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Quotes for Entrepreneurs–November 2012
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“People chase investors, but your best investor is the first real customer. And your customers are also your best salesmen.”
Saras Sarasvathy
h/t Tor Gronsund (@tor)
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“Lawyers ask questions to which they already know the answers.
Scientists ask questions to which they don’t know the answers
Philosophers ask questions which don’t have answers.
Engineers provide answers.”
Kevin Murphy
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“Originality is being different from oneself, not others.”
Philip Larkin
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“To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson “Ulysses“
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“Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair.”
Edmund Burke
This may actually be Publius Terentius Afer, the Latin poet Terence. I cannot find a definitive citation for either but I really like the quote.
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“Little by little, one travels far”
J.R.R. Tolkien
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“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Theodore Roosevelt
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“Intelligence recognizes what has happened.
Genius recognizes what will happen.”
John Ciardi
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“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
Pablo Picasso
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“As a rule of thumb if prospects cannot pay you then you cannot accurately assess product market fit.”
Sean Murphy
See also Product-Market Fit is a Fraction Not a Bit
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“Insight is a shift in boundaries.”
Neil Larson
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“What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.”
Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
Used as opening quote for Thanksgiving 2012 post.
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“Caution is the eldest child of wisdom.”
Victor Hugo
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“We are in truth, more than half what we are by imitation. The great point is to choose good models and to study them with care.”
Lord Chesterfield
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“Hurry inhibits empathy and appreciative inquiry: both are critical for an entrepreneur to understand a prospect’s needs.”
Sean Murphy
twitter length version of this sentence from “Eric Berne: Hurry Neglects The Present Moment and Environment”
I think hurry also inhibits empathy and an entrepreneur’s ability to engage in appreciative inquiry, both of which are critical to forming a deep understanding of a prospect’s situation and needs.
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“The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing.”
Eric Berne
From Chapter 16 (“Autonomy”) of “Games People Play.” Part of a longer excerpt used as the opening quote for “Eric Berne: A Little Boy Sees And Hears Birds With Delight.”
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“A scientist’s aim in a discussion with his colleagues is not to persuade, but to clarify.”
Leo Szilard
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