Estee Lauder

Business is there if you go after it.

First comes the shy wish. Then you must have the heart to have the dream. Then, you work, and work.

Risk-taking is the cornerstone of empires.

When I thought I couldn’t go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck.

People do make their luck by daring to follow their instincts, taking risks and embracing every possibility.

I am a visceral person by nature. I act on instinct, quickly, without pondering possible disaster and without indulging in deep introspection.

And now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

I quit therapy because my analyst was trying to help me behind my back.

My dream was to make $1,000 a week, have a Cadillac convertible and an apartment on Ocean Park where I would’ve thought that would be nirvana.

Someone has defined genius as intensity of purpose: the ability todo, the patience to wait. Put these together and you have achievement.

Your income rarely exceeds your personal development.

Successful people are those who are willing to delay gratification and make sacrifices in the short term so that they can enjoy far greater rewards in the long term.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.

Use your work to better yourself.

Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings.

Brainpower is the ultimate leverage.

You’ll find out that nothing that comes easy is worth a dime. As a matter of fact, I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face. Never.

Stay confident even when something bad happens. It is just a bump in the road. It will pass.

Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.

When you’re young, you look at television and think, There’s a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That’s a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards!

Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.