Wisdom in fragments

Power is the capacity to get others to do or stop doing something now, or in the future. Power is also a source of order, and a source of comfort for some people. Remember that the extreme situation where nobody has power, is anarchy… and anarchy leads to inferior social outcomes [versus] societies where structures and entities that impose power, limits and rules to create stability and prosperity.

Venezuelan author and scholar on power shifts and global geopolitics

What investors want the most is a team committed to a cause for the right reasons (passion about solving a problem, not passion about financial game), who can go and get people to buy into the vision, and who can build and manage teams.

Co-Founder of Foursquare, Location-Based Social Networking Pioneer

Here's the thing: if people really want to do something, all they need to do is meet someone who's built something from scratch to show them that it can be done by someone just like them.

Co-Founder of Foursquare, Location-Based Social Networking Pioneer

All the talks I give are about failure, how hard it is, how much this job kinda' sucks and genuinely how tough it is. People often go into this world thinking it's all roses, and it's not.

Co-Founder of Foursquare, Location-Based Social Networking Pioneer

With Foursquare, our original app was a good idea but it wasn't a hundred million users good idea. The data behind the app, and what we do with the data? That's our good idea. That's our hundred million dollars in revenue idea.

Co-Founder of Foursquare, Location-Based Social Networking Pioneer

I don't really like the term entrepreneur because I think to some it implies that you start businesses for the sake of starting businesses. My view is this. If there's something you want to see in the world that doesn't exist, go build that thing. If that means you have to build a company? so be it.

Co-Founder of Foursquare, Location-Based Social Networking Pioneer

CSR does not help with me as a buyer, why? Because I'm cynical about it now, I don't believe it. After the success of Toms Shoes, every 23 year old told me they're starting an umbrella company and giving an umbrella to the people that need it in the Amazon. CSR has clearly become a tactic. Every strategy of every company and human being should come from a truth.

Serial Entrepreneur, Author & Digital Marketing Strategist

In today's climate, and over the past 5-7 years, people have been building financial arbitrage machines not actual companies. Most people's behaviour is more predicated towards raising the next round of financing rather than building towards a profitable company. We're going to have a massive crash and 90% of the people will go back to working at Bank of America, Chase, GE and companies like that- and the people who are good enough will continue to build businesses.

Serial Entrepreneur, Author & Digital Marketing Strategist

My mother's unbelievable parenting in deploying enormous self-esteem and confidence meant I believed in myself in a way that was blind. The best entrepreneurs are the most optimistic and completely out of tune with reality right? Why would you do it otherwise. My father made me a word-is-bond, word-is-everything, shake a hand and stick to it kinda' guy. That combined with blind faith and belief has become an amazing concoction and something I live-off even today.

Serial Entrepreneur, Author & Digital Marketing Strategist

In a world where everyone gets to play in social media, we're about to realise that the vast majority of people aren't good enough. We've never had to quantify this before because there were people in-place to filter the people America got to see, and most were qualified to some level. Now we have an ecosystem where everyone gets out there and says they're great. The vast majority are not going to be great at what they pontificate to be great at, and we're going to watch them fail right in front of our eyes.

Serial Entrepreneur, Author & Digital Marketing Strategist

To be an entrepreneur, you need a love for process and to be comfortable with adversity. If you love process and you're comfortable with adversity, and if you love the journey over the fruits and riches of that journey- then you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is on a pedestal; everyone wants to be one. Here's the truth, it sucks. Entrepreneurship is hard and almost everyone loses.

Serial Entrepreneur, Author & Digital Marketing Strategist

'Brand,' is what journalists and industry-people say… we say culture movement. As artists we say culture! Movement! And analysts say brand. I don't know what a brand is, but I know what a freakin' movement is…. if you want to know what a culture-movement is, remember that Dr. Martin Luther King didn't stand up and say, 'here's our brand!' – he created a movement.

Grammy-winning rapper, producer, and member of The Black Eyed Peas

When I was a door to door salesman, I learned a very valuable lesson. 1 in 10 people would talk to you, 9 out of 10 would slam the door in your face. Sometimes you would get 30 doors in a row slammed in your face, but that means that there are 3 yes' coming your way.

Icelandic billionaire businessman and former chess player

You will never find opportunities in your comfort zone, you have to push yourself. The unknown is where you will always find opportunity. When you lose your own money, it hurts, it makes you careful, but you cannot let it take the mojo… the hunger out of you.

Icelandic billionaire businessman and former chess player

We only make progress by getting up from getting kicked to the ground. How does a baby learn to walk? It falls, gets back up… falls, gets back up, and one day its running. Here's the thing about life. You will fall, stumble and fail- that's inevitable. You need to analyse it when it happens, learn from those mistakes, and move on.

Icelandic billionaire businessman and former chess player

Wealth is just an indicator of how well (or not) things are going. Whatever I'm doing, there are indicators… do people like what I'm doing? Do they think I'm crazy? Am I making a lot of money? These are just indicators. Wealth is not and end in itself, it's just one of many indicator as to how you're doing.

Icelandic billionaire businessman and former chess player