March 1, 2013 3 min read

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In entrepreneurship, as with most other worthwhile endeavors in life -- from attending college to getting a job to parenting -- having a role model can be hugely valuable. Not only is it helpful to follow their footsteps and avoid their missteps, these entrepreneurial icons are always good for a healthy dose of inspiration.

With this in mind, we culled 10 of the most inspiring entrepreneurship quotes around. They also happen to be our favorites:

Steve Jobs: Co-Founder of Apple "Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." ~ from his 2005 Stanford commencement address.

Walter Elias a.k.a. ‘Walt Disney:’ Co-Founder of Walt Disney Productions "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ from the 2004 book How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life.

Related: 10 Inspirational Quotes From Top Entrepreneurial Leaders

Richard Branson: Chairman of the Virgin Group "My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had -- everyday I’m learning something new."

Oprah Winfrey: Media mogul "Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself."

Bill Gates: Chairman of Microsoft "It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure."

Related: 5 Myths About Being an Entrepreneur

Henry Ford: Founder of the Ford Motor Company "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently… A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large."



Larry Page: Co-Founder of Google "You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea" ~ from a 2001 BusinessWeek article.

Related: 10 Top Reasons Why First-Time Entrepreneurs Fail



Warren Buffett: Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently." ~ from a 2011 story in The Guardian.

Russell Simmons: Founder of Def Jam Records "I’ve been blessed to find people who are smarter than I am, and they help me to execute the vision I have." ~ from a 2010 article in Brandmaker News.

Jeff Bezos: Chairman and CEO of Amazon "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." ~ from the 2013 book Shortcut to Prosperity: 10 Entrepreneurial Habits and a Roadmap for an Exceptional Career.



-The sources for the quotes included in this piece are listed, when available.