Deep, persistent problems are never solved by accident; they are solved only by people who are obsessed with them and set out to solve them directly.
Let's not mince words: Everest doesn't attract a whole lot of well-balanced folks. The self-selection process tends to weed out the cautious and the sensible in favor of those who are single-minded and incredibly driven. Which is a big reason the mountain is so dangerous.
The compulsive, obsessive, high-end, achieving people, those are the ones that keep pushing harder. I'll name you the greatest players I ever coached, and every one of them have that same trait.
I think that all politicians who aspire to the presidency are a little nuts, but for different reasons. What kind of person aspires to be the most powerful person in the world? The answer is someone with an internal drive that is so dynamic and so determined.
I think the folks who go after grand challenges are impatient.
You always start off with passion and the people that have it.
Successful people move on their own initiative but they know where they are going before they start.
I don't come from a family of slackers, but I do come from a family of doers.
The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders - people who not only have enormous amounts of energy, but who can energize those whom they lead.
I come from a line of self-motivated, determined folk - not grand, not high society, but no-nonsense, family-minded go-getters.
I mean, I think everyone at this level has a chip on their shoulder. Everyone's got a story. Everyone has had to go through some adversity to get to where they are at so, I guess, we all do.
If you look at high performers they are always the most passionate - in any industry.
Highly motivated achievers are looking not to receive but to contribute. They are looking for problems that are personally satisfying to solve.
I think commitment is inextricably linked with success, and rightly or wrongly, people with a fierce commitment to their goals - the Kanyes of this world - are really entertaining.
It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.
The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world.
Ambition sufficiently plagues her proselytes, by keeping themselves always in show, like the statue of a public place.
I need someone who always wants more out of life. Like me - I'm just that way.
Film people can be quite ruthless and tough. I think it's because the industry is filled with talented, driven people chasing nowhere near enough work.
The real people of genius were resolute workers not idle dreamers.
These people get to the top because they have to, because inside them burns a dream too big, too ever present, too demanding to be denied.
None of this is fair to you. And should it continue, it will make it more difficult to keep attracting the kind of driven, patriotic, idealist Americans to public service that our citizens deserved and that our system of self-government demands.
Only the absolutely determined people succeed.
It's about passion, and if somebody is passionate about a development deal, they're going to get it made.
One thing I've learned, and I don't really blame anybody for this: most people who have a lot of money are the people that want to make money more than anyone. I've seen it with athletes, I've seen it with musicians, you know?
