20 Inspiring Quotes From Famous College & High School Dropouts

These aren't people who just “got lucky” either – they simply weren't cut out for the academic life, preferring to find their own way. And many of them have done very, very well for themselves: Wikipedia has a list of about 30 college dropouts who are now billionaires. There are things that can't be taught in school. Let's see what some of these people have to say.

“If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.”

– Bill Gates

“I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics final. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.”

– Woody Allen

“We all only live once. So we are obligated to make good use of the time that we have and to do something that is meaningful and satisfying. This is something that I find meaningful and satisfying. That is my temperament. I enjoy creating systems on a grand scale, and I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards.”
– Julian Assange (of WikiLeaks)

“I question myself every day. That's what I still find motivating about this. I don't have the answers, I don't pretend that I do just because I won the match. Just keep fighting and maybe something good happens.”
– Andre Agassi (Tennis winner of 8 Grand Slam titles)

“A band with no history can get 40,000 people looking at its video just by getting on the site and doing some work. It's a strong incentive. The technology has changed so much in the past six or seven years. You can make a video cheaply. The quality may be lacking, but I think fans get excited when they discover a band that's made its own record or video. They're the first to see them underground.”

– Tom Anderson (Founder of Myspace)

“You look at the floor and see the floor. I look at the floor and see molecules.”
– Dan Aykroyd

“I remember back when I was a kid there was a comic strip called Plastic Man. His body was elastic and he could make his extremities as long as he wanted. As a youngster I didn't fully appreciate. But I'm now thinking Plastic Man was probably pretty popular with the ladies.”
– Ben Affleck

“My goal was never to just create a company. A lot of people misinterpret that, as if I don't care about revenue or profit or any of those things. But what not being just a company means to me is not being just that - building something that actually makes a really big change in the world.”
– Mark Zuckerberg

“There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don't like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don't spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.”
– Michael Dell (of Dell computers)

“I think you have to judge everything based on your personal taste. And if that means being critical, so be it. I hate political correctness. I absolutely loathe it.”
– Simon Cowell

“I mean, you have to be able - you have to have made the commitment within yourself to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to try to inspire other people to do it, because obviously the first rule is you can't do it by yourself.”
– James Cameron

“As long as you as an individual... can convince yourself that in order to move forward as best you can you have to be optimistic, you can be described as 'one of the faithful,' one of those people who can say, 'Well, look, something's going to happen! Let's just keep trying. Let's not give up.”
– Tom Hanks

“All my friends were going off to be professionals, and I said I wanted to be an actor.”
– Harrison Ford

“I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.”
– Nikola Tesla

“I love to play golf, and that's my arena. And you can characterize it and describe it however you want, but I have a love and a passion for getting that ball in the hole and beating those guys.”
– Tiger Woods

“I'm a traditionalist. I have certain values I live by.”
– Danny Aiello

“We go in with eyes wide open and recognize there will be a lot of hard work involved. But we anticipate having success. We feel like we have assembled a great group of people. If we were going to do it any other way, we would have made an announcement a long time ago. We were very diligent.”
– Troy Aikman

“Sad, but one day our kids will have to visit museums to see what a lady looks like. So if you find one, I beg of you, hold her tight. Yes, if you spot one, good sir, treat her right.”
– Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000)

“I've traveled the world the last few years, Sometimes I think of home, and even Stone Cold has to fight the tears.”
– “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

“There is two kinds of music, the good, and the bad. I play the good kind.”
– Louis Armstrong