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7 Business Quotes to Live By

written by Mitch on March 30th, 2007

John’s blog is all about making money online, but at the end of the day business is about more than money. It’s about making a difference in the lives of you, your employees and your customers.

At one end of the scale people have made billions, spent it on luxurious houses, holidays and cars and have been forgotten. At the other end of the scale, people have made billions and given away most of it to charity and good causes. It’s their philanthropic nature to do so and they know no different. Who do you think will be remembered?

Here are a few quotes about business that I think we should all try to adhere to:

  1. “Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.” - Lord Acton
  2. “Every young man would do well to remember that all successful business stands on the foundation of morality.” - Henry Ward Beecher
  3. “The wheel that squeaks the loudest is the one that gets the grease.” - Josh Billings
  4. “Learning is about more than simply acquiring new knowledge and insights; it is also crucial to unlearn old knowledge that has outlive its relevance. Thus, forgetting is probably at least as important as learning.” - Gary Ryan Blair
  5. “Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile.” - Gary Ryan Blair
  6. “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.” - Tom Brokaw
  7. “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” - Les Brown
  8. “The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.” - Thomas Carlyle
  9. “Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” - Stephen Covey
  10. “Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.” - W. Edwards Deming

This post was “guest blogged” my me, Mitchell Harper. I also run my own blog where I focus on tips to increase your website traffic to your blog. I have been online for over 10 years and run a successful software company called Interspire.

stubsy said on March 30th, 2007 at 4:10 am

Not sure if this one’s true

“Every young man would do well to remember that all successful business stands on the foundation of morality.” - Henry Ward Beecher

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Life Training - Online said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:55 am

I’d say it is. If business isn’t supported by a foundation of morality and integrity we get debacles like Enron.

Self Improvement for the rest of us

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DanyO said on March 30th, 2007 at 6:17 am

yeah, Apply that quote, but only if you want a business that will last. If you don’t your business may be successful, but sooner or later it will come back and bite you.

Reply to this comment
Marc said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:22 am

It all rests on your definition of success. For different people it will have different amounts of truthiness.

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Dave said on March 30th, 2007 at 6:50 am

It definitely is. Unscrupulous business practices will come back to bite you sooner or later.

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stubsy said on March 30th, 2007 at 8:10 am

What I meant was it depends on what you consider imoral, I think one of the biggest industries in the world would be condsidered imoral by a lot of people but a lot of people get rich from it.

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Dave said on March 30th, 2007 at 10:20 am

I assume you are talking about porn.

read this paragraph from the post again :)

“At one end of the scale people have made billions, spent it on luxurious houses, holidays and cars and have been forgotten. At the other end of the scale, people have made billions and given away most of it to charity and good causes. It’s their philanthropic nature to do so and they know no different. Who do you think will be remembered?”

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Marc said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:23 am

Bite you or bite the investors long after you’ve sold off all of your shares?

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Dave said on March 31st, 2007 at 3:52 pm

If you’re referring to the porn industry, I am pretty sure they are all private companies…

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Daniele Salatti said on March 30th, 2007 at 4:16 am

I will print these sentences and frame them!!

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Josh Rives said on March 30th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Ashwin said on March 30th, 2007 at 4:38 am

Excellent post! Was inspired. Like Daniele Salatti, I will also print this and stick in my room.

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Socca said on March 30th, 2007 at 4:49 am

Thank you John and Mitchell for all these articles. It really provides me a better understanding on how to boost traffic and monetize my website.

I will visit this site regularly from now on.

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Manthem said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:02 am

There are 10 quotes there right?

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Matt Huggins said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:12 am

Beat me to it :razz:

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Dave said on March 30th, 2007 at 6:51 am

Haha, I totally missed that :) The title says 7…

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Michael Kwan said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:14 am

I noticed that too. I had a second-take when I got to the list.

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ilker said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:27 am

Nice quotes Mitch. Here is my favorite quote I live by:

“Knowledge grows when shared.” - Bhartrihari (c 450-510)

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Marc said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:26 am

“People Want Holes, Not Drills” - a CEO from Black and Decker

It’s not necessarily an exact quote, but I can’t seem to find the original quote anywhere, but that’s the gist of it.

If you’re ever unsure of what you’re doing with regards to business, this quote will help ground you in reality.

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Simonne said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:37 am

Shall I add one more with your permission? “Madness is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results” (Albert Einstein)

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James said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:55 am

An interesting way to put this in a quantum physics way-
Breaking the pattern opens up new possibilities.

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DanyO said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:48 am

These quotes should be printed and posted above your desk. When you are having a hard time with something, read and re-read.

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James said on March 30th, 2007 at 5:53 am

“Wherever you go - There you are.” -Buckaroo Bonzi
Had to get that one in.

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Dwayne Reaves said on March 30th, 2007 at 6:09 am

Good post Mitch, So which 7 out of the 10 should we live by LOL.

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lyndonmaxewell said on March 30th, 2007 at 6:38 am

I guess the number 7 is more important in SEO than 10. That might explain it.. :D

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Marc said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:28 am

Not so much SEO, but human psychology ;) But you raise a great point :)

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Nenad Ristic said on March 30th, 2007 at 6:51 am

Some nice quotes there, although I find them a bit pedestrian… They lack a certain poetry that truly inspiring quotes have.

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Marc said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:30 am

I was wondering if I was the only one who shared that sentiment. There are much better ones out there. A great quote is normally very short, giving you lots of room to fill in the blanks and apply it to your unique situation. But that’s just my opinion.

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Kevin said on March 30th, 2007 at 7:04 am

Great quotes. Damn, I’d like to guestpost. :D

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DanyO said on March 30th, 2007 at 8:50 am

Well, do it. Write the best Online Money Making article you can and submit it. Who knows, it might work.

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Kumiko said on March 30th, 2007 at 7:30 am

“She who always quotes others rarely has others quote her!” - Kumiko Suzuki

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DanyO said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:28 am

yup, that’s a nice one :mrgreen:

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Ben Hoffman - Internet Marketing said on March 30th, 2007 at 7:42 am

Good quotes,

Here are a few from one of my favourite motivational speakers Anthony Robbins:

Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment..

The past doesn’t equal the future.

Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.

If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible

Reply to this comment
Life Training - Online said on March 30th, 2007 at 8:17 am

Especially if it’s common sense…which isn’t very common after all. :wink:
Self Improvement for John Chow readers

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DanyO said on March 30th, 2007 at 8:48 am

Great blog you have there. A little bit like Steve Pavlina’s, but great content nontheless.

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Kunal said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:00 am

Here’s my quote:

“Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems” - Notorious BIG

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Marc said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:31 am

I’ve found that one to be factually inaccurate.

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Dave said on March 30th, 2007 at 10:22 am

I don’t think that worked out so well for me sadly :(

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Dave said on March 30th, 2007 at 10:23 am

er…sorry that as supposed to say

“I don’t think that worked out so well for him, sadly”

Jeeze we should be able to register and edit our comments for mistakes :)

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Stuart Hannig said on March 30th, 2007 at 10:52 am

I love inspirational quotes about business :)

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Gary Lee said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:00 am

“Imagination is More Important than Knowledge” - Albert Einstein

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DanyO said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:23 am

Still need a little bit of knowledge though.

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Juan Francisco said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:24 am

I like number 5 and number 7. That is why I don´t watch TV (just movies and not that many). That is a great advantage over the 99% of the people who do watch TV.

Another Business Quote:
“I got 99 problems and a bitch aint one”
Jay-z

ROFL!

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DanyO said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:32 am

watching several hours of tv a day is certainly a waste of time. It usually gets in the way of over achieving.

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Jack said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:39 am

I expected Donald Trump to show up in their somewhere, I’m slightly disappointed.

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Dave said on March 31st, 2007 at 3:53 pm

I don’t’ think Donald Trump is all that great.

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derrich said on March 30th, 2007 at 11:46 am

Wow. For a sec I thought “John Chow? List?”. Nevermind that the first line would suggest that he was writting in third person. That didn’t strike me as unusual given John’s evil nature.

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Jack said on March 30th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Staska said on March 30th, 2007 at 12:59 pm

Here’s my favorite quote that I found this month:

“You’ll never get rich by working hard”- John Chow :mrgreen:

http://www.johnchow.com/index.php/working-hard-but-not-smart/

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Mitchell Harper said on March 30th, 2007 at 2:59 pm

Kunal: You’re such a gangsta with your comments it’s hilarious :mrgreen:

It was meant to be 7 but I think I found 10 good ones instead and forgot to change the title, so my apologies for that!

For those saying they want to guest post, I was thinking about offering a guest spot on my blog this week so just email me with your post if you want to be considered.

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Culture Shiok! said on March 30th, 2007 at 9:25 pm

“The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.” - Thomas Carlyle

I like this…. :mrgreen:

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Dave said on March 31st, 2007 at 7:50 am

Michael is sure guest posting a lot…I bet that’s helping his blog grow :)

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Das Brain said on March 31st, 2007 at 8:52 am

My favourite one is
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” - Les Brown

An individual has to aim high, and never give up.
Very good quotes, thanks for posting them. :idea:

Das Brain

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eyje_moderator said on April 1st, 2007 at 7:34 am

an interesting but not beneficial article
Quentin Tarantula / Moderator at Eyje
http://www.eyje.com

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Matt Jones said on April 2nd, 2007 at 2:00 am

Those are pretty wise quotes… I duno about living by them though…

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soul-healer said on April 3rd, 2007 at 3:01 am

these quotes are highly motivative … like reading them

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Amanda said on April 3rd, 2007 at 6:49 am

I have to say after reading even the past posts there are a lot of motivating things on here

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Chris M said on April 3rd, 2007 at 3:30 pm

Thank you for all these great articles. It really provides me a beta understanding on how to increase my traffic and monetize my website.

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blabWire said on April 13th, 2007 at 8:47 am

I’m not sure this is a valid interpretation. One thing I am trying to focus on with the new blog (www.blabwire.com) is providing good content before trying to make money. Although my other projects have been relatively successful, I feel like it’s time to publish something I would want to check out even if I weren’t making a living online.

blabEditor

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Article Checker said on April 9th, 2007 at 11:44 am

Was browsing through old posts and I read this one again. It’s been my chicken soup for the [mogul-wanna-be] soul. :smile:

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TeamTutorials said on April 11th, 2007 at 9:53 am

Mitch always has great content, even if it is posted on this blog.

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Mr. Red said on April 14th, 2007 at 3:14 am

I keep trying to convince my wife the same things, she aint having it

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