David Cote

Get out of your comfort zone — better yet, get comfortable about being out of your comfort zone. Get yourself into the arena. Be a participant and not a spectator.

Hard work does not always pay off. If you're working on the wrong thing, it doesn't matter how hard you work, nothing will ever come of it. Hard work is important — just make sure you're working on the right thing.

Life will happen to you, whether you try to guide it or not, so you might as well try to influence the outcome. You have to know what you want and you have to be willing to go after it.