Be productive and make something that somebody wants. That is wealth.

Paul Graham:

Design and Research: The answer to the paradox, I think, is that you have to design for the user, "but you have to design what the user needs, not simply what he says he wants."

"Solve problems that users care about.... Really pay attention to making customers happy. How often do you walk into a store, or call a company on the phone, with a feeling of dread in the back of your mind? When you hear, 'your call is important to us, please stay on the line,' do you think, oh good, now everything will be all right?"

Napoleon Hill:

Your position is nothing more than your opportunity to show what sort of ability you have. You will get out of it exactly what you put into it -- no more and no less. A "big" position is but the sum total of numerous "little" positions well-filled.

Some men are successful as long as someone else stands back of them and encourages them, and some men are successful in spite of Hell! Take your choice.

It is that exceedingly rare quality that prompts -- nay, impels -- a person to do that which ought to be done without being told to do it. Elbert Hubbard expressed himself on the subject of Initiative in these words:
"The world bestows its big prizes, both in money and honours, for one thing, and that is Initiative.
"What is initiative? I'll tell you: It is doing the right thing without being told."