Selected Quotations

• “If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” — Benjamin Franklin
• “The solution lies not in ratcheting down passion, but in elevating awareness. By pausing early in your startup process to take an objective look at yourself and what you bring to the table…you can develop a highly valuable kind of optimism, one that rests on the rock of clear, honest assessment and willful preparation. I call it earned optimism.” — John Bradberry
• “If you want a recipe for a startup that’s going to die, here it is: a couple of founders who have some great idea they know everyone is going to love, and that’s what they’re going to build, no matter what.” — Paul Graham, founder, Y Combinator
• “It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win, that makes the difference.” — Paul “Bear” Bryant
• “The greatest danger for a new venture is to ‘know better’ than the customer what the product or service should be.” — Peter Drucker
• “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” — Admiral James Stockdale
• “It’s not that I’m so smart. It’s just that I stay with problems longer.” — Albert Einstein