Simon Sinek Quotes

I only have one why, and my challenge is to make sure the things I say and the things I do remain consistent for as often and as long as possible.

If you go to the gym and you come home and look into the mirror, you'll see nothing. If you go the next day and you come home, you will see nothing. In fact sometimes you're in pain.

Innovation is not born from the dream, innovation is born from the struggle

There is a difference between offering a service and being willing to serve. They may both include giving but only one is generous.

Disney became hated. It became one of the evil corporations. It used to be loved. They couldn't hold onto talent; they couldn't attract talent. Some of their products did badly. The Californialand project was a $5 billion waste of money. They couldn't make it work. The magic had gone, no pun intended.

We crave explanations for most everything, but innovation and progress happen when we allow ourselves to embrace uncertainty.

The responsibility of leadership is not taken, it is given. Only when others choose to follow us can we truly lead.

Optimists focus on the place they are going. Pessimists focus on the obstacles along the route. To become an optimist simply look ahead.

True #leadership isn't the bastion of a few who sit at the top ... We all need to step up, take the risk and put our interests second-not always-but when it counts.

You have to have a patience for relationships.

What good is an idea if it remains an idea? Try. Experiment. Iterate. Fail. Try again. Change the world.

The rank of office is not what makes someone a leader. Leadership is the choice to serve others with or without any formal rank.

The world is a bell curve. Classroom test scores, employee performance in a company or how many people really, really like you. No matter the population you're studying, they always fit neatly across the standard deviations of the famous bell curve.

Champions are not the ones who always win races - champions are the ones who get out there and try. And try harder the next time. And even harder the next time. 'Champion' is a state of mind. They are devoted. They compete to best themselves as much if not more than they compete to best others. Champions are not just athletes.

It doesn't matter how much we know, it matters how clearly others can understand what we know.

Success is when reality catches up to your imagination.

Believing that your competition is stronger and better than you pushes you to better yourselves.

Leaders are the ones who have the courage to go first, to put themselves at personal risk to open a path for others to follow.

The goal is not to be perfect by the end. The goal is to be better today.

I think most people are inherently interested in how their brain works, in what makes them tick.

Complaining begets more complaints. Anger begets more anger. And optimism begets more optimism.

Achievement happens when we pursue and attain what we want. Success comes when we are in clear pursuit of Why we want it.

Great leaders state out loud what they intend to do and in doing so, they get things done.

Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting and, most importantly, a way of communicating.

It is a luxury to put our interests first. It is an honor to put the interests of others before our own.

You have to write a book because you believe it has helped you, because you believe it has helped others personally and you are dying to share with it others because you know it will add value to their lives. You write it for them like a gift. You don't want anything from them. You don't want them to do anything for you. You don't even care if they all share the book with their friends, they don't all have to buy them. You're just dying to share this idea with people. Your challenge is to write it in a way that is compelling, enjoyable to read so that they will get the idea.

If we care about the average working American, then Wal-Mart matters. A lot.

Vision is a destination - a fixed point to which we focus all effort. Strategy is a route - an adaptable path to get us where we want to go.

I'm investing in myself, I'm investing in others and I'm investing in my cause. I know if I persist it will pay back in dividends and it always does.

Time and energy. Those are the most valuable sacrifices leaders can make.

When we accept the fact that we can't do everything, we are more willing to ask for and accept help when we do anything.

We have no choice, we must all die. How we live, however, is entirely of our choosing.

Most organizations only focus on WHAT they do and HOW they do it - tactics and strategies - and they aren't even aware that this thing called the WHY exists. Focusing on only two pieces of a three piece puzzle leaves an organization, or a career, inherently out of balance. Being out of balance, only operating on two of the three pieces, shows up in different ways - increased stress, loss of passion, obsession with what your competition is doing, being forced to play the price game, trouble differentiating. These are all signs that the WHY is missing.

A five minute call replaces the time it takes to read and reply to the original email and read and reply to their reply... or replies. And I no longer spend 20+ minutes crafting the perfect email - no need to.

If you sell what you do, you're a vendor. If you sell why you do it, you're a brand.

Pursue the thing inside us and others will help us. Pursue the things outside us and others will compete with us.

Leadership is a choice. It is not a rank.

A boss wants to pay for results, an employee wants recognition for effort. If a boss recognizes effort, they will get even better results.

We'd achieve more if we chase the dream instead of the competition.

If we inspire people, they will give us more than we asked for. If we manipulate them, they will give us exactly what we paid for

What I understand about this concept of why is that it functions exactly the same way as parenting or exercise or any of these things we claim to invest in.

In the military, they give medals for people who are willing to sacrifice themselves so that others may survive. In business, we give bonuses to people who sacrifice others.

The only way to 'find out if it will work out' is to do it.

I don't have to convince everybody in the room. I just need a critical mass of the people in the room.

What I say is join me and be part of the army and find ways that maybe even I haven't thought of I haven't even thought of to help spread this message and inspire people to do what inspires them. That's what I need you to do.

If you're going to undertake any project, like a book, you have to show up to give.

Studies show that over 80 percent of Americans do not have their dream job. If more knew how to build organizations that inspire, we could live in a world in which that statistic was the reverse - a world in which over 80 percent of people loved their jobs. People who love going to work are more productive and more creative. They go home happier and have happier families. They treat their colleagues and clients and customers better. Inspired employees make for stronger companies and stronger economies.

We last longer if we compete against ourselves for the good of others instead of competing against others for the good of ourselves.