It's good to test yourself and develop your talents and ambitions as fully as you can and achieve greater success; but I think success is the feeling you get from a job well done, and the key thing is to do the work.
Peter ThielRead
Whenever I talk to people who founded a company, I often like to ask the prehistory questions 'When did you meet? How long have you been working before you started the company?' A bad answer is, 'We met at a networking event a week ago, and we started a company because we both want to be entrepreneurs.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of deep relationships and a shared history in founding a successful company.
Peter Thiel suggests that successful companies are often founded by individuals who have established a meaningful relationship and a solid understanding of each other's strengths over time. Quick connections formed merely for the sake of entrepreneurship typically lack the foundational depth needed for enduring collaboration and success.
Themes
EntrepreneurshipRelationshipsSuccessFoundersBusinessCompany
In practice
Example use cases
In a conference about startup success stories, I might share this quote to emphasize the importance of building strong relationships.
More from Peter Thiel
All quotes →The first question we would ask if aliens landed on this planet is not, 'What does this mean for the economy or jobs?' It would be, 'Are they friendly or unfriendly?'
Peter ThielRead
People working on bigger ideas on a more protracted timeline will be more on the stealth side. They aren’t releasing new PR announcements every day. The bigger the secret and the likelier it is that you alone have it, the more time you have to execute. There may be far more people going after hard secrets than we think.
Peter ThielRead
What is it about our society where anyone who does not have Asperger's gets talked out of their heterodox ideas?
Peter ThielRead
Every time you write an email, it is in the public domain. There are all these ways where security is not as good as people believe.
Peter ThielRead
Creating value isn't enough - you also need to capture some of the value you create.
Peter ThielRead
Similar quotes
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Immigrants provide skills that we simply cannot afford to do without. They have contributed hugely to Britain's success.
Charles KennedyRead
You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you'll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.
Larry BirdRead
As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don't know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.
Kobe BryantRead
When you begin to think and grow rich, you will observe that riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work.
Napoleon HillRead
Talent sets the floor, character sets the ceiling
Bill BelichickRead