. Einstein spent years thinking about some of his theories and problems. Others usually give up after their problems seem insurmountable.

I don’t think years are required to solve most problems, you just have to do the thinking and stick with it until the solution presents itself.

Here’s a bonus quote along the same lines:

“No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking” - Voltaire

“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”  -Chinese proverb

Commentary:

This quote applies to your life as well as your business. Is it really worth it to be right or to get angry at your client even if they are being unreasonable? Sometimes, if you just “suck it up”, apologize and move on, you could prevent many disasters: chargebacks, compliants to the BBB and FTC, even lawsuits.

We believe it is always best to a) apologize and sympathize b) immediately resolve the issue and c) give the client their money back (if the mistake was our fault) and in some cases, even if it is the client’s fault. Your reputation is worth more than arguing over money, especially if the value is under say $100.

“There is no correlation at all between success and hours worked.”  - Seth Godin

Commentary: A common theme among business and personal development information is that a focus on hard work only will only make you a hard worker, not necessarily successful. There are billions of hard workers in the world - 3rd world farmers, 18/hour day wage slaves, people who hold 2 jobs at minimum wage, etc.

Successful people work hard on the right things, or better yet, have others work hard for them. The right things are those things that generate the highest return: education, improvement of a product, finding solutions, family, relationships, etc. Everyone knows what the right thing is for their particular situation. The key is focussing on that right thing and putting your efforts towards that. Finally, most successful people turn their passion into their business or career - therefore they don’t consider any time spent doing it “hard work” at all.

“Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex and intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior.”

- Dee Hock, CEO Emeritus VISA International

Commentary: Complex rules and regulations are most apparent in government and you’ve seen first hand how efficiently government is run at your local DMV. On the other side of the equation, look at Wal-Mart, a huge organization with a simple purpose and simple principles (low prices, large selection, efficient operations) that is the model of efficiency for an organization that employs 800,000 + people.

“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.

“The greatest value in creating a [business] plan is not the final document. It’s the communication, prioritization, focus, clarity and learning that make the process worthwhile. ”

- Jim Horan, author and consultant

Commentary: This quote speaks for itself, of course we would pick Jim Horan to quote about business plans, he is the author of one of our favorite business books of all time: The One Page Business Plan. Read more about writing a business plan on our page dedicated to that topic.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”  - Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor

“The man who never makes a mistake always takes orders from one who does.”   – Daisy Bates

Commentary: If you are terrified of failing or making mistakes, then you simply will not have the fortitude to do anything beyond mediocre. Great people tend to fail - a LOT - but when they succeed, they win big because they are willing to risk big. Great people see “failures” as “learning opportunities”.

When starting a business, it’s important to realize the value of mistakes. The key is learning from your failures and pressing forward.