Felix Dennis Quotes

“We weren't trying to change the world. We were just trying to have fun and maybe make enough money to eat.”

“Maxim wasn't trying to be clever or sophisticated. It was trying to be entertaining. Sometimes that's exactly what people want.”

“Money doesn't make you happy, but it does make you unhappy in more interesting ways.”

“Getting rich is a knack, a knack that can be acquired. And if they can acquire it, so can you.”

“The key, I think, is to make money your servant, not your master. And never, ever, let it become your god.”

“Wealth is not about having a lot of money; it's about having a lot of options.”

“If you are unwilling to fail, sometimes publicly and even catastrophically, you will never be rich.”

“The belief that you can do something is more important than the knowledge of how to do it.”

“Ownership is not a game, nor is it a social activity. Ownership is a compulsion, an obsession, and unless you are obsessed with the idea of owning something, you probably won't.”

“Never trust a man who doesn't drink, and never trust a man who drinks too much. The first lacks imagination, the second lacks control.”

“Ideas are ten a penny. It's the execution that counts.”

“The enemy of great is not bad, it's good. Good is the enemy because it stops you from being great.”

“A magazine is not a business, it's a license to print money—if you know what you're doing.”

“The secret of successful publishing is to find out what people want to read and then give it to them.”

“[Controversy](/mental-models/controversy) sells magazines, but only if it's the right kind of controversy.”

“In publishing, as in life, timing is everything. Launch too early and you're a pioneer. Launch too late and you're irrelevant.”

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never be original.”

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk at all.”

“I've made more money from my failures than from my successes. Failure teaches you what not to do next time.”

“When everyone else is being cautious, that's the time to be bold.”

“Life is short. Do what makes you happy, not what makes you rich. Though if you can do both, that's even better.”

“The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

“Success is not about the destination, it's about the journey. And the journey is a lot more interesting when you're not sure where you're going.”

“I've learned that making money is easy. Keeping it is hard. Enjoying it is harder still.”

“The most important thing I've learned is that you can't take it with you. So you might as well enjoy the ride.”