Starting a company can be the most gratifying and the most terrifying thing you’ve ever done.  These famous founders share a spirit of adventure, courage, patience, and sheer perseverance.  All are visionaries who have succeeded by being adaptable to change and undaunted by setbacks.  Draw inspiration from these quotes as you embark on your own entrepreneurial journey!

“The world is open to us, and each day is an occasion to reinvent ourselves.”-Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren & Company

“Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” — Arianna Huffington (The Huffington Post)

“I think one of the things that kills great things so often is compromise—letting people talk you out of what your gut is telling you. Not that I don’t value people’s input, but you have to have the strength to ignore it sometimes, too. If you feel really strongly, there might be something to that, and if you see something that other people don’t see, it could be because it’s that powerful and different. If everyone agrees, it’s probably because you’re not doing anything original.”—Evan Williams (Twitter)

“If you wake up deciding what you want to give versus what you’re going to get, you become a more successful person.” Russell Simmons (Def Jam Records)

“If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later.” Richard Branson (Virgin Group)

“It’s better to have 100 people love you than a million who just sort of like you. Build your business one person at a time. Just focus on 100 people. If they love you, they will market the product for you and tell everyone else.” – Brian Chesky (AirBNB)

I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the nonsuccessful entrepreneurs is perseverance. –Steve Jobs

You must fall in love with what you do, because being an entrepreneur is a lot of hard work, and overcoming a lot of adversity. From that love will come the dedication that will get you out of bed at 4 a.m. because of a great idea you just had and get you to work till 11 p.m. and not feel tired. –Ken Field

If you want to be an entrepreneur, it’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle. It defines you. Forget about vacations, about going home at 6 p.m.–last thing at night you’ll send emails, first thing in the morning you’ll read emails, and you’ll wake up in the middle of the night. But it’s hugely rewarding as you’re fulfilling something for yourself. –Niklas Zennstrom

I want to represent the idea that you really can make what you want … I believe I can create whatever I want to create. –Will Smith

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. –Henry Ford

One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an interest on themselves. You don’t choose your passions; your passions choose you. –Jeff Bezos

I want to be happy. I realized that being happy isn’t necessarily about getting there; it’s how you get there. It almost sounds like a cliché, but every entrepreneur I’ve talked to–every good entrepreneur–really enjoys the “how you get here.” –Ben Huh

I like to be involved in things that change the world. –Elon Musk

You can’t be an entrepreneur for other people. You can’t start a company for other people. You have to love it more than you ever thought of loving something that wasn’t a human being. The demands will kick you down and rob your life–but yet, it is so rewarding. –Blake Lively

I advise all of the entrepreneurs that I know to attend at least one entrepreneurship event every week. The worst thing an entrepreneur can do is to confine his or herself to a cubbyhole. –Vivek Wadhwa

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