Savitha Madhavan > Savitha's Quotes

“When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”
― Maya Angelou

“Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”
― Steven Pressfield, Do the Work

“If you are one of those who believe that hard work and honesty, alone, will bring riches, perish the thought! It is not true! Riches, when they come in huge quantities, are never the result of hard work! Riches come, if they come at all, in response to definite demands, based upon the application of definite principles, and not by chance or luck.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“Success requires no explanations. Failure permits no alibis.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“A quitter never wins—and— a winner never quits.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“Fear of competition from followers. The leader who fears that one of his followers may take his position is practically sure to realize that fear sooner or later.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“Close friends and relatives, while not meaning to do so, often handicap one through “opinions” and sometimes through ridicule, which is meant to be humorous. Thousands of men and women carry inferiority complexes with them all through life, because some well-meaning, but ignorant person destroyed their confidence through “opinions” or ridicule.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“But only companies that act like commodities are the ones who wake up every day with the challenge of how to differentiate.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice

“You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“The day of the “go-getter” has passed. He has been supplanted by the “go-giver.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.

Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. By WHY I mean your purpose, cause or belief - WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?

People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe. Their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe and not alone is part of what gives them the ability to inspire us.

For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs. It’s not “integrity,” it’s “always do the right thing.” It’s not “innovation,” it’s “look at the problem from a different angle.” Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea - we have a clear idea of how to act in any situation.

Happy employees ensure happy customers. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders—in that order.

Leading is not the same as being the leader. Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning it, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.

You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.

Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. People are either motivated or they are not. Unless you give motivated people something to believe in, something bigger than their job to work toward, they will motivate themselves to find a new job and you’ll be stuck with whoever’s left.

Trust is maintained when values and beliefs are actively managed. If companies do not actively work to keep clarity, discipline and consistency in balance, then trust starts to break down.

All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Great companies don't hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Leadership requires two things: a vision of the world that does not yet exist and the ability to communicate it.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Some in management positions operate as if they are in a tree of monkeys. They make sure that everyone at the top of the tree looking down sees only smiles. But all too often, those at the bottom looking up see only asses.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. People are either motivated or they are not. Unless you give motivated people something to believe in, something bigger than their job to work toward, they will motivate themselves to find a new job and you’ll be stuck with whoever’s left.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Charisma has nothing to do with energy; it comes from a clarity of WHY. It comes from absolute conviction in an ideal bigger than oneself. Energy, in contrast, comes from a good night’s sleep or lots of caffeine. Energy can excite. But only charisma can inspire. Charisma commands loyalty. Energy does not.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Henry Ford summed it up best. “If I had asked people what they wanted,” he said, “they would have said a faster horse.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Great leaders and great organizations are good at seeing what most of us can’t see. They are good at giving us things we would never think of asking for.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Working hard for something we do not care about is called stress, working hard for something we love is called passion.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Put bluntly, the struggle that so many companies have to differentiate or communicate their true value to the outside world is not a business problem, it's a biology problem. And just like a person struggling to put her emotions into words, we rely on metaphors, imagery and analogies in an attempt to communicate how we feel. Absent the proper language to share our deep emotions, our purpose, cause or belief, we tell stories. We use symbols. We create tangible things for those who believe what we believe to point to and say, "That's why I'm inspired." If done properly, that's what marketing, branding and products and services become; a way for organizations to communicate to the outside world. Communicate clearly and you shall be understood.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year. Those who forget WHY they were founded show up to the race every day to outdo someone else instead of to outdo themselves. The pursuit, for those who lose sight of WHY they are running the race, is for the medal or to beat someone else.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning it, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“This is important because our behavior is affected by our assumptions or our perceived truths. We make decisions based on what we think we know.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action