What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible.
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.
Successful people don’t have fewer problems. They have determined that nothing will stop them from going forward.
Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.
In a day when you don’t come across any problems, you can be sure that you are traveling on the wrong path.
If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
Assume life will be really tough, and then ask if you can handle it. If the answer is yes, you’ve won.
A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.
Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.
Life is meant to be a challenge, because challenges make you grow.
Starting your own business is like riding a roller coaster. There are highs and lows and every turn you take is another twist. The lows are really low, but the highs can be really high. You have to be strong, keep your stomach tight, and ride along with the roller coaster that you started.
Running a startup is like being punched in the face repeatedly, but working for a large company is like being waterboarded.
The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little bit less, but still failed. The third one, you know, proper failed, but it was kind of okay. I recovered quickly. Number four almost didn’t fail. It still didn’t really feel great, but it did okay. Number five was PayPal.
When I started SpaceX I thought that the most likely outcome was failure. And I think to have any other expectation would have been irrational.
It hurts now, but one day it will be your warm up.
My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.