18 Quotes by Walmart Founder Sam Walton to help you find your Entrepreneurial Spirit

Sam Walton’s story is one to be inspired by. From a young, struggling entrepreneur opening his first variety store at the age of 26, Walton transformed his business to create a legacy. With over 11,000 locations across the world, Walmart is now a multinational retail corporation that has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1962. Sam Walton’s story is one of entrepreneurship, risk, hard work and self-belief.

Here are 18 quotes from Walton that will help you find your entrepreneurial spirit:

1. “To succeed in this world, you have to change all the time.”

2. “High expectations are the key to everything.”

3. “Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune.”

4. “Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score.”

5. “Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else.”

6. “Keep everybody guessing as to what your next trick is going to be.”

7. “Capital isn’t scarce; vision is.”

8. “If you want a successful business, your people must feel that you are working for them—not that they are working for you.”

9. “You can make a positive out of the most negative if you work at it hard enough. “

10. “Do it. Try it. Fix it. “

11. “If you want the people in the stores to take care of the customers, you have to make sure you’re taking care of the people in the stores. That’s the most important single ingredient of Wal-Mart’s success. “

12. “If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you—like a fever.”

13. “Focus on something the customer wants, and then deliver it. “

14. “Many of our best opportunities were created out of necessity. “

15. “Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction.”

16. “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”

17. “There is only one boss – the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

18. “You can learn from everybody. “