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by EMMAS
15 English Quotes That Will Inspire Your Personal and Business Life
Bill Gates. Sheryl Sandberg. Oprah Winfrey. Larry Page.
These big names can improve your English and change your life.
How?
By looking at the advice they’ve given—and then taking it.
Whether in life or business, the words of successful and innovative people can be deeply inspiring.
They can motivate you, make you think and get you to ask questions.
You may even hear people say quotes like these in daily conversation or at meetings.
So let’s take a closer look at 15 powerful quotes from successful business people around the world to help you learn new phrases and get inspired!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
15 English Quotes That Will Inspire Your Personal and Business Life
Try FluentU for FREE!
Try FluentU for FREE!
- “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.”
Who said it: Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance
“It’s about” is a way to highlight the importance of something. For example, “It’s about doing a good job” means what’s important is to do a good job.
“Make it happen” is an expression that means to get things done or to do the work. For example, “If you want to get a promotion, then just make it happen” means if getting a promotion is your goal, then you must work now to get a promotion.
The full quote means that ideas themselves are not important. The important thing is that you take action so that the ideas actually come true.
Do you have trouble with English during business video calls?
What if you could speak fluent English in calls, and connect comfortably with your customers, colleagues, and managers?
Imagine... you could look forward to these calls instead of worrying about them.
What could this newfound confidence do for your career?
Did you know there's a course that can help you with that? It's called UpEnglish.
Don't miss this opportunity to improve your English and your career — get started with UpEnglish today.
- “Always deliver more than expected.”
Who said it: Larry Page, co-founder of Google
The verb “deliver” has two meanings:
To bring/move something to the place it needs to be.
Amazon delivers packages in two days for all orders placed by Prime members.
To do something you say you will.
Our manager always promises to provide feedback but he never delivers. We haven’t received feedback in five months!
In the quote above by Larry Page, “deliver” means to do what you say you will do. So if you do more than what is expected, it means that you do extra work. The final product or results will then be better than how people thought they would be.
- “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
Who said it: Coco Chanel, founder of Chanel
“Think for yourself” means your thoughts should be your own—not what someone else has said or told you to think.
By adding the phrase “aloud” at the end, the quote means it is brave to have your own thoughts and to say them to others.
- “What would you do if you were not afraid?”
Who said it: Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
“What would you do if” is a way to ask about a possible scenario which may or may not ever happen.
For example, “What would you do if your boss fired you?” is another question that helps you think about possibility.
The quote implies (suggests) that fear often stops us from doing things we want to do. We become afraid of failure or a negative outcome. The question by Sandberg is asked to make us think about what it would be like to not have any fear—and what we might accomplish!
- “Nothing will work unless you do.”
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Who said it: Maya Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
“It will work” is a way of saying “It will happen” or “It is possible.”
For example, “Our plan will work once the CEO agrees” means that after the CEO agrees, the plan will happen.
This quote by Angelou means that you must do work for something to happen.
- “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”
Start your free trial FluentU Business English BlogFluentU Business English Blog Want to speak English naturally? business-quotes-in-english by EMMAS 15 English Quotes That Will Inspire Your Personal and Business Life Bill Gates. Sheryl Sandberg. Oprah Winfrey. Larry Page.
These big names can improve your English and change your life.
How?
By looking at the advice they’ve given—and then taking it.
Whether in life or business, the words of successful and innovative people can be deeply inspiring.
They can motivate you, make you think and get you to ask questions.
You may even hear people say quotes like these in daily conversation or at meetings.
So let’s take a closer look at 15 powerful quotes from successful business people around the world to help you learn new phrases and get inspired!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
15 English Quotes That Will Inspire Your Personal and Business Life
Try FluentU for FREE!
Try FluentU for FREE!
“It’s about” is a way to highlight the importance of something. For example, “It’s about doing a good job” means what’s important is to do a good job.
“Make it happen” is an expression that means to get things done or to do the work. For example, “If you want to get a promotion, then just make it happen” means if getting a promotion is your goal, then you must work now to get a promotion.
The full quote means that ideas themselves are not important. The important thing is that you take action so that the ideas actually come true.
Do you have trouble with English during business video calls?
What if you could speak fluent English in calls, and connect comfortably with your customers, colleagues, and managers?
Imagine... you could look forward to these calls instead of worrying about them.
What could this newfound confidence do for your career?
Did you know there's a course that can help you with that? It's called UpEnglish.
Don't miss this opportunity to improve your English and your career — get started with UpEnglish today.
The verb “deliver” has two meanings:
To bring/move something to the place it needs to be. Amazon delivers packages in two days for all orders placed by Prime members.
To do something you say you will. Our manager always promises to provide feedback but he never delivers. We haven’t received feedback in five months!
In the quote above by Larry Page, “deliver” means to do what you say you will do. So if you do more than what is expected, it means that you do extra work. The final product or results will then be better than how people thought they would be.
“Think for yourself” means your thoughts should be your own—not what someone else has said or told you to think.
By adding the phrase “aloud” at the end, the quote means it is brave to have your own thoughts and to say them to others.
“What would you do if” is a way to ask about a possible scenario which may or may not ever happen.
For example, “What would you do if your boss fired you?” is another question that helps you think about possibility.
The quote implies (suggests) that fear often stops us from doing things we want to do. We become afraid of failure or a negative outcome. The question by Sandberg is asked to make us think about what it would be like to not have any fear—and what we might accomplish!
Who said it: Maya Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
“It will work” is a way of saying “It will happen” or “It is possible.”
For example, “Our plan will work once the CEO agrees” means that after the CEO agrees, the plan will happen.
This quote by Angelou means that you must do work for something to happen.