Thursday 28 April 2011

Quotes about Motivation

Here's the next section of quotes from my book 1000 Great Quotations for Business, Management & Training.


An updated version of the book is newly available as part of my Almost Free Kindle titles both in the UK and in the USA.


The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

Plutarch, Greek biographer, essayist (46-120 AD)



A key characteristic of transformational leaders is that they motivate people to do more than they originally expected to do.

Elizabeth Chell, British academic, management author (b. 1949)



Martin Luther King did not say ‘I have a dream’ to himself.

Benjamin Zander, British conductor, management presenter (b. 1939)



You know I was stumped one day when a little boy asked, ‘Do you draw Mickey Mouse?’ I had to admit I do not draw any more. ‘Then you think up all the jokes and ideas?’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I don’t do that.’ Finally he looked at me and said, ‘Mr Disney, just what do you do?’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘Sometimes I think of myself as a little bee. I go from one area of the studio to another and gather pollen and sort of stimulate everybody.’ I guess that’s the job I do. I certainly don’t consider myself a businessman, and I never did believe I was worth anything as an artist.

Walt Disney, US artist, film producer (1901-1966)



Good leadership consists of motivating people to their highest levels by offering them opportunities, not obligations.

John Heider, US management author (b. 1960)



Leaders in the new organisation do not lack motivational tools, but the tools are different from those of traditional corporate bureaucrats. The new rewards are based not on status but on contribution and they consist not of regular promotion and automatic pay rises but of excitement about mission and a share of the glory and the gains of success.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, US academic, management author (b. 1943)



We don’t want satisfaction. We want creative dissatisfaction associated with excitement about the job. That’s what motivation is made of.

Daniel Quinn Mills, US academic, management author (b. 1949)



Do you want to sell sugar water all your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?

Steve Jobs, US executive, co-founder of Apple Computer Inc (b. 1955), persuading John Sculley to leave Pepsi Cola.

Steve Jobs with John Sculley



I’m slowly becoming a convert to the principle that you can’t motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them. The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles.

Scott Adams, US cartoonist, author (b. 1957)



The best motivation is self-motivation. The guy says, ‘I wish someone would come by and turn me on.’ What if they don’t show up? You’ve got to have a better plan for your life.

Jim Rohn, US motivational speaker, author (1930-2009)



Everyone needs to know what is expected of them. Expect people to be better than they are; it helps them to become better. But don’t be disappointed when they are not; it helps them to keep trying.

Merry Browne, US poet



The key to motivation is motive.

Roger Merrill, US management consultant, author



In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flames by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian theologian (1875-1965)



I was going to buy a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking, and I thought: What the hell good would that do?

Ronnie Shakes, US humorist



No comments:

Post a Comment