“I guess to be an entrepreneur you have to have a large ego, enormous pride and an ability to inspire others to follow your lead.”

Creativity is a highfalutin’ word for the work I have to do between now and Tuesday.

If you do it first class and you don’t compromise values, and you don’t compromise quality, and you don’t compromise service, and you don’t compromise cleanliness, then everybody else who is the competitor has got to play catch-up.

When times are bad is when you want to build! Why wait for things to pick up so everything will cost more?

You’re only as good as the people you hire.

If I had a brick for every time I’ve repeated the phrase Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value, I think I’d probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them.

I was never much of a reader when I was a boy. Books bored me. I liked action. But I spent a lot of time thinking about things. I’d imagine all kinds of situations and how I would handle them.

We take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else.

There’s a lot more future in hamburgers than in baseball.

Tomorrow at sunrise I shall no longer be here.

Customers tend to avoid a restaurant that’s going aswamp in its own sludge.

Nothing in the world can one imagine beforehand,not the least thing,everything is made up of so many unique particulars that cannot be forseen.

If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.

None of Us is as Good as All of Us.

The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it.

You must perfect every fundamental of your business if you expect it to perform well.

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.

You don’t bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring him enjoyment by being you.

Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.

The more one does the more one can do.

You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can.

The time will come when the Negro in the South will be accorded all the political rights which his ability, character, and material possessions entitle him to.

The ability to change constantly and effectively is made easier by high-level continuity.

My greatest talent is in my ability to choose good friends. It’s about as important as things get.

Intelligence is measured by a person’s ability to see validity within both sides of contradicting arguments.