MOTIVATION

I didn't start investing because I was smart. I started because I was scared of being broke forever. Fear is a good motivator.

Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you.

The path to success is to take massive, determined action.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish. And most importantly, stay committed to serving others.

The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful.

Don't cry to give up, cry to keep going.

Stop being average. You're not even close to average. You're so much more than that.

There's no nobility in poverty. I've been a poor man, and I've been a rich man. And I choose rich every time.

A little fear keeps you sharp. Don't run from it — use it.

I was dead for six minutes, told I'd never walk again, went broke, and got cancer. I'm still here. Your excuses are invalid.

Fear is the disease. Hustle is the antidote.

Life is too short to work at a company that makes something nobody cares about.

I retired at 23 and was miserable. Turns out, having nothing to do is the worst thing that can happen to someone who loves building things.

I sold my first company at 24. I could have coasted. But I kept seeing teams duct-taping spreadsheets together and thinking — this is insane.

Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine. Most people die tomorrow evening.

I could have retired at 24. I chose to work on the hardest problem I could find instead. Coordination is that problem.

I grew up in a small city in western China. My family had nothing. The scholarship to Penn changed everything. When people say I am too aggressive, I think — you have no idea what I came from.

I live in Maui, I surf every morning, and my rental properties pay for all of it. That is not bragging — that is the pitch. If I can do it from a small town in Washington with no connections, you can do it too.

If you've never tried, how will you ever know if there's any chance? I failed the college exam twice, but here I am. You are not defined by your failures — you're defined by what you do after them.

I always tell new employees: don't think of this as a job. Think of it as a chance to solve a problem that affects a billion people. If that doesn't motivate you, this isn't the right place.

I started Xiaomi at 41 because I realized I had one more big fight left in me. If not now, when? If not this, what? Age is an excuse, not a reason.

I finished college in two years because I had something to prove. Everyone told me I wasn't smart enough. So I decided to prove them wrong as fast as possible.

I got ripped off on foreign exchange fees during a holiday trip and thought — this is insane, why is this still happening in 2015? So I built a company to fix it. The best businesses come from personal frustration.

I watched my immigrant parents stress about money every single day. That stress is what drives me. No one should have to lie awake at night because they don't understand how a 401(k) works.

Puerto Rico taught me that nothing is guaranteed. That hunger never goes away, no matter how many billions you manage.

I came to America from Palestine with nothing. That experience teaches you that opportunity exists everywhere if you are willing to work for it.

I was a Stanford biochemist. I did not start a food company because I love cooking. I started it because the data on animal agriculture is terrifying.

If you start a business just to make money, you will probably fail. Start it because you are angry that something is bad and you know you can make it better.

The Power of Broke is real. When you have nothing to lose, you have everything to gain.

We did not build Linear to compete with Jira. We built it because we refused to use Jira.

I started Zomato because I was tired of waiting in line at the office cafeteria. The best startups come from personal frustration.

Jamie Dimon calls me one of the most talented executives in JPMorgan history. I call that motivation to keep proving it.

In motivating people, you've got to engage their minds and their hearts. I motivate people, I hope, by example — and perhaps by excitement, by having productive ideas to make others feel involved.

Money is not the motivating force. It's nice to have money, but I don't think money is what drives me.

I've never had a safety net. That's why I run so fast.

My father's death shaped everything. You either let tragedy destroy you or you use it as fuel.

I grew up in Jordan with slow internet. I built Replit because I wanted the IDE I never had.

I was the U.S. CTO. I saw how bad government technology was. I knew healthcare could be done better.

I lived in Kenya and saw firsthand how broken international money transfers were. That's why Remitly exists.

I was told I needed back surgery. I did physical therapy instead and recovered completely. That's why Hinge Health exists.

I left Citigroup because I realized big banks would never serve average Americans well. The incentives don't align.

I was a bond trader on Wall Street. I saw how the financial system extracts fees from people who can't afford them.

The greatest risk is not taking one. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

I was drafted 199th overall. Every single day since then has been about proving that was wrong.

I grew up poor in Miami. Every deal I do, I still have that fear of going broke.

I was on welfare at 22 and told everyone I'd be a millionaire. They laughed. I delivered.

My grandmother fled Vietnam with nothing. That story drives everything I do.

I spent my childhood watching my mom work 18-hour days in her restaurant. DoorDash exists because of those days.

A student who loves learning will never stop learning. Our job is just to make them fall in love with it.

I was a ticket collector. People forget that. I never forget it. It keeps me grounded and it keeps me hungry.

My dad left me nothing because he wanted me to build it myself. Best investment decision he ever made, even though it wasn't for me.

East LA made me tough. It also made me grateful. I grew up fighting for everything. I want kids from East LA to know that coming from nothing is not a limitation — it is a fuel source.

I came from nothing. Literally selling things on the street to eat. Every day I remember that because it is the reason I never take anything for granted.

They don't want you to win. I'm telling you — every day is a war. You have to choose to be the winner.

I grew up with nothing. Nothing at all. So I understand what it means when someone says they cannot afford to dream. But the dream is the only thing no one can take from you.

I grew up in a housing project. The thing about starting with nothing is you're not afraid of losing it.

Dreams are just dreams until you get off your backside and do something about them.

I saw my mother refused credit at a grocery store when I was fourteen. I decided then that I would never be in that position again.

They mocked me for being a peasant. That was the best motivation anyone ever gave me.

After Skype, we wanted to build something that operated in the physical world, not just the digital one.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

I just love it when people say I can't do something. There's nothing that makes me feel better because all my life people have said I wasn't going to make it.

You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.

Whatever you're thinking, think bigger.

Find something you're passionate about and stay tremendously interested in it.

I came from a place where people had nothing. That memory never leaves. It is why I work the way I work.

I grew up without electricity, without running water. Today my company builds homes for millions of families. I understand what it means to have a home because I know what it means to not have one.

I did not set out to be a businesswoman. I set out to not be broke.

What inspires me the most is creating impact, and making a difference, through innovation and entrepreneurship.