The common question that gets asked in business is, ‘why?’ That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, ‘why not?’.

There’s lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.

If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.

If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied, is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work, is to love what you do.

The man who moves a mountain, begins by carrying away small stones.

The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.

Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.

You don’t have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream.

Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like.

The two most important days in your life is the day you were born and the day you find out why.

The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Fall seven times and stand up eight.

I was taught the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.

I love watching Hollywood movies - I just don't know if I'd be happy doing a 'Jurassic Park.'

I am undoubtedly one of the more, if not the most, privileged undocumented immigrants in America. And for us at Define American, which is this culture campaign group that I founded with some friends, culture trumps politics.

I find the subject of childhood fascinating. I explored this subject in Speak to me of love and I am curious about portraying the often painful transition into the adult world.

An intelligent being, is the active principle of all things. One must have renounced all common sense to doubt it, and it is a waste of time to try to prove such self evident truth.

I don't know if I would say that I'm specifically a history buff. I do find a lot of things fascinating, especially anything that's bizarre or mysterious and unknown and we don't have all the answers for.

France needs to find something that makes it stand out. It's not enough for it to do almost as well as its neighbors.

I was 175 pounds at 13 years old and 5 feet tall.

I can tell you from personal experience it gets a little tiring having to make the rounds on cable shows to explain 'what's up with black folks.'

Wilderness trails constitute a rare space in America marked by economic diversity. Lawyers and construction workers get bitten by the same mosquitoes and sip from the same streams; there are none of the usual signals about socioeconomic status, for most hikers are in shorts and a T-shirt and enveloped by an aroma that would make a skunk queasy.

Better is the enemy of good.

The successful establishment of a buffer zone around Fort Carson will provide an example for other bases around the country as we seek to protect the training mission of the U.S. military while preserving critical habitats on our ranges.

The global economy is a doomsday machine that must be stopped and reprogrammed.

Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person.

When people talk about people who are optimistic about gold, they call them 'gold bugs.' A bug is an insect. I don't call equity bugs 'cockroaches.' Do you understand? There is already a negative connotation with the expression of 'gold bug.'

My personal style is ever changing.

The soil under the grass is dreaming of a young forest and under the pavement the soil is dreaming of grass.

You know, I think that allowing somebody, one mere person to believe that he or she is like, the vessel you know, like the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche. It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun.

Teach for America recruits top recent college grads, young professionals, people we believe are the U.S.'s most promising future leaders, and asks them to commit two years to teach in high-need urban and rural communities.

Look at what has occurred in history. When the Berlin Wall fell, it was not surprising, but it was unexpected. Who predicted the Arab Spring? Nobody expected it, but all the ingredients were there. I think all the ingredients are also there for Quebec to become a country. But when? That's another question.

Well, I think the camera freedom is something that we've resisted for a long time and feels like probably the biggest stretch. But it has some huge benefits.

I always wanted to be a teacher.

I get asked, 'Who would you really like to work with?' I'm already working with them. Smart, talented, funny people, good musicians, an extended family, good friends.

People, when they first come to America, whether as travelers or settlers, become aware of a new and agreeable feeling: that the whole country is their oyster.

Timing really is nearly everything. And what it isn't, circumstance makes up for.