The same instincts that make us good students can make us lousy entrepreneurs.
Interpretation
Being a good student requires different skills than being a successful entrepreneur.
This quote by Reid Hoffman highlights the contrast between the qualities that contribute to success in academic settings and those that lead to success in entrepreneurship. While good students often excel in following rules, absorbing information, and adhering to structured environments, entrepreneurs thrive on creativity, risk-taking, and navigating uncertainty. This distinction suggests that the traits and instincts that support academic achievement may not correlate with success in entrepreneurial ventures, challenging individuals to cultivate a different skill set when transitioning from academia to business.
In practice
In a motivational speech about pursuing business ventures after education.
Leaders, whether in the public or the private sphere, must understand the responsibilities that come with their role. They are the most visible standard-bearers of their organizations. Holding them accountable to this responsibility protects the promise of our organizations and our communities.
The entrepreneurial journey starts with jumping off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down.
Any effort to make the death penalty speedier and less costly - more 'efficient' - will inevitably make it less just.
I've long believed that if you're not embarrassed by your first product release, you've released too late.
Good ideas need good strategy to realize their potential.
What is an entrepreneur? Someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on the way down.
I made my first investment at age eleven. I was wasting my life up until then.
I love my life. I can't believe I work in New York and Paris. That I work for Louis Vuitton. That I work for Marc Jacobs. It seems really weird every time I say my full name - like, that's me, and every time I hear the receptionist say my name, it's still weird.
We look for companies that are unlike anything we've ever seen before, with a bold vision to change the world and run by passionate entrepreneurs who get you jumping out of your seat.
It is, after all, the dab of grit that seeps into an oyster's shell that makes the pearl, not pearl-making seminars with other oysters.
I have a definition of success. For me it's very simple. It's not about wealth and fame and power. It's about how many shining eyes I have around me.
Fifteen minutes of fame doesn't make a career. An article in a magazine, newspaper, interview on television or multiple print ads may stroke your ego, but nothing much else. An artist's career is a lifetime venture. Just because an artist is on top doesn't mean they are sheltered from a crash. As has been stated, the higher you climb, the harder you fall.
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