40 Lessons from 40 Entrepreneurs worth $M to $B to Succeed

$Mills & $Bills: Bloomberg, Branson, Brin, Carnegie, Cuban, Dell, Disney, Edison, Ford, Gates, Jobs, Madonna, Musk, Oprah, Zuck & many more to learn from.

What lessons have highly-effective CEOs, Entrepreneurs, & Innovators learned throughout their lives? After countless hours of research and digging for unconventional nuggets of wisdom, that’s the exact question we set out to discover. As a result, we compiled a massive list of extraordinary advice, coming from entrepreneurs from all walks of life. Examples include:

Billionaire CEOs of Technology companies (ex. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg)
World-class Athletes & Performers (ex. Serena Williams, Tiger Woods)
Highly-effective people in Entertainment Industry (ex. JK Rowling, Steven Spielberg)

The following advice is powerful, deep, actionable, & incredibly valuable. It’s designed to help you skyrocket our productive output, push meaningful relationships to the next level, effectively manage our time, clarify our life’s purpose, & ultimately – create a powerful business that withstands the test of time.

1. Michael Bloomberg: Bloomberg Brokerage, NYC Mayor, Global Data & Media

Bloomberg believes regardless how “successful” you’ve become, learning never stops: “I dislike this concept of proficiency in education. … I’ve never met a Nobel Prize winner who didn’t think they had an awful lot more to learn and wasn’t studying every single day.” Net Worth = NW$35B

2. Richard Branson: founder of Virgin Co’s; Airlines, Entertainment, etc.

If we’re stressed, we aren’t happy. If we’re not happy, we’re not having fun. If we’re not having fun, we won’t enjoy our work. If we don’t enjoy our work, we’ll be pretty damn terrible at our jobs. Richard, says not enjoying ourselves is one of the worst mistakes we can make: “Fun is one of the most important – and underrated – ingredients in any successful venture. If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.” NW $5B

3. Sergey Brin: co-Founder Google . . .

has various mental frameworks built into the minds of his Google’s employees. One of the strongest, without a doubt, is that “There’s no limit to improvement. Anything & everything can always be better. There’s always a lot of room for improvement, there’s no inherent ceiling we’re hitting up on, so we go for it.” That’s how Google has remained one of the world’s top companies, valued at over $395 Billion. Net Worth = NW$30B

4.James Cameron: Film Director of . . .

award-winning films – such Titanic, Avatar, Terminators, etc. How? “By taking Risks”. “Don’t put limitations on yourself. Others will do that for you. No important endeavor that required innovation was done without risk. Always remember that failure is an option. But fear is not. NW$700M

5. Andrew Carnegie: the 2nd Wealthiest man in the 19th Century,

Andrew believed that his ability to be proactive was the key to his success. He didn’t wait until someone told him what to do, he just did it himself: “There never was a great character who did not sometimes smash the routine regulations and make new ones for himself.” “Don’t ask for Permission. Ask for Forgiveness (only if you have to)” NW$480M

6. Steve Case: Founder AOL

Co-founder of AOL, explains how people are the foundation behind everything: “No matter what you do in life, your ability to succeed will be largely dependent on your ability to work with people. Indeed, it has often been said that what you do is less important than who you do it with – that the people you surround yourself with, whether a spouse, or friends, or coworkers, will ultimately be the principal determinant of the course your life will take. So don’t just focus on the job descriptions, or the brand name of the organization you’re going to join – also focus on who you’ll be working for, and with.” NW $1.3 B

7. Mark Cuban: Shark Tank, NBA Team, VC, Etc

It doesn’t matter if we’re in finance, programming, marketing, journalism, or in sales, the only reason we’re employed is because we have customers. For that reason, we need to put them above all else, showering them our gratitude & delighting them beyond their expectations. “Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do.” Net Worth $3Billion

8. Michael Dell: founder of Dell Computers

According to Michael, the key isn’t being a big fish in a small pond, but being a small fish in a big pond: “Never be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you find a different room.” Dell adds that, “In professional circles it’s called networking. In organizations it’s called team building. And in life it’s called family, friends, and community. We are all gifts to each other, and my own growth as a leader has shown me again and again that the most rewarding experiences come from my relationships.” NW $18.8 B

9. Walt Disney: Movies, TV, Theme Parks, Hotels, etc.

While working on our next big project, we worry about getting it perfect. We worry about not making mistakes or others won’t like it. According to Walt, the best way to quell our worries is to eliminate the worry inside our minds: “Why worry? If you have done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better.” NW $5B

10. Jack Dorsey: Twitter & Square.

Jack, Silicon Valley $3billionaire, co-founded both. He stays sane working 8 hours at each company every day (16 hours total/day) by adhering to a structured, Themed Schedule: “Mondays at both companies, I focus on management & running the companies. Tuesday is focused on “product”. Wednesday is focused on marketing, communications, & growth. Thursday development & partnerships. Friday is focused on development & recruiting. Saturday I take off and hike. Sunday is strategy, reflection & feedback + getting ready for the rest of the week. There are obviously interruptions all the time, but this I can quickly remember ‘Oh it’s Tuesday, today I’m doing product’ and get right back into what I was doing.”

11. Thomas Edison: Inventor; Light Bulb, Phonograph, etc.

Edison said: “Vision without execution is hallucination.” Vision is vital. We need to have a vision & goal to stay motivated. But if we cannot execute, we are simply wasting our time, day-dreaming about something we don’t have the capacity to complete. NW $170M

12. Larry Ellison: CEO of Oracle

Why are we so obsessed with being successful? Perhaps it’s not because of our desire for achievement, but because we’re afraid to fail. According to Larry, that could be our greatest motivator: “Great achievers are driven, not so much by the pursuit of success, but by the fear of failure.” NW$54B

13. Henry Ford: Inventor & Founder of Ford Motor [BiG 3]

It’s easy to fall into the trap of constantly impressing others or going for compliments & praise for what we do. Yet for Ford, it wasn’t about impressing people. It was about building something great, regardless of who’s paying attention. And that’s precisely how Henry grew the Ford Motor Company: “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” NW $220B

14. Bill Gates: MicroSoft [NW $1.4Trillion] = #4 Richest Co’s

We’re always obsessing over making our customers happy, but in order for that to happen, we must understand what makes them unhappy first: ”Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”.If we understand our unhappy customers, that’s how we don’t make the same mistake twice. Gates has also said: “It’s fine to celebrate success, but more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Net Worth: $79.3 Billion

15. Tony Hsieh: founder of online Shoe retailer Zappos.

Growing a successful business is stressful, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Tony lives and dies by the philosophy to have fun throughout the process and don’t let stress overwhelm you: “Have fun. The game is a lot more enjoyable when you’re trying to do more than just make money.” NW $840M

16. Reid hastings: Linked IN & Venture Capitalist

As co-founder of Linkedin & successful VC, he gets requests from people he’s never met every day. “Amusingly, many requests were framed as if the asking party were doing Reid a favor by giving him the opportunity to help them: ‘It’d be fun to get your feedback on something I’m working on.’ Why not figure out what he’s working on and send an article of relevance? Or offer to share a perspective that could be useful?” The key here is simple: “Focus on providing Value before asking for Favors”. NW $5B

17. Steve Jobs: Apple [NW $2T] = #1 Richest in World

Every morning Steve Jobs would ask himself this question: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” If too many days went by with the answer being “no,” he made changes in his life. He did this until he hit a consistent Yes, which drove him to countless innovations and a company worth $700 billion. Co’s: Apple, Pixar; Net Worth: $11 Billion

18. Ingvar Kamprad: CEO of IKEA

grew his empire by never wasting resources. In fact, he considers wasting resources “a mortal sin:” “Waste of resources is a mortal sin at IKEA. Ten minutes are not just one-sixth of your hourly pay; ten minutes is a piece of yourself. Divide yourself into ten units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activities.” What’s the point? Time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. Once it’s gone, it’s impossible to get it back. NW$3.5B

19. Herb Kelleher: Founder, Southwest Airlines

Herb encourages all executives to leave their ego behinds & lead with kindness: “Power should be reserved for weight-lifting & boats. A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than by fear.” NW$2.5B

20. Ray Kroc: Founder, McDonalds

By the time Ray passed away, McDonalds had 7,500 locations with a total value of $8 billion. Yet it all began with a contract with the McDonald’s brothers, where Kroc took a HUGE risk. He gave them $2.7 million for the rights to their franchise in 1961. If he didn’t take that risk, believing his investment would return dollars in his favor, McDonald’s wouldn’t be in existence today. “If you’re not a risk taker, then you should never try to start a business.” NW $500M

21. Jack Ma: Founder/CEO of Alibaba . . .

is the richest man in China $37B and the 18th richest man in the world. Through his successes, he’s learned the power of one valuable piece of advice: “You cannot unify everyone’s thoughts, but you can unify everyone through a common goal”. He states that it’s a lot easier to unite the company under a common goal rather than uniting the company around a particular person. Why? Because, “30% of all people will never believe you. Do not allow your colleagues & employees to work for you. Instead, let them work for a common goal.”

22. George Lucas: Director of Star Wars & Indiana Jones + +

We are so easily distracted by new technology, new To-Do List apps, new Productivity techniques, new hacks & tricks. George says Forget all that. Don’t get blindsided by the next new fad. Focus on the fundamentals instead: “Don’t forget the basics. Don’t get enamored with new technology. The medium we’re working in may be new, but that doesn’t change anything.” NW$5.5B

23. Madonna: Entertainer

Although Madonna is a powerful & successful woman now, she wasn’t born into fame or wealth. She was raised by Italian immigrants in a middle-class household. Nothing was given to her. She fought and crawled her way to the top through one principle she lives by: “Ask for what you want”.“A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.” NW$800M

24. Marissa Mayer: CEO of Yahoo

As former Google employee, she was walking out of Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s office, he said to her five words that have stuck with her forever: “Don’t forget to be bold.” She says that moment changed her life. She considers those five words every day as the CEO of Yahoo … and gives similar advice to others: “If you really want to create something transformational, if you really want to make a difference in your life & other people’s lives — yes, it’s always easy to take the safer incremental choice , then to “Remember to be Bold !!! NW$300M

25.Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX + +

When Musk decided he wanted to be an entrepreneur at 17 years old, he forced himself to live off $1 per day (the typical struggle of an early-stage entrepreneur), eating hot dogs & oranges. He didn’t do it because he was poor. He did it to see if he had what it takes to lead the life as an entrepreneur: “I figured if I could live off a dollar a day then, at least from a food stand-point, it’s pretty easy to earn $30 a month. NW $12 B

26. Jack Nicholson: outspoken Actor

Jack, with an eccentric personality, who believes in one thing — live with no regrets: If you’re considering starting a new business, would you regret trying and failing? Or not trying at all? “When you look at life retrospectively, you rarely regret anything that you did, but you might regret things that you didn’t do.” NW $400M

27. Larry Page: co-Founder & CEO of Google

Larry believes if you tackle lofty goals that everyone else is afraid of, then there is no competition: “I think it is often easier to make progress on mega-ambitious dreams. I know that sounds completely nuts, but since no one else is crazy enough to do it, you have little competition. There are so few people this crazy that I feel like I know them all by first name. They all travel as if they are pack dogs and stick to each other like glue. The best people want to work the big challenges. That is what happened with Google.” Find the fearless ones, and create something remarkable. NW $30B

28. Ross Perot: founder of EDS (sold to GM) Perot Systems (sold to Dell).

The 20s are interesting. Whether you’re currently in them or you’ve far surpassed them … it’s a time of self-reflection & self-discovery. Ross, encourages younger people to use this time to explore the world & opportunities: “In your 20’s I encourage you to travel & explore the world. Get to know & respect the citizens of this planet. Have some adventure, learn about yourself and discover your true passions. Then you can use your experience to achieve your Dream” NW$4B

29. J.K. Rowling: Author of Harry Potter series.

She knows a lot about success, and knows even more about failure. Seven years after college, she had failed and failed immensely: “I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, & as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.” What happened next? I sat at her typewriter and let my imagination run wild. The result? A billion dollar book series called Harry Potter. Sometimes when we’ve think we’ve hit rock bottom, we’ve got something world-changing coming up around the corner. NW $1B

Sheryl Sandberg: Google & Facebook

Sheryl has held a wide array of impressive jobs — ranging from VP of Global Online Sales & Operations at Google, to her current position as the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook. Throughout her journey, she’s noted that our career more resembles a Jungle Gym than a Ladder: “Jungle gyms offer more creative exploration. There are many ways to get to the top of a jungle gym. The ability to forge a unique path with occasional dips, detours and even dead ends presents a better chance for fulfillment.” NW $1B

31. Eric Schmidt: Google Executive Chairman

Eric two acronyms he follows religiously for managing and sending email – O.H.I.O. & L.I.F.O.

O.H.I.O. stands for Only Hold It Once. That means if you see an email that takes less than two minutes to respond to, respond immediately.

L.I.F.O. stands for Last In, First Out. That means handling newer emails first. He says this works because then the older stuff gets taken care of by someone else. NW $9 B

32. Howard Shultz: Founder & CEO Starbucks

According to Howard, a secret ingredient of business success is finding those who share the same values you do: “You can’t build any kind of organization if you’re not going to surround yourself with people who have experience & skill base beyond your own — only as if those people have like-minded values. That’s the key to starting anything. If you discover people who don’t share your values, perhaps it’s best to part ways.” If someone’s integrity or beliefs go against our own, it may be time to cut ties with that person, even though it’s painful to do so. NW $2.5B

33. Steven Spielberg: Director of Jaws, Close Encounters, ET, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, etc.

We have so many options. As a result, we’re always reading more, learning more, and wanting to try more things. Steven explains why more is not always better, which applies to various aspects of our busy lives: “Bloated budgets are ruining Hollywood – these pictures are squeezing all the other types of movies out of Hollywood. It’s disastrous. When I made The Lost World I limited the amount of special-effects shots because they were incredibly expensive. If a dinosaur walks around, it costs $80,000 for eight seconds. If four dinosaurs are in the background, it’s $150,000. “
More doesn’t always make things better.” NW$4B

34.Martha Stewart: Homemaker Entertainment

She had two fantastic & comfortable jobs before her reign as a Media Mogul — a Modeling career for world-class fashion brands & a Stockbroker. She could’ve stayed on that career path, making plenty of money with these secure & safe jobs, but she felt the urge to push herself further. As a result, she became a household name and build a media empire, growing her NM to over $600 million.

35. Ted Turner: Creator of CNN

Ted experienced heartbreak at 24 years old. His father, whom he worked for, ran an advertising agency. When Turner was 24 years old, his father had a nervous breakdown & committed suicide.Devastated, Ted took over his father’s business. Problems arose, people doubted him, and roadblocks kept coming. But he kept going forward through the tough times. As a result, he created CNN which was the first 24-hour News Channel — what many considered outrageous to start at the time. Through tough or sad times, all we can do is keep moving forward. NW $2.2B

36. Serena Williams: #1 pro women’s Tennis Player.

Growing up, Serena Williams had an rough childhood: “If you can keep playing tennis when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that’s concentration.” Her childhood built the foundation for her laser-sharp focus & endless tenacity. Those factors combined are what led to her success: “Luck has nothing to do with it, because I have spent countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time – not knowing when it would come. But this devotion has paid off and I have to take nearly the same effort to maintain it”. NW$140M

37. Oprah Winfrey: TV & Magazine Mogul

Life is hectic. We’re running in/ out of meetings, finalizing important projects, & managing our insane inboxes … all while squeezing in time for family, friends, & fun. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but some times we just need to slow down & smell the roses: “Sometimes in the thick of life, when my call list is longer than the day and people are lined up waiting for meeting after meeting, I just stop. I still myself. And look at a tree, flower, the sun’s light reflecting off the window and I remember love is available. I inhale it, exhale, then get back to work.” NW $3B

38. Tiger Woods: #1 Golfer

Arguably the greatest professional golfer in history, gave some sage advice when asked: “There is no perfect way to play the game. All the greatest golfers all have different swings. We all have our own unique technique. Find the system that works best for you, then perfect it.” The lesson? Don’t obsess over the “right” way to do things. Whether that’s in sales, marketing, or software development. Write your own rules. NW $600M

39. Mark Zuckerberg: Founder/CEO Facebook

Mark, the genius behind Facebook, rallies his team around the unifying principle that done is better than perfect: “Move fast & break things. If you’re never breaking anything (ie, barriers), you’re not moving fast enough.” When we’re obsessed with perfecting everything before anyone sees it, that’s when we fall behind. It’s better to get out there and encourage feedback, using the minimum viable product philosophy. Net Worth: $34.8 Billion

Comments: Do you know any other Lessons you’ve heard of from $M or $B ?

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