Richard DeVos Quotes

“A positive atmosphere nurtures a positive attitude, which is required to take positive action.”

“A positive attitude is a choice, like walking to the other side of a street to avoid trouble or making a 180-degree turn when you feel you're heading in the wrong direction.”

“A positive impact stems from our admission that we were wrong or our thinking was wrong. 'I'm wrong' are two little words that can help improve our own positive attitude.”

“As business moves forward, you realize that God has his hand on the whole business and that he brought people to you who are like-minded. It starts with faith.”

“Delivering the 'Grand Rapids Press' taught me responsibility, accountability, and all the principles of the rewards of hard work.”

“Every society needs people who can encourage and stimulate and cheer. They are the ones who make the world run. You can be one of them!”

“Faith is my foundation because you work on a faith basis that you believe God has his hand on you.”

“Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A 'you can do it!' when things are tough.”

“Great moments await around every corner.”

“I am always amazed at how many guys in the NBA have never met an owner much less ever been to an owner's house. We bought the team so that we would be able to be a positive force, so that they in turn would be a positive force to young people everywhere.”

“I believe we are more a product of our homes than of any other single influence.”

“I can't dismiss my roots as a kid growing up during the Great Depression in the ordinary midwestern town of Grand Rapids, Michigan. From the standpoint of money and material possessions, we were barely scraping by.”

“I deal with a lot of wonderful gay people. I hire a lot of them. I use a lot of them. I respect them. They're terrific. I am good friends with them. But you live your life the way you want to live, and I'll live mine, and I won't stick my nose in yours.”

“I give God the glory for the people I've worked with who have helped me along the way.”

“I have been hung in effigy by the gay community for a long time, from when I was on President Reagan's first AIDS commission.”

“I have seen countless people make a choice to be confident. If you don't naturally feel bold and confident, you can choose an attitude of confidence.”

“I learned that you appreciate what you earn much more than what is given you. I also learned that decisions have consequences.”

“I still refer to myself as a 'cheerleader' because I keep encouraging others to have confidence and to use their talents to follow their dreams. It's been one of the most important reasons for my success and my helping others succeed.”

“I've by and large been a positive person ever since I can remember.”

“I've learned that positive thinking and encouragement are essential for leadership and progress.”

“If a negative atmosphere pervades where you live or work, go elsewhere. Seek out friends, business associates, and mentors with positive attitudes who share your goals and best interests.”

“If I had some idea of a finish line, don't you think I would have crossed it years ago?”

“If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying, 'Here comes number seventy-one!'”

“If the auto plants in Detroit would just sit around the table and say, 'What do we gotta do to make this thing work?' Instead of, 'I want this and I want that.' They might make it.”

“If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen.”

“It is fun to be Rich DeVos. It's great fun.”

“It is impossible to win the race unless you venture to run, impossible to win the victory unless you dare to battle.”

“Jay and I used to talk about this: we never had a goal of making a lot of money. We had a goal of having a business of our own. And there were many times we could have sold out and had a lot of money. Billions. We just put it in our pocket and go home, OK? But that was never our goal.”

“Life tends to respond to our outlook, to shape itself to meet our expectations.”

“Money cannot buy peace of mind. It cannot heal ruptured relationships, or build meaning into a life that has none.”