“I wasn’t prepared for this big room with clattering typewriters and teletype printers. You could hardly hear yourself think.”

McDonald’s is a people business, and that smile on that counter girl’s face when she takes your order is a vital part of our image.

The key to success is being in the right place at the right time, recognizing that you are there, and taking action!

The first dollar is the most you will get if you don’t love what you are doing.

Take calculated risks. Act boldly and thoughtfully. Be an agile company.

There is absolutely nothing special about walking on a rope stretched along the ground. Where there is no risk, there can be no pride in a deed accomplished, and therefore no happiness.

The more I help others to succeed, the more I succeed.

Are you green and growing or ripe and rotting?

Speaking of competition in the fast-food industry. This is rat eat rat, dog eat dog. I’ll kill ’em, and I’m going to kill ’em before they kill me.

I saw opportunity appear in an ugly six-spindle shake machine … and grabbed it.

The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.

Adversity can strengthen you if you have the will to grind it out.

If you believe in it, and you believe in it hard, it is impossible to fail.

Our aim was to insure repeat business based on the system’s reputation rather than on the quality of a single store or operator.

I suffer with you. I’ve never seen such stupid ballplaying in all my life!

When you’re green, your growing. When you’re ripe, you rot.

Visions of McDonald’s restaurants dotting crossroads all over the country paraded through my brain. I don’t believe in saturation. We’re thinking and talking worldwide.

The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.

There is a spiritual side to me that goes real deep, but I confess right up front that I’m the biggest sinner of them all.

If you tell a lie, tell a big one.

A lot of times I find that people who are blessed with the most talent don’t ever develop that attitude, and the ones who aren’t blessed in that way are the most competitive and have the biggest heart.

The English follow the principle that when one lies, it should be a big lie, and one should stick to it.

We are a very big and vast Government, and naturally, every ministry is becoming bigger and bigger. It becomes, therefore, essential that there should be proper coordination.

There’s a big difference between a decisive manager and a tyrant.