The Last Lecture

Get People’s Attention

The $100,000 Salt and Pepper Shaker

He was telling me I obviously didn’t know how high the bar should be, and I’d only do them a disservice by putting it anywhere.

Brick walls are there for a reason. And once you get over them—even if someone has practically had to throw you over—it can be helpful to others to tell them how you did it.

Dream Big

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. That comes from Seneca, the Roman philosopher who was born in 5 B.C. It’ll be worth repeating for another two thousand years, at least.

But I like to think that my flaws are in the social, rather than in the moral category.

Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.

Start-up companies often prefer to hire a chief executive with a failed start-up in his or her background. The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures. The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to all the pitfalls.