Sam Altman on Success Quotes

"Compound interest works for your career too, and it starts with deep, focused effort."

"I think the most important thing for a career is to be a fast learner."

"The secret to success is to find something you love to do so much that you can't wait for the sun to rise to do it again."

"Build something people want."

"A big secret of the most successful people is that they are very good at ignoring things that aren't their top priority."

"Success comes from a combination of working hard and working on the right things with total focus."

"Don't chase status. Status is a zero-sum game."

"Optimism is a superpower. The most successful people I know are optimistic about the future."

"The most successful people are often the most confident, but they are also the most curious."

"Most people waste most of their time on things that don't matter. Once you have figured out what to do, be relentless about getting your small handful of priorities done quickly."

"You get what you ask for. If you don't ask, you don't get."

"Compounding is magic. Look for it everywhere. You want to be on a trajectory that compounds, especially when pursuing a long-term dream."

"Wealth is the power to claim resources. Money is the claim check."

"Momentum is everything in a startup. If you have momentum, you can survive most other mistakes."

"You should aim to be the best in the world at what you do."

"The future can be much better than the past, and we have a responsibility to make it so."

"Extreme people get extreme results."

"The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks."

"A great idea is usually one that seems bad to most people but is actually good."

"Most people overestimate the risk of trying something new and underestimate the risk of standing still."

"Saying no is a superpower. It allows you to protect your focus for the things that will actually change the world."

"You have to be right, and you have to be non-consensus. That is how you win big."

"Compounding is magic. Look for it everywhere. Exponential curves are the key to wealth generation."

"Every great achievement was once considered impossible. Your dream is only impossible until it isn't."

"Hard work is a fundamental requirement for reaching the top 0.1% of any field."

"I think the most successful people are the ones who are the most focused."

"The marginal cost of intelligence will head towards zero."

"You want to be an exponential curve yourself."

"Prioritize the long term. Most people are too focused on the next week; the real gains come from the next decade."

"Work on something that you are genuinely passionate about, or you'll never be able to work hard enough to be successful."

"Work hard. A lot of people in Silicon Valley like to say you don't have to work hard, but they are wrong."

"Hard work compounds like interest. The earlier you do it, the more time you have for the benefits to pay off."

"The most successful people I know are obsessed with their work and spend huge amounts of time in deep thought."