“I don’t have any secret sauce and I’m no smarter than anyone else. I will say I have surrounded myself with unbelievable talent that has made my job easier.”

But when you really believe-in yourself, in your dream-you just have to do everything you possibly can to take control and make your vision a reality. No great achievement happens by luck.

My parents really wanted me to get out of New York, be exposed to other people, other ways of life.

Europe has always represented a major strategic opportunity to achieve our goal of creating and building an enduring global brand.

We have no patent on anything we do and anything we do can be copied by anyone else. But you can’t copy the heart and the soul and the conscience of the company.

In life, you can blame a lot of people and you can wallow in self-pity or you can pick yourself up and say listen, I have to be responsible for myself.

The hardest thing about being a leader is demonstrating or showing vulnerability. And that has a lot to do with trust.

When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.

This may sound a bit naive, but I got here by believing in big dreams.

Always challenge the old ways.

We are witnessing a seismic change in consumer behavior. That change is being brought about by technology and the access people have to information.

I never wanted to be on any billionaires list. I never define myself by net worth. I always try to define myself by my values.

Whatever you do, don’t play it safe. Don’t do things the way they’ve always been done. Don’t try to fit the system. If you do what’s expected of you, you’ll never accomplish more than others expect.

If you pour your heart into your work, or into any worthy enterprise, you can achieve dreams others may think impossible.

People around the world, they want the authentic Starbucks experience.

The premium single-cup segment is the fastest-growing business within the global coffee industry.

Believe in your dreams and dream big. And then after you’ve done that, dream bigger.