My first college business professor was a fanatical Peter Drucker devotee.

He launched our course with a dissection of Drucker’s The Effective Executive and concluded with a thorough reading of The Practice of Management.

Through my professor's tireless evangelism, I developed a keen appetite for the timeless wisdom of this prescient thought leader.


Young entrepreneurs unfamiliar with Drucker would do well to study his insightful commentary on the world of "management." Millennials mired inside a traditional corporate environment and people living life inside lean startups will find his thinking particularly spot on.

Even after all these years, 10 Peter Drucker quotes still bounce around in my head constantly:


1. “Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right.”

2. “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”

3. “There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.”


4. “What gets measured gets improved.”


5. “Results are gained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems.”


6. “So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work.”

7. “People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.”

8. “Meetings are by definition a concession to a deficient organization. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time.”


9. “Long-range planning does not deal with the future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.”


10. "Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things"

My cynical side (and my short attention span!) feels especially drawn to number eight on that list.

But the quotes that really excite and ignite my entrepreneurial imagination are numbers two and five.

Which quote resonates most deeply with you? Most importantly, which of Drucker's words will change your world?

This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com

Today would have marked the 90th birthday of esteemed novelist Harper Lee, who passed away this past February. Lee's death came shortly after the release of her second book Go Set A Watchmen. The book provided another in-depth look into the lives of beloved characters from her first best seller, To Kill A Mockingbird. Both novels sparked intense interest and debate across the country.

The novelist was famous for refusing interviews and appearances for the majority of her life. Lee very seldom spoke publicly, giving only one in-depth interview in the 1960s.

Here’s a roundup of the author’s (rare) statements in life, and on the page:



1. “It's better to be silent than to be a fool.”
- Alabama Academy of Honor "speech" 2007



2. “Some things should happen on soft pages, not cold metal.”
- letter to Oprah in 2006

3. “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
- Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

4. “Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
- Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird


5. “Naturally, you don't sit down in 'white hot inspiration' and write with a burning flame in front of you. But since I knew I could never be happy being anything but a writer, and Mockingbird put itself together for me so accommodatingly, I kept at it because I knew it had to be my first novel, for better or for worse.”
- Interview with Roy Newquist, Counterpoints, 1964


6. “All I want to be is the Jane Austen of south Alabama.”
- WQXR radio station in New York

7. “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
- Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

8. “The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”
- Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird



9. “You see, more than a simple matter of putting down words, writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer.”
- Interview with Roy Newquist, Counterpoints, 1964

10. “People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for.”
- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird


This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com

It's been three years since I made the leap from successful accountant to entrepreneur. Before making the jump I read quotes from successful leaders to motivate myself. Here are some of the quotes that inspired me then and some more recent ones that have inspired me since. Whether you’ve just started a company or have been running one for awhile, there is a lot you can learn from some of the most successful CEOs.

This list compiles some of the best advice out there from CEOs on success, working with your team, becoming a CEO, being a CEO and dealing with customers as a CEO. Every quote has helped me become a much better leader myself.

On success:


1. “When you start a company, it's more an art than a science because it's totally unknown. Instead of solving high-profile problems, try to solve something that's deeply personal to you. Ideally, if you're an ordinary person and you've just solved your problem, you might have solved the problem for millions of people.”

– Brian Chesky, Airbnb.

2. “I never set out to be CEO. I always set out to be a good team member, a good colleague.”

– John Stumpf, Wells Fargo.

3. “Every time you make the hard, correct decision you become a bit more courageous, and every time you make the easy, wrong decision you become a bit more cowardly. If you are CEO, these choices will lead to a courageous or cowardly company.”

– Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz.


4. “To build a great company, which is a CEO's job, sometimes you have to stand up against conventional wisdom.”

– Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard.

5. “My goal was never to just create a company. A lot of people misinterpret that, as if I don't care about revenue or profit or any of those things. But what not being just a company means to me is not being just that - building something that actually makes a really big change in the world.”

– Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

On working with your team:


6. “Talent is the No. 1 priority for a CEO. You think it's about vision and strategy, but you have to get the right people first.”

– Andrean Jung, Grameen America.

7. “Teaching your employees something new creates an instant connection, and they will respect you for it. If you can do this in a job interview, you will be sure to attract the smartest people. Money doesn’t mean much to a lot of the smartest people in the world—they want to grow their intelligence rather than their wallet. If you show employees that they will progress intellectually in their career, and economically while at your company, then they will want to work for you.”

– Taso Du Val, Toptal.


8. “The real damper on employee engagement is the soggy, cold blanket of centralized authority. In most companies, power cascades downwards from the CEO. Not only are employees disenfranchised from most policy decisions, they lack even the power to rebel against egocentric and tyrannical supervisors.”

– Gary Hamel, Gary Hamel Consulting.

9. “Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person - not just an employee - are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.”

– Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox.

10. “The lessons I learned from the dark days at Alibaba are that you've got to make your team have value, innovation, and vision. Also, if you don't give up, you still have a chance. And, when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.”

– Jack Ma, Alibaba.

On becoming a CEO:


11. “The path to the CEO's office should not be through the CFO's office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design.”

– Elon Musk, SpaceX.

12. “If you want a CEO role, you have to prepare for it with a vengeance.”

– Denise Morrison, Campbell Soup Company.

13. “I always believe that, as you start out, while you should have a big dream - a big goal - but it's also important to move step by step. So, you know, frankly, if you ask me, when I started as a management trainee in 1984, I don't know that I really thought that I would become the CEO.”
– Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank.

14. “Just because you are CEO, don't think you have landed. You must continually increase your learning, the way you think, and the way you approach the organization. I've never forgotten that.”

– Indra Nooyi, PepsiCO.

15. “As the CEO, I have to take care of the short term, mid term and the long term.”

– Carlos Ghosn, Nissan.

16. “I am who I am, and I'm focused on that, and being a great CEO of Apple.”

– Tim Cook, Apple.

17. “As a wife, daughter, friend, and the founder and CEO of LearnVest, my schedule is anything but simple. But I learned early on how to meticulously manage my time.”

– Alexa Von Tobel, LearnVest.

18. “As an entrepreneur, I try to push the limits. Pedal to the metal.”

– Travis Kalanick, Uber.

19. “A successful team beats with one heart.”

– Michael Gokturk, Payfirma.

20. "When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts."

– Larry Ellison, Oracle.

21. “Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with customers and get their feedback and understand their needs.”

– Bill Gates, Microsoft.

22. “I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.”

– Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!.

23. “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

– Jeff Bezos, Amazon.

24. “Never forget that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression - with investors, with customers, with PR, and with marketing.”

– Natalie Massenet, Net-a-Porter.

25. “It is so much easier to be nice, to be respectful, to put yourself in your customers' shoes and try to understand how you might help them before they ask for help, than it is to try to mend a broken customer relationship.”

– Mark Cuban, AXS TV.

Here's to becoming the best leaders and CEOs that we can be.

This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com

I’m not sure if this will finally be Leonardo DiCaprio’s year, for The Revenant, or if newcomer Brie Larson, in Room, will trump perennial favorite Cate Blanchett for the latter's role in Carol. What I can tell you is that people are inspired by movies and jazzed by Hollywood’s award season. But what does that have to do with business?



The answer: inspiration. Where do your business ideas come from? From a variety of sources, I bet. Whether it’s a personal experience, a business experience, a billboard you saw when you were driving down the road or something your significant other said at the grocery store: Inspiration comes from a wide variety of sources.

So, whether you feel like "the king of the world," or believe that you "could’ve been a contender" or consider that you should "always be closing": Entrepreneurs can draw a lot from movies. And as we approach Hollywood’s biggest night, the Academy Awards, here are a few movie lines that have inspired me throughout my own career:

1. 'The Godfather' (Best Picture, 1972)
“Great men are not born great, they grow great.”


Isn’t that the truth! No one is born with massive amounts of knowledge. If you’re smart enough, you acquire some of that knowledge along the way. If you’re one of those people who think they know it all, I've got news for you: You don’t! That is the first obstacle you must overcome, your own arrogance.

Throughout my career, I’ve been called pig-headed, even irrational, but I haven't been bothered by it. In fact, I've welcomed it. Why? Because I’ve been smart enough to learn a few things along the way and use that knowledge to grow.

As a young entrepreneur being shown the ranks, I sat in meetings where my boss would say things like, “Because it’s always been done that way.” If you expect to be in business a long time, this is one surefire way to cut that shelf life short. And it's not a good mentality to have if you want to grow and be great. Nothing beats experience.



2. 'All the King’s Men' (Best Picture, 1949)
“To find something, anything, a great truth or a lost pair of glasses, you must first believe there will be some advantage in finding it.”




"Advantage" is the basis of any entrepreneur. The road to entrepreneurship is paved with roadblocks and potholes galore. We all know that, but one thing we entrepreneurs have in common is the belief that we will find success.

We have this dream of the company that we want to build and shape. We have a vision, and we’ll work ourselves to exhaustion trying to make our dream a success, regardless of what the naysayers say (because they will say something about why you won't succeed).

You will find that your business success will not come from any trophies or titles. It will come as a reflection of your truth. Your vision becoming a reality will be the measure of your success, and throughout this process you must stay true to who you are.

What made you become an entrepreneur in the first place? Let that serve as your true north. Being authentic is the key to success -- it has been for me. That and my belief that I can make a living doing something I love doing.



3. 'Rocky' (Best Picture, 1977)
“Nobody is going to hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”

You just read that quote in Sly Stallone’s voice, didn’t you? That’s okay. I did too. Rocky is speaking some truths here. Life is hard enough as it is, but there will come a time where life will knock you flat on your rear end. You must get back up! You must!

Life as an entrepreneur can be lonely. Not everyone will understand your drive, your vision or your passion. There will even be times where there won’t be anyone in sight to help you up after life has knocked you down. In my own life, one of my biggest business "knock-downs" involved pheasants.

Those stupid birds taste delicious but have got to be some of the stupidest birds on the planet. I love pheasant, love hunting them, so at first I thought, What could go wrong? After all, I am passionate about this venture, and I’m pretty good at business. Little did I know that a prairie storm would wipe away my newest venture.

In fact, the pheasants huddled together and drowned in the storm. And I lost everything. Needless to say, the true takeaway here is that, when life knocks you down, you should get up and hit it back harder. Just don’t expect soaring music when you run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art



4. 'Million Dollar Baby' (Best Picture, 2004)
“It’s the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you.”

Once again, the life of an entrepreneur can be lonely. You have your dream and vision, but there are people who are incapable of visualizing your dream or are so jealous of your success that they will plant seeds of doubt in your head. Don’t let them. Haters are gonna hate, so let them! People will tell you how you should do things.

Tell ’em to shut up! Write your own story. If others want to write a story, let them write their own.

Your business will need to reflect your vision, not anyone else’s. So, stop listening to other voices if you want to be the best "you" possible. It’s your dream, your vision.



5. 'Lawrence of Arabia' (Best Picture, 1962)
“Big things have small beginnings, sir.”

Don’t ever think you’re too big for your britches. When you give yourself the title of “CEO,” that doesn’t mean you’re not going to end up cleaning your own bathroom or taking out the trash. If you’re not willing to do something, how can you ask your team to do that same thing?

As CEO of a company, big or small, it can be really easy to lose perspective and let our titles define us. A CEO cleaning his/her own bathroom? Unheard of in some cases. However, I see it as a positive. Why? It keeps entrepreneurs grounded.



For me, humble work reminds me that I come from humble beginnings and that I need to be able to do everything I can for my company to succeed. It also allows me to stay connected, in some visceral way, to all aspects of my business. Disconnection can be a lonely island of entitlement, and you must find that balance between pushing forward and staying grounded. While I encourage everyone to "think big," I also warn, "Don’t become too big." That can be a major turn-off for many.

What movie inspires you to forge ahead? Which one dared you to put into motion your dream of becoming an entrepreneur? One thing is for sure: Nothing will happen if you don’t at least attempt to get things started. As Master Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

What are your Academy Awards picks?

This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com

Prince has died, which doesn't seem possible to the fans who saw him as an otherworldly being. He may have only lived on Earth for 57 years, but his philosophy seemed to stretch thousands of years into the future.

We'll have the rest of time to unravel his musings on music, self-image, being cool, Justin Bieber and everything in between.

1. On time.



2. On being cool, from someone who knows.



3. On human development.





4. On his immunity to public opinion.





5. He really, really didn't care what people thought.





6. On what's next.



7. On the structure of his being.





8. His advice to Justin Bieber.



9. On loss.





This article originally appeared on Mashable.

“We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It’s a death trap.”~ Anthony Hopkins



The mind loves to think, and it never seems to want to stop. In fact, we overthink so much that many people consider it a worldwide epidemic. Through extensive research, psychology professor Susan Nolen-Hoeksema of the University of Michigan found that overthinking occurs mostly in young and middle aged adults, with 73% of 25-35 year-olds identifying as overthinkers. There are also more women (57%) than men (43%) who tend to think too much.

The mind sometimes resembles a five year old child – it wants to have everything a certain way and never knows how to sit still. If you allow your brain to continuously run a mile a minute without ever interjecting, it will only press on with the madness until you discover that your mind has slowly become a prison. Learning to take time quiet your mind, instead of distracting it, can allow you to have more mental clarity, focus, and give up the toxic habit of overthinking.



1. You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.


2. Before you talk, listen. Before you react, think. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try!





3. Stop worrying about what can go wrong, and get excited about what can go right.


4. Overthinking – the art of creating problems that weren’t even there.


5. There is nothing in this world that can trouble you as much as your own thoughts.





6. Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.


7. Stop overthinking. You can’t control everything, just let it be.




8. Dear mind, please stop thinking so much at night. I need sleep.


9. Overthinking is the biggest cause of unhappiness.


10. Don’t ruin a new day by thinking about yesterday. Let it go.


11. A quiet mind is able to hear intuition over fear.





This article originally appeared on Power of Positivity

What would life be without relationships?

Healthy relationships--those that are mutually caring and giving--are necessary for personal success.

Everyone needs someone to learn from and share ideas with. Good relationships offer understanding when you fail, confidence when you're in doubt, and celebration as you go through life. They also allow you opportunities to give, to mentor, and to share. Take time to nurture and appreciate the relationships that make a difference in your business and your life.

Quotes from two of my mentors begin and end this list of 12. The first one is a simple, insightful definition of teamwork by David Cottrell. The last one is a powerful, personal call to action by Zig Ziglar.

1. "Teamwork is connected independence".--David Cottrell

 2. "Even the Lone Ranger didn't do it alone."--Harvey MacKay

 3. "Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grows."--Ben Stein




4. "When nobody around you seems to measure up, it's time to check your yardstick."--Bill Lemley

5. "You will become like the five people you associate with the most. This can be either a blessing or a curse."--Billy Cox 

6. "It is surprising how much you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit."--Abraham Lincoln



7. "One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before going to bed."--Bernard Baruch





8. "Our rewards in life will always be in exact proportion to the amount of consideration we show toward others."--Earl Nightingale

9. "The golden rule is of no use whatsoever unless you realize that it is your move."--Frank Crane



10. "Nice guys may appear to finish last, but usually they are running in a different race."--Ken Blanchard

11. "There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up."--John Andres Holmes





12. "I believe that you can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."--Zig Ziglar



This article originally appeared on Inc.

'Deadpool' is an R-rated film, a superhero one at that, yet it has spectacularly managed to wow the audiences so much that it has now become the world’s highest grossing R-rated film of all time. Truth be told, 'Deadpool' is awesome.

It’s definitely my all-time favourite superhero film, all thanks to its funnily foul-mouthed protagonist. And while a great deal of it comes from Ryan Reynolds’ physical display of humour, most of the credit goes to its dialogues.

Not only is Deadpool insanely sarcastic, eccentric and fu*king hilarious, he is also incredibly deep and real too. This is exactly why we decided to make a list of such quotes that pretty much make this film a must, must-watch.

1. Life is an endless series of train-wrecks with only brief, commercial-like breaks of happiness.







2. I do not hate everything about the world. Just every show they've ever put on after 'Friends'.



3. Ajax: “Do you have an off switch?”



Deadpool: “It’s right next to the prostate, or is that the on switch?”

4. Today was about as much fun as a sandpaper dildo.



5. You're probably thinking "Whose balls did I have to fondle to get my very own movie"? I can't tell you his name, but it rhymes with 'pullverine.'”



6. Wow, this is such a big house, but I only ever see the two of you here. It's like the studio didn't have enough money for any more X-Men.





7. I had another Liam Neeson nightmare. I kidnapped his daughter and he just wasn't having it. They made three of those movies. At some point you have to wonder if he's just a bad parent.



8. You don’t need to be a superhero to get the girl, the right girl will bring out the hero in you.





9. WAIT! You may be wondering why the red suit. Well, that's so bad guys don't see me bleed.



[Points at a thug on the left]

This guy's got the right idea... He wore the brown pants!

10. Whatever they did to me made me totally indestructible... and completely unfuckable.



11. I don't want to go to Mexico for treatment. Do you know what the Spanish word is for cancer? El cancer



12. Your right leg is Thanksgiving and your left leg is Christmas. Can I come and visit you between the holidays?





13. I didn't ask to be super, and I'm no hero. But when you find out your worst enemy is after your best girl, the time has come to be a fucking superhero.



14. Looks *are* everything. You ever heard David Beckham speak? It's like he mouth-sexed a can of helium. Think Ryan Reynolds got this far on his superior acting method?



Photo credits: © 20th Century Fox

This article originally appeared on MensXP.

It's safe to say that in one way or another, everyone's lives have been affected by Mark Zuckerberg and that little social media network he created called Facebook. Through Facebook, people from all different parts of the world across every type of imaginable background are able to connect with one another. Campaigns and causes can reach millions, conversations can be had about important and relevant issues and at its base level, it's made keeping in touch with people virtually effortless.

It's safe to say then, that the man behind the website that's now become a vital part of so many people's lives, knows what it takes to create a company and a business that's both innovative, informative and revolutionary.

We rounded up some of Zuckerberg's best quotes about his business practices and entrepreneurship, and as you could've guessed, there's so much to learn from his approach. Here are his 15 best quotes about entrepreneurship and business:



1. "In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks."



2. "People don't care about what you say, they care about what you build."



3. "You are better off trying something and having it not work and learning from that than not doing anything at all."




4. “In terms of doing work and in terms of learning and evolving as a person, you just grow more when you get more people’s perspectives.”





5. "People can be really smart or have skills that are directly applicable, but if they don't really believe in it, then they are not going to really work hard."



6. "Building a mission and building a business go hand-in-hand."




7. "We look for people who are passionate about something. In a way, it almost doesn't matter what you're passionate about."



8. "The question I ask myself like almost every day is, 'Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?' ... Unless I feel like I'm working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I'm not going to feel good about how I'm spending my time.”



9. "Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough."



10. “People think innovation is just having a good idea but a lot of it is just moving quickly and trying a lot of things.”



11. "I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress."





12. "The question isn't, 'What do we want to know about people?', It's, 'What do people want to tell about themselves?'"



13. “So many businesses get worried about looking like they might make a mistake, they become afraid to take any risk. Companies are set up so that people judge each other on failure.”



14. “I would rather be in the cycle where people are underestimating us. It gives us latitude to go out and make big bets that excite and amaze people.”





15. "My goal was never to just create a company. A lot of people misinterpret that, as if I don't care about revenue or profit or any of those things. But what not being 'just' a company means to me is building something that actually makes a really big change in the world."



Zuckerberg knows that doing things the traditional way won't take you far. His core ideal of wanting to connect people and listen to what they have to say is crucial in creating a brand and company that people believe in and want to engage in.