“If there are too many competitors, even if you’re the best it’s a lot harder to win.”

I believe that there’s something interesting about anyone and everyone – you just have to figure out what that something is.

Hopefully 10 years from now people won’t even realize we started out selling shoes. They will just think about Zappos as a place to get the best customer service.

Never accept or be too comfortable with the status quo, because the companies that get into trouble are historically the ones that aren’t able to adapt to change and respond quickly enough.

To never forget that the most important thing in life is the quality of life we lead.

Success is getting to a point where you’d be truly OK with losing everything you have and starting over.

Happiness is really just about four things: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness (number and depth of your relationships), and vision/meaning (being part of something bigger than yourself).

I thought about how easily we are all brainwashed by our society and culture to stop thinking and just assume by default that more money equals more success and more happiness, when ultimately happiness is really just about enjoying life.

Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.

Help shape the stories that people are telling about you.

Businesses often forget about the culture, and ultimately, they suffer for it because you can’t deliver good service from unhappy employees.

I’d rather spend money on things that improve the customer experience than on marketing.

Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger.

For individuals, character is destiny. For organizations, culture is destiny.

We asked ourselves what we wanted this company to stand for. We didn’t want to just sell shoes. I wasn’t even into shoes – but I was passionate about customer service.

Launching a business is kind of like a motorboat: You can go very quickly and turn fast.

Learn by doing. Theory is nice, but nothing replaces actual experience.

Finding the center of strength within ourselves is in the long run the best contribution we can make to our fellow men. … One person with indigenous inner strength exercises a great calming effect on panic among people around him.

The thinking mind is best controlled by the imagination.

The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.

My hair is not really white; it’s kind of grayish, and I don’t like the color. So I make it totally white with Klorane dry shampoo. That is the best thing to do because my hair is always clean.

Even when I went to the playground, I never picked the best players.

Shakespeare was a man who wrote poetry. I’m a man who writes poetry. Why not compare yourself to the best?

I played my best everyday. You never know when someone may be seeing you play for the first time.

I’m trying everything. But voice work is the best thing you ever imagined. It’s not about how you look, and you can go to work in your PJs.