10 Quotes From Entrepreneurs That Make It Okay To Be a Little Crazy

April 25, 2014

So you are an aspiring entrepreneur with some big ideas that could easily change the world. I’m willing to bet your parents and friends have probably called you a dreamer, eccentric, or just plain crazy. Are they right?

Probably, but that just means you are on the right track to making your vision of the future a reality. Take it from some of today’s greatest entrepreneurs- number one, you have to be a little crazy to be an entrepreneur in the first place, and number two, the best entrepreneurs probably sounded insane when they first explained their ideas too.

Here are ten quotes for why it’s okay to be a little crazy because odds are, you’ll probably be a great entrepreneur one day.

1. “We are currently not planning on conquering the world.”

– Sergey Brin, Co-Founder of Google

But you should! Some people might disagree with this statement, but it’s the exact mentality you need if you want to dominate the world with your awesome ideas. Some might think it’s delusional to think so big, but where most see mountains, you’ll only see a small hill.

2. “When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts.”

-Larry Ellison, Co-Founder, CEO of Oracle Corporation

People are naturally pessimistic of new things- call it a fear of the unknown. When you have your mind set on something the world has never seen, expect that most won’t be able to understand how it will work at first. When you make it a reality, just don’t rub it in their faces too hard.

3. “If you decide that you’re going to do only the things you know are going to work, you’re going to leave a lot of opportunity on the table.”

– Jeff Bezos, Founder, CEO of Amazon

Try EVERYTHING. Sure there are smart ways to do things, but if you find yourself stumped in trying to launch your startup and you’ve tried everything you know, get experimental. You never know what you can learn, accomplish, or use for later. You aren’t crazy for failing, you’d be crazy to not try.

4. “I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.”

– Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group

So what that you view yourself as a dictator-entrepreneur. When you have a grand vision, only you can control your world. Innovation isn’t a democracy, it’s an arms race and you want to be the first and the best. Besides, nobody else will want to see your baby succeed more than you.

5. “Whatever you are thinking, think bigger.”

-Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

What’s thinking big to Tony Hsieh? Spending $350 million to transform Downtown Las Vegas into a techie’s wonderland and buying 100 Tesla cars to create a vehicle sharing program there. Whatever your idea is, imagine what it would be like on steroids and go for that.

6. “Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

– Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple

Steve Jobs- brilliant, crazy, genius- enough said. What tech entrepreneur doesn’t idolize him? If you think your idea, product, or startup can change the world, get on his level. The best part is, you don’t even have to be some tech genius to change the world. Being this kind of crazy takes courage, so the real question is, are you brave enough to change the world?

7. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

– Elon Musk, Co-Founder, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors

For most of us, the sky’s the limit. For Elon Musk, his limit is probably set at Mars. He has every element and resource of humanity working against him to push mankind beyond this planet, but he’s still doing it because in his mind, we have to colonize space to survive- that sounds pretty damn important. If your ideas can save the world, let nothing stop you.

8. “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.”

-Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of LinkedIn

No group of quotes for entrepreneurs would be complete without one on teamwork. Succeed as a wolf pack or be a lone wolf loser, the choice is yours. You’d have to be delusional to think you can accomplish your dreams without a team.

9. “Work like there is someone working twenty-four hours a day to take it all away from you.”

– Mark Cuban, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor

Working hard as an entrepreneur is an understatement- you have to be ruthless when it comes to growing your company. Odds are, there is someone out there right now with your idea making moves to be the first one out there with it- no, this isn’t paranoia. Are you going to let them steal your idea and win?

10. “If you live for weekends or vacations, your shit is broken.”

-Gary Vaynerchuk, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor

If you’ve been at it for a while now, you know that your social life is something you’ve put on hold; there simply aren’t enough hours in a day and days in a week for you to kick back and relax, so your friends call you a workaholic. That’s totally fine, because when your company is making bank, your whole life can be a vacation- that’s crazy.

Share this Article