Chung Ju-yung Quotes

“I became successful even though I came from a poor family and had no proper education.”

“I did not receive much schooling. But not receiving formal education does not mean one is lacking in wisdom.”

“My own academic progress stopped at the sixth grade due to the extraordinary hardships of our family's circumstances, not because I found formal education to be superfluous.”

“I've always enjoyed reading great books. If my first mentors were my parents, then my second mentors were books.”

“I think harder, work harder, have greater courage, and am more active than others.”

“How can you know it's impossible if you haven't tried it?”

“Conviction creates indomitable efforts. This is the key to miracles.”

“If you are diligent for a day, you will sleep comfortably for a night. If you are diligent for a month, the quality of your life will noticeably improve.”

“If you are diligent for a year, two years, 10 years, your whole life—your accomplishments will be recognized by all.”

“The diligent lead lives 100 times more productive than the lazy.”

“Great work requires obsession, not balance.”

“When attempting something difficult, people utter the words 'wrong' or 'impossible.' They said we couldn't build a highway so cheaply. They said it was crazy for us to build a shipyard. They said it wasn't possible to move heavy underwater equipment by barge.”

“Don't you know that the person who thinks a job is possible is the one who is going to get it done?”

“One of his sons committed suicide because, it was said, he was not able to satisfy his father.”

“I think harder, work harder, have greater courage, and am more active than others. Before starting any project, I spend an enormous amount of time and effort thinking, analyzing, and planning every detail. When it is time to implement these plans, it may look like I am working off the cuff, or even recklessly, but if I hadn't first sat down and planned everything out, the Hyundai Group of today could never have existed.”

“If I'm not sleeping, I'm thinking. My thoughts are not the result of a conscious decision to think. They just come to me in a successive stream of thoughts, all connected and flowing into each other. Like all business people, a great idea starts with one single thought. When a small idea the size of a grain of rice is implanted in my mind, I nurture it until it grows into a major project that I can visualize in my head.”

“Half measures, compromises, cutting corners, or 'being realistic' do not exist in my world.”

“It is failures rather than successes that teach us invaluable lessons. It is not necessary to remember one's success. That should be remembered by others instead. Rather, we should remember our losses and failures — those who forget their failures will fail again and again.”