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best motivational speeches

13 Best Motivational Speeches for Entrepreneurs (2024)

Who couldn’t use a few of the best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs?

Business can be hard. Heck, life can be hard.

We’re all on a journey, and we’ve all been down in the dumps before, wondering if what we’re doing is really worth it.

Wondering if what we’re doing is really making an impact.

But, it’s important that we’re always moving forward. This is a lesson that I learned early in life.

I remember I was around 4 years old, and I was learning to ride my bike with my uncle and my father.

Of course, I fell off multiple times while I was learning to cycle, and I remember the time I cut my knee pretty badly.

At that point I really just wanted to quit and go home. But, my family told me: “you can’t quit now, you’re almost there. Just try it once more!”

You’ve probably heard that before too, right?

So, I got back on that bike. I didn’t want to, but you just need to power through and face your challenges head-on.

Sure enough, that was the first time that I rode that bike without any help.

After that, I was so glad I kept moving forward and that I never gave up.

Now, that probably wasn’t the motivational speech that you expected when you clicked on this article, but it’s evidence that we can do so much more than we think we’re capable of when we’re spurred on by others.

And that’s exactly why we’ve created this article – we’ve listed all of our favorite motivational speeches here, because we already know how much more you can achieve with a little bit of extra motivation .

So, let’s jump into it!

Post Contents

Will Smith – Pursuit of Happiness

Al pacino – any given sunday, steve jobs – 2005 stanford commencement speech, matthew mcconaughey – university of houston speech, sheryl sandberg – harvard business school motivational speech, sylvester stallone – balboa speech, arnold schwarzenegger – famous motivational speech, richard st.john – 8 secrets of success, eric thomas – i can, i will, i must, denzel washington – fall forward, key takeaways, want to learn more, 13 best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs.

Considered one of the best motivational speeches, this famous motivational speech from the 2006 film, Pursuit of Happyness , features Will Smith and his son playing basketball.

At the start of the clip, you’ll see Smith’s son (his actual son, Jaden Smith) playing around with a basketball, and he shouts out, “I’m going pro!”

After hearing this, Smith decides to try and level his son’s expectations, mentioning that he himself never really excelled at basketball, so his son shouldn’t expect to either.

His son is visibly disappointed by this comment, and Smith notices this.

Smith then proclaims: “don’t ever let somebody tell you that you can’t do something, not even me.”

“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. You want something, go get it. Period.”

This motivational speech is a special one. Even though both Will and Jaden Smith are acting, they’re still father and son, and you can see how this scene reflects their own family dynamic.

It’s a short motivational speech, but it’s one of the best motivational speeches of all time, in our opinion.

Al Pacino’s speech from the American Football drama, Any Given Sunday, is next up on our list.

This famous motivational speech really gets your blood flowing – perfect for watching before you tackle a difficult day .

The motivational speech revolves around the idea of inches being so important in American Football, even if we have the tendency to overlook them.

He talks about the different ways that his team can gain advantages over their opponents, even if it’s only an inch at a time.

He proclaims: “when we add up all those […] inches, that’s what makes the difference between winning and losing”.

This point is applicable throughout life, too – it’s the people who go the extra mile who tend to find success more often than not.

And sometimes, you won’t notice it at first, but like Pacino mentions, it’s the sum of all the small parts which lead you to victory.

Motivational speeches like this one pump you up when you need it most.

Steve Jobs, one of the key figures behind tech giant Apple’s success, is next up on our list of the best motivational speeches of all time.

In his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, the former Apple CEO dives deep into his own journey as an entrepreneur , and he speaks openly about the issues that he’s faced along the way and how he overcame them.

During this classic motivational speech, Jobs talks about how he was actually a college dropout and that this was one of the most important times of his life. 

He mentioned that he dropped out of college to take classes that he was truly interested in, rather than studying topics he wasn’t deeply passionate about.

One of those classes that he took up after dropping out was calligraphy. He was so compelled by the high standard of handwriting.

To many, this might seem like a strange choice, but he connects the experience that he gained from that class to the font choices that he installed on Apple computers.

If Jobs had never taken that calligraphy class, he wouldn’t have cared so much about a seemingly small detail, like fonts, but Apple was the first company to add different typefaces to their operating systems. 

He goes on to say: “You can’t connect the dots if you’re looking forward, you can only do it looking backwards. So, you need to keep moving forward and hope that the dots align somehow.”

The key message from this famous motivational speech is that we’re always learning. We’re always growing and finding out new information. It’s all about what we choose to do with that information that really defines us.

As Jobs said: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

Next up on our list of motivational speeches is Matthew McConaughey, with his commencement speech at the University of Houston.

The Oscar-winning actor delivers some very pertinent points during his speech, but the one that stuck out for me was how he spoke of joy being a “constant approach”.

McConaughey said: “Joy is always in process, it’s always under construction.”

He spoke of how he was previously judging his success on metrics that he thought were important to him, like the number of academy awards he won, or the amount of money his films grossed.

But, it was only when he decided to focus on the whole process of creating a film, and enjoying every aspect of it, that he found true success in those metrics.

It turned out that, when he took everything one step at a time, and truly enjoyed his craft, he found that things just fell into place.

“Define success for yourself.”

Find what you want to achieve, and enjoy the entire journey – not just the high points, but the lows too.

Matthew McConaughey ended up delivering one of the best motivational speeches from the past few years.

Sheryl Sandberg, the American entrepreneur, tech executive, author, and current COO of Facebook, is the next addition to our list of the best motivational speeches with her talk at the Harvard Business School in 2012.

Besides talking about her own experiences as an entrepreneur, and her work at Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, Sandberg mentions a very pertinent idea. One that we can all do well to remember.

“Motivation comes from working on things that we care about.”

This is certainly true for entrepreneurship – those who are running businesses and working to tackle problems that engage them are more likely to find success.

And, according to Sandberg, it’s so important that we continue to work, because that’s the most important thing.

All in all, this is one of the best motivational speeches for students that we’ve seen.

Rocky Balboa , played by Sylvester Stallone, is a famed character best known for his courage, hard work, and determination.

In Rocky Balboa, the sixth film in the Rocky franchise, Stallone delivers one of the hardest-hitting motivational speeches of all time.

Stallone starts off the motivational speech by saying: “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

He goes on to talk about the value of hard work and commitment and emphasizes that “it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

As an entrepreneur, this motivational speech really hits home. There will be struggles on your journey to success , but as Stallone says, it’s all about “how much you can take and keep moving forward, that’s how winning is done.”

Remember this when your back is up against the wall – winners never give up!

This is one of the most iconic motivational speeches. You’ll often find it in motivational speech mashup videos on YouTube or even on Spotify.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-American actor, entrepreneur, politician, and former My Olympia, is next up on our list of the most famous motivational speeches for entrepreneurs.

He starts his motivational speech with a simple, powerful message.

“Work your ass off.”

Schwarzenegger then discusses how having a goal was so pivotal for him on his journey to success in a variety of fields.

He also talks about how “only a quarter of people really enjoy what they’re doing in life.”

Schwarzenegger also believes that everybody should be constantly working to get closer to their main goal and properly utilize every hour of their day.

“Imagine if you worked on a business every day for an hour . Imagine how further along you would get.”

This is perhaps the most important message from this motivational speech – it’s down to us to make the most of our limited time on earth. And this message, which everybody can get behind, is why we believe this is one of the best motivational speeches of all time.

Next up on our list, we’ve got an infamous TED talk from Richard St.John – also one of the shortest motivational speeches that we’ve ever seen, but it sure is impactful.

St.John mentions at the start of the video that this talk is a condensed version of 7 years of research (including research from more than five hundred interviews with successful professionals).

One of the most interesting points that St.John mentions is that if you want to be successful at something, you need to “put your nose down in something and get damn good at it.”

But, the most motivational part of St.John’s speech for us was where he talks about passion.

He said: “if you do something you love then the money comes along later.”

This section of the motivational speech is especially relevant for entrepreneurs – if you’re building a brand , then try and be invested in it as much as possible – a commitment to the cause will really help you find success in the long run. 

When you’re trying to find success, you need to love what you do!

Eric Thomas is a fantastic speaker, and in this classic motivational speech, he empowers us to believe that we can always get through adversity, no matter what the challenge is.

Thomas repeats this line throughout the speech: “I can get through this. I will get through this. I must get through this.”

He also cleverly uses our loved ones as a source of inspiration in this motivational speech.

He asks us to focus on the 3 people we love the most and challenges us to question our own decisions regarding motivation.

“You gotta think about those people every day.”

“You have some days when you think about hitting the snooze button? […] The days you don’t feel like getting up, just think about them.”

Instead of being lazy and complacent, we need to think about our loved ones and question what they’d think if we were procrastinating 24/7 .

Honestly, it’s fine doing something for yourself, but knowing that you’ve made your loved ones proud just makes everything feel 10 times better. This is one of the main messages from this motivational speech. 

And that’s why this is one of the best motivational speeches of all time. It takes the onus away from working for yourself and instead focuses on putting in the work for people you couldn’t bear to let down.  

Elon Musk – USC Commencement Motivational Speech

Elon Musk is an icon of inspiration for countless people worldwide. Known for his out-of-the-box thinking and visionary technology, Musk shows us that anything is possible if we put our minds to it.

In the USC Commencement motivational speech, Elon immediately demonstrates his tendency to break away from the status quo. He tells us he was advised to stick to 3 items that he wanted to mention, but he’s going to share four.

Elon tells his listeners that they need to work proportionally to the accomplishments they want to achieve. “If you want to start a company, you need to work super hard.”

Elon’s speech here is compelling because it’s so authentic. He doesn’t talk about being lucky or following your gut instinct. Musk tells us that great things come from an equally astronomical amount of work.

Musk also acknowledges the power of great people, “all a company is, is a group of people that have gathered together.” Elon says that if you want a great company, you need a great team.

Musk’s third point is to “focus on signal over noise.” In other words, concentrate on developments that make the product better, “don’t just follow the trend.”

The final piece of advice from Elon’s speech? “Take risks.” Jump into new opportunities and pursue different things.

Ed Shereen – Being Weird is a Wonderful Thing

Ed Sheeran might not be the first person you think of when you visualize the world’s greatest thought leaders. Yet, he constantly moves millions of people with his music and his words.

At the 9 th Annual American Institute for Stuttering Benefit Gala, Sheeran talked about how Eminem helped him overcome his speech impediment.

Sheeran admits to being a “very, very weird child” with a birthmark on his face, large glasses, and no eardrum on one side of his head. He says that “stuttering was actually the least of my problems when I went to school,” but he found it extremely difficult.

Sheeran notes that not being able to express himself in the right way was his biggest concern with his stutter. However, when his dad bought him an Eminem CD when he was young. Listening to it helped him to learn how to speak fast and accomplish his stutter.

Ed’s insights are a great source of inspiration for entrepreneurs learning how to deal with the stress of public speaking and believing in themselves.

Now, Ed believes that “being weird is a wonderful thing”. He asks us to “embrace yourself, embrace your quirks, and embrace your weirdness.”

Jim Carrey – Maharishi University Commencement Motivational Speech

Jim Carrey’s commencement speech at the Maharishi University is filled with so much wisdom it’s difficult to decide which to focus on.

Perhaps the most important statement Jim made for entrepreneurs and business leaders was that “fear” will always be a big player in our lives. However, Jim notes, “you get to decide how much.” You can spend your life in fear, or you can follow your heart.

Jim says that countless people choose their path out of fear. They stick to what’s safe and easy because they’re afraid to ask, “what if?” However, Carrey says that the only way to live is to ask the universe for what you need.

Jim Carrey invites his listeners to “risk being seen in all of your glory.” He says that our job isn’t to figure out how we’re going to reach success, but to simply “open the door in your head” and walk through it when the time is right.

“You will fail at something. Accept it.”

In the last entry on our list of the best motivational speeches, Denzel Washington discusses failure.

But, Washington doesn’t shirk away from failure ; he embraces it.

He says that “every failed experiment is one step closer to success.”

This is certainly true when it comes to entrepreneurship . You learn so much from everything you do, whether it’s a win or a loss.

But, the most important thing isn’t necessarily winning or losing. It’s about getting out there and giving it everything you’ve got. That’s why this is one of our favorite motivational speeches about life. 

“Never be discouraged. Never hold back. And when you fall in life, remember this: fall forward.”

So, that’s our list of the best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs.

We hope you enjoyed those clips. We just want to highlight a couple of key points present across all of these motivational speeches.

  • It’s important that you love what you do . Be invested. Be present. And be the best you can be.
  • Failure isn’t a bad thing . If you learn from it, and continue to move forward, it can lead to great things.
  • You need to want it. Entrepreneurship, along with many things in life, can be tough. You want it bad? Prove it.

Okay, that’s all from me today. Did I miss any motivational speeches off from this list? Let me know in the comments section – I read them all!

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8 Best Motivational Speeches of All Time for Entrepreneurs

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The first steps of any new venture are the hardest. From opening your doors to signing your first client, building your team to hiring your first marketing agency — every choice you make has substantial consequences for your business. 

Some choices could propel your business forward while others could set you back years or force you to close your doors.

Making these pivotal decisions is tough; that’s why entrepreneurs like yourself need to find motivation where you can. 

Seek out advice and guidance from those that have come before you. Start by watching some of the best motivational speeches that we’ve ever seen.

#1: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Speech that Broke the Internet

best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs

“I went to college. I went and worked out 5 hours a day. And I was working in construction. Because in those days in bodybuilding, there was no money. I didn’t have the money for food supplements or anything. So, I had to go to work. So, I worked in construction. I went to college and worked out in a gym. And at night from 8 o’clock at night to 12 midnight, I went to acting class 4 times a week. I did all that. There was not one single minute that I wasted.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech was published on the Milligan Brothers YouTube channel on May 2, 2019. At the time this post was written, the video had already gotten more than three million views.

#2: J. K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Speech

“Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.”

J.K. Rowling is a well-known name in almost every household, but there was a time when that was not the case. Before she achieved success with her Harry Potter books, she was rejected by several publishers and was in a bad state financially.

Facing bankruptcy and constant rejection, it would have been easier for her to give up, but she carried on. She didn’t let her failures stop her. She used them to push her closer to success. 

You can find the text of her speech published in the Harvard Gazette.

#3: Will Smith in Pursuit of Happyness

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something—not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something? Go get it. Period.”

In this moving scene from the movie “Pursuit of Happyness,” Will Smith tells his son he can do anything. Smith plays a real-life character, a single father who is struggling to take care of his son throughout overwhelming adversity. 

While playing basketball, Chris—played by Will Smith—finds himself doling out some harsh criticism to his son, but he quickly recovers. After seeing the discouraged look on his son’s face, he used his harsh words to deliver a motivational speech to his son that included admitting he was wrong for what he had previously said.

#4: Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech

“And 17 years later, I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was, spending all the money my parents had saved their entire life. So, I decided to drop out and trust that it was all going to work out ok. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out, I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked far more interesting.”

Steve Jobs gave this speech in 2005 during the Stanford Commencement Address. He goes on to discuss how he fell in love with calligraphy by dropping in on a class teaching it. That one class is what later inspired him to develop typography and incorporate it into the Mac. 

#5: Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday

“I don’t know what to say really. Three minutes till the biggest battle in our professional lives, and it all comes down to today. Either we heal, as a team, or we’re gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we’re finished. We’re in hell right now, gentlemen—believe me. And, we can stay here and get the s_____ kicked out of us, or, we can fight our way back.”

 Al Pacino delivers this inspiration speech in the movie “Any Given Sunday.” In this movie, the main character DAmato—played by Al Pacino—is trying to motivate the players on his football team to work together to win their game after they had suffered from three back-to-back losses.

#6: Sheryl Sandberg at Harvard University

“It used to be that in order to reach more people than you could talk to in a day, you had to be rich and famous and powerful, be a celebrity, a politician, a CEO, but that’s not true today. 

Now ordinary people have a voice, not just those of us lucky to go to HBS, but anyone with access to Facebook,  Twitter , a mobile phone. This is disrupting traditional power structures and leveling traditional hierarchy.

Voice and power are shifting from institutions to individuals, from the historically powerful to the historically powerless, and all of this is happening so much faster than I could have imagined when I was sitting where you are today, and Mark Zuckerberg was 11 years old.”

Sheryl Sandberg speaks to the Harvard graduating class of 2012 and tells her story of how she struggled to get on track with her career in the Silicon Valley back in 2001.

She explains how the timing was terrible because the bubble had crashed, and companies were laying people off. Sheryl goes on to explain how she overcame the challenges to get to where she is today.

#7: Richard St. John’s Motivation TED Talk

“And it all started one day on a plane, on my way to TED, seven years ago. And in the seat next to me was a high school student, a teenager, and she came from a really poor family. And she wanted to make something of her life, and she asked me a simple little question. She said, “What leads to success?” And I felt really badly because I couldn’t give her a good answer. So, I get off the plane and I come to TED, and I think, “Jeez, I’m in the middle of a room of successful people, so why don’t I ask them what helped them succeed, and pass it on to kids?”

Richard St. John ​ delivered this speech as his TED talk. The video was published to TED’s YouTube channel on January 6, 2007, and it’s gotten over 2.5 million views. In this video, he provides his secrets of success in 8 words, in 3 minutes.

#8: Gary Vaynerchuck’s Hustle

“So, first of all, it’s different for everyone, but this whole notion of like, “where’s the time?” I just think people are loaded with excuses. I think that the vainer nation thinks they’re hustling, and straight to your face, I think 99.9% of you are not. Everybody has time, stop watching f_____ Lost…”

Gary Vaynerchuck’s Video “The Most Important Word Ever” stresses how important it is to utilize every single minute of your day to reach your goals by keeping up the hustle and never giving up.

Are You Feeling Motivated and Inspired Yet?

I hope you found these speeches as motivating as I did and that you’re ready to start your new venture with a renewed sense of energy and focus.

Just know that going forward, anything is possible when you set your mind on something, and you go after it with no excuses and a determination to succeed. 

Don’t let failures hold you back. Failures help to propel you forward and put you on the right path by showing you the wrong one.

At Sparkitive, we know just how important having a well-thought-out and proven plan is to the success of your new service-based business.

That’s why we created a free guide that gives you the gift of a step-by-step plan you can follow to generate new leads and turn them into long-term, loyal clients.

Get your free copy of our guide now: Fast Track Your Business: The 5-Step Marketing Plan for Professional Services Firms .

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Top 20 Motivational Speeches to Supercharge Your Spirit

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Last Updated on August 9, 2024

Table of Contents

Building a business venture from the ground up isn’t a walk in the park. It requires the combination of an undying spirit of enterprise, sheer resilience, and passion for your trade. That explains why numerous startups take off on a high note, only to begin soaring into financial headwinds barely weeks after their establishment. One of the best ways to keep growing in the world of entrepreneurship is to have a collection of speeches from renowned entrepreneurs that you can always turn to for inspiration. Motivational speeches on entrepreneurship will be instrumental throughout the growth of your business venture. Using these speeches, you’ll be able to determine whether your business is on the right path or not. The quotes will also help you to understand the various challenges that entrepreneurs all over the world go through, as well as develop capacity and resilience to overcome those challenges. We’ve prepared a collection of the best motivational speeches on entrepreneurship from people who have been there and done that. The speeches were collated from industry leaders across various domains, from managers of global tech giants to retail moguls. As you shall find, most of these inspirational speeches for entrepreneurs are more than a couple of minutes long. Therefore, we’ve included short snippets about each one of them, accompanied by YouTube videos that you watch.

1. Pursuit of Happiness by Will Smith

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Excelling despite your background If you’ve already watched the 2006’s sensational film titled The Pursuit of Happyness by Will Smith , then you’re already fairly acquainted with the underlying lesson from this speech. The speech attempts to challenge entrepreneurs to pursue their full measure of happiness and success, despite their background. What makes Pursuit of Happiness one of the best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs is that the scenes are acted out by father and son, which lends more credence to their pieces of advice.

2. Any Given Sunday by Al Pacino

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: The importance of leveraging competitive advantage, however subtle it may seem This motivational speech for entrepreneurs is all about capitalizing on any competitive advantage that your business gains, however insignificant it may seem. Those seemingly insignificant milestones can make a world of difference in terms of outpacing competition.

3. Why We Do What We Do (TedX Speech) by Tony Robbins

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Invisible forces that drive our actions Do you understand why you do what you do? Have you ever asked yourself why you keep implementing the same old business strategies, despite those strategies having proven to be economically unviable in the past? It all has to do with certain invisible forces within you. This speech by Tony Robins might help you understand those forces.

4. It’s Not OVER Until You Win! Your Dream is Possible by Les Brown

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Overcoming challenges Les Brown adds more life to the good old saying that ‘failure is not an option.’ But he doesn’t just stop there. In this sobering and spellbinding speech on entrepreneurship, the motivational speaker addresses what you should do to overcome challenges, so that you don’t lose sight of your dreams.

5. The Most Motivational Talk EVER! by David Goggins

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Success and discipline Self-discipline plays a crucial role in spurring entrepreneurial success, and nobody understands that better than David Goggins . Goggins enjoys a career as a decorated Navy Seal and army ranger, as well as an ultra-marathon runner. He also holds the record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours (4,030). It definitely takes self-discipline to accomplish these feats.

6. Tulane University 2009 Commencement Speech by Ellen DeGeneres

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Overcoming adversity while remaining true to your ideals Ellen DeGeneres is proudly gay. DeGeneres is also an accomplished entrepreneur and media personality. By virtue of her sexual orientation and impressive career achievements, she’s better placed to advise entrepreneurs on the need to overcome adversity without compromising their principles and ideals.

7. Harvard Business School 2012 Class Day Speech by Sheryl Sandberg

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Finding your niche According to this speech by Sheryl Sandberg, success lies in finding a career where you can create maximum impact. Her speech underscores the importance of venturing into an industry that you feel so passionate about.

8. How to Live Before You Die: 2005 Stanford University Commencement Speech by Steve Jobs

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Career and failure If the millions of views on YouTube and other platforms are anything to go by, then it’s safe to admit that this speech by Steve Jobs struck the right chords. In the speech, Jobs explains how his journey to the top as one of the world’s most celebrated tech innovators was a long and arduous one. He also touches on how you can leverage failure to bounce back.

9. The Puzzle of Motivation: 2009 TED Talk by Dan Pink

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: The need to discover and explore intrinsic motivation Many entrepreneurs are motivated by incentives like profits and bonuses. While there’s nothing wrong with these, Dan Pink argues that the greatest motivators of entrepreneurial success lie within us. But these aren’t just his own hypotheses, Dan Pink actually backs up his claims by numerous sociological studies.

10. University of Houston Commencement Speech by Matthew McConaughey

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Pursuing success on your own terms Success means different things to different people. Some entrepreneurs define success in terms of how many global destinations their businesses cover. Others define success by the number of competitors they can outpace within their regions. Matthew McConaughey believes that every businessperson must have their own idea of success and work towards it.

11. The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination: 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech by J.K Rowling

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Failure and imagination In the world of entrepreneurship, failure is inevitable. However, failure shouldn’t stifle your progress, neither should it dampen your resolve to succeed. Instead, it should awaken your imagination and help you discover where your true passions and talents are. These, and more, are some of the vital lessons on entrepreneurship you’ll learn from this speech.

12. Rocky Balboa “Believe in Yourself “by Sylvester Stallone

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Self-confidence The world is a tough and mean place. It doesn’t matter how qualified an entrepreneur you are. It doesn’t even matter how much money you’re ready and willing to invest in a startup. Without believing that you can make it, all of your other efforts will be purely in vain.

13. Gym Motivation by Arnold Schwarzenegger

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Being passionate about your career At first, glance, this motivational speech by Arnold Schwarzenegger appears to be intended exclusively for fitness freaks. However, the speech contains fundamental lessons that entrepreneurs can borrow. It’s all about starting small and using your passion to soar to greater heights.

14. This Is Water: 2005 Kenyon College Commencement Speech by David Foster Wallace

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: The perils of close-mindedness David Foster Wallace’s 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon College attempts to address the dangers of being close-minded. Wallace argues that numerous entrepreneurs fail due to their inability to approach the business landscape with a broad and open mind.

15. 8 Secrets of Success by Richard St. John

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Passion and perseverance 8 Secrets of Success by Richard St. John may be one of the shortest motivational speeches for entrepreneurs on this list. But it contains some fundamentally impactful lessons that every businessperson can put into practice. The speech, which is a condensed version of years of research, focuses on throwing your full weight behind a business idea that you’re passionate about.

16. I Can, I Will, I Must by Eric Thomas

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Sharpening your resolve to succeed This motivational speech by Eric Thomas takes a rather unique approach to entrepreneurship. It seeks to challenge us to focus on the people we love the most as our main source of inspiration whenever we feel like giving up. Thomas argues that thinking about those special people in our lives every day can positively shape our business decisions.

17. Secret to Self-motivation by Mel Robbins

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Self-motivation

Self-motivation is a critical component of success, particularly in the corporate world. However, many entrepreneurs are constantly bogged down by nagging doubts and constant fears, which ultimately drain their positive energies and impede their progress. If you’re one such businessperson, here’s your golden chance to uncover the top secrets to self-motivation.

18. New Year, New You by Tony Robbins

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Reinventing yourself Every year comes with its fair share of blessings and challenges. In this motivational speech, Tony Robbins highlights the importance of making lasting changes in your life and career. Robbins challenges entrepreneurs to desist from focusing on abstract goals and resolutions, and instead focus on what truly matters.

19. Fall Forward: 2011 UPenn Commencement Speech by Denzel Washington

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Failure Denzel Washington highlights the significance of embracing failure in our quests for success. First, he argues that failure is not unique to the uneducated or inexperienced, as anyone can fail. He also adds that the lack of failure is a sign that you aren’t making any meaningful progress. Most importantly, Washington reminds us that failure will help you to identify the strategies that won’t work.

20. Live2Lead by Simon Sinek

YouTube video

Theme of Speech: Leadership Simon Sinek advances a very interesting aspect of corporate leadership – that true leaders don’t delight in taking credit, but taking responsibility. Sinek also opines that many ventures collapse due to their owners’ obsession with their competitors, instead of focusing on growing their own brands.

No business can magic itself into success. The process of building any business empire is both a capital- and time-intensive affair. As a businessman, you should arm yourself with all the requisite resources to get your venture from one point to another.

Motivational speeches for entrepreneurs are some of these necessary resources. We hope you can bookmark the above collection of motivational speeches on entrepreneurship and invoke them from time to time as you endeavor to scale your business to new heights.

best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs

Posted by: Nikola Nikolovski

Nikola is a Wordpress expert who makes sure everything runs smoothly on our website. Wordpress optimization and on-site SEO are both his bread and butter.

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13 Best Motivational Speeches for Entrepreneurs

  • Andrew Roach
  • June 12, 2023

Mindset , Your life

best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs

Table of Contents

Who couldn’t use a few of the best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs?

Business can be hard. Heck, life can be hard.

We’re all on a journey, and we’ve all been down in the dumps before, wondering if what we’re doing is really worth it.

Wondering if what we’re doing is really making an impact.

But, it’s important that we’re always moving forward. This is a lesson that I learned early in life.

I remember I was around 4 years old, and I was learning to ride my bike with my uncle and my father.

Of course, I fell off multiple times while I was learning to cycle, and I remember the time I cut my knee pretty badly.

At that point I really just wanted to quit and go home. But, my family told me: “you can’t quit now, you’re almost there. Just try it once more!”

You’ve probably heard that before too, right?

So, I got back on that bike. I didn’t want to, but you just need to power through and face your challenges head-on.

Sure enough, that was the first time that I rode that bike without any help.

After that, I was so glad I kept moving forward and that I never gave up.

Now, that probably wasn’t the motivational speech that you expected when you clicked on this article, but it’s evidence that we can do so much more than we think we’re capable of when we’re spurred on by others.

And that’s exactly why we’ve created this article – we’ve listed all of our favorite motivational speeches here, because we already know how much more you can achieve with a little bit of extra motivation .

So, let’s jump into it!

Post Contents

Will Smith – Pursuit of Happiness

Al pacino – any given sunday, steve jobs – 2005 stanford commencement speech, matthew mcconaughey – university of houston speech, sheryl sandberg – harvard business school motivational speech, sylvester stallone – balboa speech, arnold schwarzenegger – famous motivational speech, richard st.john – 8 secrets of success, eric thomas – i can, i will, i must, denzel washington – fall forward, key takeaways, want to learn more.

best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs

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best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs

Considered one of the best motivational speeches, this famous motivational speech from the 2006 film, Pursuit of Happyness , features Will Smith and his son playing basketball.

At the start of the clip, you’ll see Smith’s son (his actual son, Jaden Smith) playing around with a basketball, and he shouts out, “I’m going pro!”

After hearing this, Smith decides to try and level his son’s expectations, mentioning that he himself never really excelled at basketball, so his son shouldn’t expect to either.

His son is visibly disappointed by this comment, and Smith notices this.

Smith then proclaims: “don’t ever let somebody tell you that you can’t do something, not even me.”

“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. You want something, go get it. Period.”

This motivational speech is a special one. Even though both Will and Jaden Smith are acting, they’re still father and son, and you can see how this scene reflects their own family dynamic.

It’s a short motivational speech, but it’s one of the best motivational speeches of all time, in our opinion.

Al Pacino’s speech from the American Football drama, Any Given Sunday, is next up on our list.

This famous motivational speech really gets your blood flowing – perfect for watching before you tackle a difficult day .

The motivational speech revolves around the idea of inches being so important in American Football, even if we have the tendency to overlook them.

He talks about the different ways that his team can gain advantages over their opponents, even if it’s only an inch at a time.

He proclaims: “when we add up all those […] inches, that’s what makes the difference between winning and losing”.

This point is applicable throughout life, too – it’s the people who go the extra mile who tend to find success more often than not.

And sometimes, you won’t notice it at first, but like Pacino mentions, it’s the sum of all the small parts which lead you to victory.

Motivational speeches like this one pump you up when you need it most.

Steve Jobs, one of the key figures behind tech giant Apple’s success, is next up on our list of the best motivational speeches of all time.

In his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, the former Apple CEO dives deep into his own journey as an entrepreneur , and he speaks openly about the issues that he’s faced along the way and how he overcame them.

During this classic motivational speech, Jobs talks about how he was actually a college dropout and that this was one of the most important times of his life. 

He mentioned that he dropped out of college to take classes that he was truly interested in, rather than studying topics he wasn’t deeply passionate about.

One of those classes that he took up after dropping out was calligraphy. He was so compelled by the high standard of handwriting.

To many, this might seem like a strange choice, but he connects the experience that he gained from that class to the font choices that he installed on Apple computers.

If Jobs had never taken that calligraphy class, he wouldn’t have cared so much about a seemingly small detail, like fonts, but Apple was the first company to add different typefaces to their operating systems. 

He goes on to say: “You can’t connect the dots if you’re looking forward, you can only do it looking backwards. So, you need to keep moving forward and hope that the dots align somehow.”

The key message from this famous motivational speech is that we’re always learning. We’re always growing and finding out new information. It’s all about what we choose to do with that information that really defines us.

As Jobs said: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

Next up on our list of motivational speeches is Matthew McConaughey, with his commencement speech at the University of Houston.

The Oscar-winning actor delivers some very pertinent points during his speech, but the one that stuck out for me was how he spoke of joy being a “constant approach”.

McConaughey said: “Joy is always in process, it’s always under construction.”

He spoke of how he was previously judging his success on metrics that he thought were important to him, like the number of academy awards he won, or the amount of money his films grossed.

But, it was only when he decided to focus on the whole process of creating a film, and enjoying every aspect of it, that he found true success in those metrics.

It turned out that, when he took everything one step at a time, and truly enjoyed his craft, he found that things just fell into place.

“Define success for yourself.”

Find what you want to achieve, and enjoy the entire journey – not just the high points, but the lows too.

Matthew McConaughey ended up delivering one of the best motivational speeches from the past few years.

Sheryl Sandberg, the American entrepreneur, tech executive, author, and current COO of Facebook, is the next addition to our list of the best motivational speeches with her talk at the Harvard Business School in 2012.

Besides talking about her own experiences as an entrepreneur, and her work at Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, Sandberg mentions a very pertinent idea. One that we can all do well to remember.

“Motivation comes from working on things that we care about.”

This is certainly true for entrepreneurship – those who are running businesses and working to tackle problems that engage them are more likely to find success.

And, according to Sandberg, it’s so important that we continue to work, because that’s the most important thing.

All in all, this is one of the best motivational speeches for students that we’ve seen.

Rocky Balboa , played by Sylvester Stallone, is a famed character best known for his courage, hard work, and determination.

In Rocky Balboa, the sixth film in the Rocky franchise, Stallone delivers one of the hardest-hitting motivational speeches of all time.

Stallone starts off the motivational speech by saying: “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

He goes on to talk about the value of hard work and commitment and emphasizes that “it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

As an entrepreneur, this motivational speech really hits home. There will be struggles on your journey to success , but as Stallone says, it’s all about “how much you can take and keep moving forward, that’s how winning is done.”

Remember this when your back is up against the wall – winners never give up!

This is one of the most iconic motivational speeches. You’ll often find it in motivational speech mashup videos on YouTube or even on Spotify.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-American actor, entrepreneur, politician, and former My Olympia, is next up on our list of the most famous motivational speeches for entrepreneurs.

He starts his motivational speech with a simple, powerful message.

“Work your ass off.”

Schwarzenegger then discusses how having a goal was so pivotal for him on his journey to success in a variety of fields.

He also talks about how “only a quarter of people really enjoy what they’re doing in life.”

Schwarzenegger also believes that everybody should be constantly working to get closer to their main goal and properly utilize every hour of their day.

“Imagine if you worked on a business every day for an hour . Imagine how further along you would get.”

This is perhaps the most important message from this motivational speech – it’s down to us to make the most of our limited time on earth. And this message, which everybody can get behind, is why we believe this is one of the best motivational speeches of all time.

Next up on our list, we’ve got an infamous TED talk from Richard St.John – also one of the shortest motivational speeches that we’ve ever seen, but it sure is impactful.

St.John mentions at the start of the video that this talk is a condensed version of 7 years of research (including research from more than five hundred interviews with successful professionals).

One of the most interesting points that St.John mentions is that if you want to be successful at something, you need to “put your nose down in something and get damn good at it.”

But, the most motivational part of St.John’s speech for us was where he talks about passion.

He said: “if you do something you love then the money comes along later.”

This section of the motivational speech is especially relevant for entrepreneurs – if you’re building a brand , then try and be invested in it as much as possible – a commitment to the cause will really help you find success in the long run. 

When you’re trying to find success, you need to love what you do!

Eric Thomas is a fantastic speaker, and in this classic motivational speech, he empowers us to believe that we can always get through adversity, no matter what the challenge is.

Thomas repeats this line throughout the speech: “I can get through this. I will get through this. I must get through this.”

He also cleverly uses our loved ones as a source of inspiration in this motivational speech.

He asks us to focus on the 3 people we love the most and challenges us to question our own decisions regarding motivation.

“You gotta think about those people every day.”

“You have some days when you think about hitting the snooze button? […] The days you don’t feel like getting up, just think about them.”

Instead of being lazy and complacent, we need to think about our loved ones and question what they’d think if we were procrastinating 24/7 .

Honestly, it’s fine doing something for yourself, but knowing that you’ve made your loved ones proud just makes everything feel 10 times better. This is one of the main messages from this motivational speech. 

And that’s why this is one of the best motivational speeches of all time. It takes the onus away from working for yourself and instead focuses on putting in the work for people you couldn’t bear to let down.  

Elon Musk – USC Commencement Motivational Speech

Elon Musk is an icon of inspiration for countless people worldwide. Known for his out-of-the-box thinking and visionary technology, Musk shows us that anything is possible if we put our minds to it.

In the USC Commencement motivational speech, Elon immediately demonstrates his tendency to break away from the status quo. He tells us he was advised to stick to 3 items that he wanted to mention, but he’s going to share four.

Elon tells his listeners that they need to work proportionally to the accomplishments they want to achieve. “If you want to start a company, you need to work super hard.”

Elon’s speech here is compelling because it’s so authentic. He doesn’t talk about being lucky or following your gut instinct. Musk tells us that great things come from an equally astronomical amount of work.

Musk also acknowledges the power of great people, “all a company is, is a group of people that have gathered together.” Elon says that if you want a great company, you need a great team.

Musk’s third point is to “focus on signal over noise.” In other words, concentrate on developments that make the product better, “don’t just follow the trend.”

The final piece of advice from Elon’s speech? “Take risks.” Jump into new opportunities and pursue different things.

Ed Shereen – Being Weird is a Wonderful Thing

Ed Sheeran might not be the first person you think of when you visualize the world’s greatest thought leaders. Yet, he constantly moves millions of people with his music and his words.

At the 9 th Annual American Institute for Stuttering Benefit Gala, Sheeran talked about how Eminem helped him overcome his speech impediment.

Sheeran admits to being a “very, very weird child” with a birthmark on his face, large glasses, and no eardrum on one side of his head. He says that “stuttering was actually the least of my problems when I went to school,” but he found it extremely difficult.

Sheeran notes that not being able to express himself in the right way was his biggest concern with his stutter. However, when his dad bought him an Eminem CD when he was young. Listening to it helped him to learn how to speak fast and accomplish his stutter.

Ed’s insights are a great source of inspiration for entrepreneurs learning how to deal with the stress of public speaking and believing in themselves.

Now, Ed believes that “being weird is a wonderful thing”. He asks us to “embrace yourself, embrace your quirks, and embrace your weirdness.”

Jim Carrey – Maharishi University Commencement Motivational Speech

Jim Carrey’s commencement speech at the Maharishi University is filled with so much wisdom it’s difficult to decide which to focus on.

Perhaps the most important statement Jim made for entrepreneurs and business leaders was that “fear” will always be a big player in our lives. However, Jim notes, “you get to decide how much.” You can spend your life in fear, or you can follow your heart.

Jim says that countless people choose their path out of fear. They stick to what’s safe and easy because they’re afraid to ask, “what if?” However, Carrey says that the only way to live is to ask the universe for what you need.

Jim Carrey invites his listeners to “risk being seen in all of your glory.” He says that our job isn’t to figure out how we’re going to reach success, but to simply “open the door in your head” and walk through it when the time is right.

“You will fail at something. Accept it.”

In the last entry on our list of the best motivational speeches, Denzel Washington discusses failure.

But, Washington doesn’t shirk away from failure ; he embraces it.

He says that “every failed experiment is one step closer to success.”

This is certainly true when it comes to entrepreneurship . You learn so much from everything you do, whether it’s a win or a loss.

But, the most important thing isn’t necessarily winning or losing. It’s about getting out there and giving it everything you’ve got. That’s why this is one of our favorite motivational speeches about life. 

“Never be discouraged. Never hold back. And when you fall in life, remember this: fall forward.”

So, that’s our list of the best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs.

We hope you enjoyed those clips. We just want to highlight a couple of key points present across all of these motivational speeches.

  • It’s important that you love what you do . Be invested. Be present. And be the best you can be.
  • Failure isn’t a bad thing . If you learn from it, and continue to move forward, it can lead to great things.
  • You need to want it. Entrepreneurship, along with many things in life, can be tough. You want it bad? Prove it.

Okay, that’s all from me today. Did I miss any motivational speeches off from this list? Let me know in the comments section – I read them all!

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Andrew Roach

Author: Andrew Roach

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List of Top Motivational Speeches for eCommerce Entrepreneurs

Ever have one of those days when you feel like you’re swimming up the eCommerce stream? Like a part of you just wants to give up on your eCommerce entrepreneur dreams and open an island bar in the Caribbean?

I totally get it. Starting or running an online business can be hard – rewarding, but hard.

Whether you’re an aspiring, sideline or established eCommerce entrepreneur, we’ve all had days when we’ve been scared to start, doubted our ideas or expertise, or felt like our end goal was out of reach. Even the most experienced eCommerce brand founders have found themselves at a crossroads, confused and unsure about where to go next.

However, as any experienced eCommerce entrepreneur will tell you, staying motivated in the face of these day-to-day struggles is vital to ensuring you can build your own eCommerce empire. Like a good cup of coffee on a slow morning, a little bit of motivation can go a long way to kick-start your slump. To bring you back to being present, invested and dedicated to your business.

I have collected some of my favorite bite-sized motivational speeches into one list of top motivational speeches for eCommerce entrepreneurs. Speeches that cover a variety of subjects including business, failure, risk, success and sheer determination in the face of struggles.

So bookmark this post and play these speeches on a Monday morning.

1. Perseverance in the Face of Failure

Where better to start a top list of motivational speeches for eCommerce entrepreneurs than with Asia’s biggest eCommerce mogul, Jack Ma. Jack is the founder of Alibaba and reminds us that rejection is only a stepping stone to success.

2. Rejection Isn’t the End of the Road

There are so many stories out there of business heroes who were rejected, failed or told they weren’t good enough. Stories like JK Rowling’s perseverance despite her first Harry Potter book being rejected 12 times by publishers remind us that endurance despite a fear of failure or rejection can reap big rewards. This one minute video has packed many similar examples into one bite-sized motivational punch.  

3. The Secret to Success

With 13,053,792 views, Richard St. John’s popular TED Talk packs a motivational punch. Condensing seven years of research into three minutes of inspiration, he reminds us about the fundamentals of success: including practice and perseverance and doing something for the love of it rather than the money of it.

4. Quitters Never Win

Quitting is not an option. Sure, if you don’t try, you can’t lose. But if you don’t try, you also can’t win. If you are in need of a little tough love today then this video will put a fire under your seat and kick you back into first gear. It reminds us to strive for better than second-best and get back on that horse.

5. Follow Your Gut to Innovation

Struggling to think of your next big product ideas? Then you need a dose of Steven Johnson. Even though this is not technically a motivational speech, this video on “Where Good Ideas Come From” takes you through the journey of an idea and reminds you that thanks to today’s tools and technology, it’s never been easier to innovate.

6. Aim for Greatness

Motivation Grid’s “Be Phenomenal” video will reignite any motivation slowdowns you may find yourself hacking. Featuring motivational speeches from Les Brown, Eric Thomas, and Floyd Mayweather, you’ll be reminded of the basics of entrepreneurship: start small and aim big. If you’re waiting for perfection, you will wait forever.

7. Setbacks are Opportunities in Disguise

We all have those days when we need a little reminder to pursue our dreams despite setbacks and this 2005 Stanford commencement address is the perfect nudge. Steve Jobs talks about some of the most pivotal points in his life, highlighting how important it is to see setbacks as opportunities in the pursuit of your dreams.

8. How Badly do You Want it?

“If you do what is easy, life will be hard. But if you do what is hard, your life will be easy.” These are just some of Les Brown’s wise words Beats Reloaded highlights in this motivational speech video for entrepreneurs. It reminds us that on those days when we doubt the pursuit of our business dreams, to be hungry and go after what we want with all our strength, faith, confidence and hope.

9. Alright, Alright, Alright

There is almost nothing more motivational than Matthew McConaughey’s voice… besides his University of Houston speech from 2015, that is. This is truly one of my favorite motivational speeches of all time. He outlines his 13 truths of life, reminding that happiness is a journey, not a destination; success should be self-defined rather than compared to others’; life is not easy or fair, and you shouldn’t fall into the entitlement track.

10. There’s No Plan B

One of my favorite motivation heroes is Will Smith. Continuously sharing his wisdom, I often find myself taking in his content with my Monday morning coffee to get me ready for the week. In this interview, he shares his secrets of success, reminding us that success is not easy and if you’re worrying about Plan B, you’re not putting enough effort into Plan A.

11. You Gotta Dream? Protect It.

Another Will Smith inspirational classic comes from one of my favorite movies, The Pursuit of Happyness . It reminds us to stop worrying about what everyone else is telling you to do and to go get what you want. Period.

12. Winning vs. Losing

Facing the biggest business obstacles of your career? It’s time to fight back! When it comes to motivational movie speeches for eCommerce entrepreneurs, Al Pacino’s speech from Any Given Sunday is definitely in the top ten. It reminds us that we can stand in defeat getting the crap beat out of us, or fight our way back into the light.

13. Motivation is Life

An oldy but a goody, Eric Thomas’s “I can, I will, I must” motivational speech is just the pick-me-up you need for those days when you are thinking it’s too hard and you just want to give up. Reminding you to concentrate on the ones you love the most so that instead of being lazy and complacent, you do what you can to make them proud.

Want more from Eric Thomas? Here’s another motivation complication, entitled “How Bad Do You Want It,” that has over 43 million views!

14. The Advantages of Failure

If there is anyone who can teach us about perseverance in the face of failure on the way to success it’s JK Rowling. Rowling’s Harvard commencement speech is inspiring and authentic as she reminds us that there are fringe benefits to failure. She tells us, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case you fail by default.”

15. Fall Forward

Take risks and fall forward! Another powerful commencement speech comes from Denzel Washington. Titled “Fall Forwards,” this motivational speech will inspire you to keep giving it what you’ve got and remind you that every failed endeavor is just another step closer to reaching your success goals.

16. Believe in Yourself

It doesn’t get more motivational than the infamous Balboa speech. In this speech, entrepreneurs are reminded about the hard work and commitment it takes to reach their business goals. That “the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows,” and “it ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

17. Stop Making Excuses

Lastly, here’s a video from one of my favorite business influencers, Gary Vaynerchuk. I have followed Gary’s content for years and browse his YouTube channel every time I need a truth bomb and dose of tough love. There is no shortage of motivational speeches and practical, high-value content from this guy, but here is one of my faves.  

Important Note: If you have never seen anything of Gary Vee’s, be warned: he doesn’t sugarcoat anything, including his cussing.

For thousands of more business motivation and no-bull business advice, follow his YouTube channel here .

There you have it, my list of top motivational speeches for eCommerce entrepreneurs when you feel like giving up or need that extra kick in the butt. Bookmark this post and enjoy a motivational pick-me-up with your Monday morning coffee.  

What are your favorite, most inspiring motivational speeches? Put them in the comments below.

best motivational speeches for entrepreneurs

Nicole is a content writer with over sixteen years experience and flair for storytelling. She runs on a healthy dose of caffeine and enthusiasm. When she's not researching the next content trend or creating business content strategies, she's an avid beachgoer, coffee shop junkie and hangs out on LinkedIn .

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30+ Best Motivational Speeches to go for Ecommerce Success!

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Entrepreneurs face a lot of challenges every day. From storage problems to customers’ complaints, it is easy to feel down a bit and want to give it all up. Business is like that; life is like that. Only when you see the results of your hard work, you can tell if it was all worth it or not. But, to see it, you have to keep going.

As Winston Churchill said: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that count”.

Even when it all fails, you never gave up, and that is what really matters.

Every once in a while, find your motivation to keep hustling and know that you can do so much more than what you think you are capable of. Ultimately, you will find activities that pull you into success. It happens when you align your life with daily routines, values, and achievable goals.

And that’s why I’ve created this article - a list of the 30 best motivational speeches to keep you moving forward. With just a little bit of encouragement, you can achieve much more than even your wildest dreams. If you want to get going, empower yourself, and create powerful psychology, this is the adrenaline dose you need. Let’s get started!

1. Will Smith’s speech

One of my all-time favorite movies and Will Smith’s performances, Pursuit of Happyness (2006), is a wonderful movie about overcoming hardship in life and making success by trying hard. In the movie, Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) lost his job, his home, and was forced to find shelter with his only son while finding a job and trying to sell his invested products.

In this scene, Chris was playing basketball with his son - Christopher (played by Will Smith’s actual son - Jadon Smith), when the son said he wanted to be a pro player at the age of 8. Chris decided to level his son’s expectations by mentioning that he himself is not very good at basketball, so his son may not be as well. Christopher is visibly disappointed by the comment.

Then, Chris proclaimed that his son should never let anybody tell him that he can’t do something, not even his dad. “You got a dream, and you gotta protect it”. It is an emotional speech, knowing that both actors are father and son in real life. Although the motivational speech was quite short, it is still incredibly impactful for anyone with a dream. Being a kid or adult, it is your responsibility to protect and achieve your dream, no matter what.

2. Steve Jobs’s speech

Here is a very famous motivational speech by Steve Jobs at the 2005 Stanford Commencement Ceremony. If you don’t know, Steve Jobs is a key figure behind the tech giant Apple, one of the world’s most profitable companies. Standing in front of young and ambitious newly graduates, the late CEO dived into his journey as an entrepreneur and how he overcame many problems not just as a start-up, but also as a human being.

In the classic speech, Jobs elaborated on two themes: connecting dots (how he joined a calligraphy class that inspired the design of the Mac) and love and loss (how being kicked out of Apple helped inspire his greatest innovations). The main message from this famous motivational speech is that we are always learning. We always grow and learn new things. It is what we choose to do with them that really defines us.

And the most memorable quote from his speech was the final line at the end - taken from Jobs’ favorite publication ‘The Whole Earth Catalog’: Stay hungry. Stay foolish .

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech

We have to admit that Arnold Schwarzenegger has completed many incredible things in his life. From being a kid in Austria, he moved to the United States, becoming a bodybuilder, a top-grossing actor, and even the governor of California.

He started the motivational speech with a simple, strong message about how everyone should work hard. Schwarzenegger then went on to talk about how to have goals and his journey to success. He also discussed how only a quarter of people like what they do in life.

Schwarzenegger believes that people should constantly work to get closer to their main goal and use every hour of the day to the fullest potential.

This is perhaps the most important message of the motivational speech - we have limited time on earth, and we should make the most of it. This is a message that everyone can relate to and use, which is why it is one of the best motivational speeches on this list.

4. Denzel Washington’s speech

In his 2011 speech at the University of Pennsylvania, Denzel Washington discussed why we need to embrace failure to succeed. Washington didn’t hide from failure, and he took it as an opportunity. He said that each failure is one step closer to success.

This is certainly very relevant to entrepreneurship. You learn a lot from everything you do, whether it’s a win or a loss. But, the most crucial thing in life isn’t about winning or losing. It is about getting out there and trying your best. If you never fail, maybe that means you are not really trying. At the end of the day, it is the failures that help you figure out your path - which makes this one of the best motivational speeches, not just about the business, but also about life.

5. Matthew McConaughey’s speech

Next on our list of the best motivational speeches is Matthew McConaughey, with a speech at the University of Houston. The Oscar-winning actor brought some very valid points during his 40-minute speech, but one thing that stuck out the most was a joy being a consistent approach.

In Matthew’s opinion, joy is always in the process of building. He talked about how he previously judged his success on figures he thought were important to him, like the amount of money his movies made, or the number of academy awards he won. But, when he decided to focus on the whole process of making a movie and enjoy every aspect of it, he found success in those figures as well.

As it turned out, one step at a time is better, and everyone has his/her own definition of success. Find what you really want to achieve, and enjoy the journey - both the high and low points of it. If you have time, I highly recommend you watch the whole speech for more motivation.

6. Jim Valvano’s speech

Less than two months before he lost the battle with cancer in 1993, Jim Valvano gave one of the most influential and timeless motivational speeches about living. The passion of Jim was so valuable, so be prepared for some laughter, sadness, and thoughts. Life is so worth living because it is so short.

With little time left in his life, Jim urged everyone to spend every day with a few laughs and a few thoughts, to enjoy the precious moments. He wanted people to be enthusiastic and keep their dreams alive despite whatever problems they have. He also wished everyone the ability to work hard and make the dreams come true.

7. Sylvester Stallone’s speech

In the scene above, from the movie Rocky Balboa (2006), the main character (played by Sylvester Stallone) is having a sincere talk with his son. It is one of the hardest-hitting speeches because it is raw. Right at the start, Stallone said right the way that the world isn’t sunshine and rainbows. He went on to talk about how his son should believe in himself and take every hit of life but still keep moving forward.

If you are an entrepreneur, this can feel more personal than ever. There will always be a struggle, but you have to be ready to take some hits if you want to win in life. Remember that when your back is against the wall: Shakedown those bruises and keep going on as the strong person you are. Winners never give up.

8. Eric Thomas’s speech

Eric Thomas, aka “ET the Hip Hop Preacher”, is one of the world’s best motivational speakers . In this classic motivational speech, he empowered listeners to believe that we can always overcome any life challenge. He asked attendees to focus on the three people they love the most and to question our decisions when we feel demotivated

Instead of being lazy and complacent, we should think about our loved ones and ask what they would think if we neglect our duties. To be honest, it’s good to do something for yourself, but knowing that you have made your loved ones proud is a magnificent feeling of being appreciated. This is one of the messages from the speech.

And that is why it is on our list. Don’t think you are just working for yourself; you should focus on putting in the work for the loved ones that you don’t want to let down - who believe in you.

9. Les Brown’s speech

Les Brown provides some of the best motivational speeches with his powerful voice. He is a world-renowned author, speaker, and coach who has achieved incredible things in his life. In this speech, he was talking to 30,000 people about motivation in life in Georgia Dorm.

It was an amazing speech with power and passion - a timeless performance that everybody can have a listen to believe in themselves. As things don’t work out, you can listen to this inspirational speech about success and overcome challenges.

10. Tony Robbins’s speech

Tony Robbins is a famous American author, philanthropist, public speaker, and life coach. He is known for his passionate speeches in his seminars to empower people. During 2016, he was listed as one of the top 100 people in Worth Magazine Power list. In this TedX Speech, Tony Robbins had to speak in front of many wealthy and successful individuals, but he got his point across right the way.

He motivated, inspired, and encouraged people to take action in making a successful life. His TedX speech can help you understand why you do what you do and what you can do to improve yourself into the next level of success.

11. Terry Crews’s speech

Terry Crews is well known for his roles in comedy movies and as a football player, but his backstory and route to success is nothing like a light-hearted movie. The challenges were real, and you can see in the video above that featured some of Terry’s best speeches. He poured his heart out about pride in life and how to take another perspective to become more authentic with yourself.

Despite the funny and friendly image, Terry had some dark moments in life, like everyone else. He became an actor, bodybuilder, and activist from a former football player that everybody loves for his sincerity. In the video, he urged everyone to be the warriors they already are and chase a better life, with no compromise.

12. Richard St.John’s speech

Next on our list, we have a notorious TED talk from Richard St. John - one short but effective motivational speech with a lot of impacts. St. John mentioned at the beginning of the video that this talk is a conclusion of 7 years of research (including data from more than five hundred interviews with successful experts).

One of the most interesting points that St. John says is that if you want to succeed in something, you need to put your effort into something and be really good at it. But, the most motivating part of St. John’s speech is when he talks about passion. If you do something you love, the money will come later.

This part of the motivational speech is incredibly relevant for entrepreneurs - if you’re building a new brand and investing in it as much as possible - a commitment to cause will help you find long-term success. You need to love what you do to find real success.

13. Sheryl Sandberg’s speech

Sheryl Sandberg is an American entrepreneur, author, technology executive, and COO of Facebook. She is the next one to appear on our list of motivational speeches with her talk at Harvard Business School in 2012.

Besides talking about her experiences as an entrepreneur and her job at Facebook working with Mark Zuckerberg, Sandberg mentioned a very basic idea. One thing we can all be reminded of the everyday:

Motivation comes from working on the things we care about.

This is certainly true for entrepreneurs - those who run businesses and work to solve problems that attract them. That is the spirit to gain success. According to Sandberg, we need to continue working because that’s the most important thing to find what we want to do. We don’t see women delivering motivational speeches very often, so this is one of the best speeches for young people.

14. Al Pacino’s speech

From the American football movie Any Given Sunday, Al Pacino’s speech is next on our list. Like the amazing sport, this famous motivational speech makes your blood flow, making it a perfect watch to tackle any tough day.

The motivational speech is about the idea of gaining every inch - which is very important in American football, even if we tend to ignore those tiny steps. He talks about many different ways his team can gain an advantage over their opponents, even if it’s only one inch at a time. Because when we add up all those inches, that makes the difference between winning and losing.

The same rule applies throughout life - people who are ready to earn every little step are those who tend to find success more often than not. And sometimes, you may not notice it, but it is the sum of all the small parts that lead you to victory. This motivational speech can pump you up like a winner you are ready to be.

15. Ellen DeGeneres’s speech

Ellen DeGeneres has overcome many odds in her life and created a truly magnificent life. There is so much wisdom, inspiration, and humor in this wonderful speech from one of the world’s most well-known talk show hosts. She is an incredible person who continues to inspire millions around the world.

She said that when she looks back, she won’t change anything. It was crucial for her to lose everything just to find the most important thing in life - being honest with herself. After all, that’s what took her to this place. She is free from fear, secrets, and anxiety because she knows she will always be fine, no matter what, for she knows who she is.

16. Jim Carrey’s speech

Jim Carrey may make a living with goofy comedy movies, but in 2014, he combined his classic humor with unforgettable knowledge during the graduation ceremony of Maharishi University of Management. Jim Carrey delivered a fascinating speech with openness about his upbringing and the role of fear in his life. You can really see the surprise in the students’ reactions when they see such insights from a comedy actor.

He said he learned many great lessons from his father - such as, since you can fail at what you don’t want to do, you may as well take the chance to do what you love. This is a touching and powerful point for everyone that wants to find their ways in life.

17. Simon Sinek’s speech

Simon Sinek is a popular author and public speaker who talks about leadership in a business context. You may have seen him in a viral video in which he shares about love and relationship. He made a humble but inspirational statement in the above video: Organizational leaders today don’t know what game they’re playing.

They tend to take credit while they should be responsible. They tend to obsess over competitors’ products, while they should improve their own. But, once you accept the rules of playing as a leader, the possibilities for business development and employee success are sure to excite you. Simon gave very valuable insights that businesses of any size can learn from.

18. Kal Penn’s speech

In 2014, Kal Penn gave an inspiring and uplifting speech at DePauw University. He advised all graduates to strive for success, but don’t let it loosen the focus on really important things, like connecting with loved ones, being adventurous, and helping others. He also convinces millennials that their future is full of potential because it is a generation that is rooted in innovation.

Opportunities are all around us. This is the time of high unemployment for young people. But we all refuse to sit still. This is the most active, service-oriented, most imaginative, most tech-savvy generation. Young people are creating opportunities, inventing gadgets, and emphasizing social responsibility, not greed. So don’t worry too much. Why are you worried?

19. Kurt Russell’s speech

The Miracle on Ice is one of the most surprising events in Olympic hockey history. The Soviet Union won six of the last seven gold medals, while the US team consisted of only amateur players. The Soviet Union team was clearly better. But, in the movie Miracle, which tells the incredible story of the American Olympic Hockey Team in 1980, Kurt Russell’s character - Coach Herb Brooks - knew that they could make a difference.

The United States team was better than the Soviet Union that day indeed. And his speech conveyed such a strong belief in the team that they could achieve one of the greatest sporting moments of the 20th century. This is your time to win - and that is for every entrepreneur out there.

20. Admiral William H. McRaven’s speech

This is a speech that went viral as well, delivered by Admiral William McRaven. He made a point about how making your bed in the morning is a routine for success. Through discipline, you can start the day winning in a controlled and organized way. The army is known for discipline, and that is something every business owner can learn to win the tough battle on the market.

21. Jocko Willink’s speech

Another speech from a former military soldier, Jocko Willink, is an ex-Navy Seal member and the author of the best-selling book - Extreme Ownership. He is one of the most disciplined and self-manageable people that you can meet. You can follow him on Twitter for a daily dose of motivation. In the above TedX talk, Jocko gives a great motivational speech about how struggle teaches people to react right when things go wrong. When you can take ownership of your problems, you can easily solve the problems.

22. J.K. Rowling’s speech

The life of J.K. Rowling itself is an incredible story. She went from a broken waitress with barely survivable wage into one of the best-selling authors of all time. As the creator of the Harry Potter series, she also helped create one of the most successful movie franchises the world has ever seen. In this Harvard Commencement Ceremony, she gave a powerful speech to new graduates, stating that we don’t need magic to change this world, we already have the power inside us to imagine and create a better world.

23. Oprah Winfrey’s speech

Harvard seems to be the greatest place for commencement ceremonies since so many of the best motivational speeches on my list happen here. Oprah Winfrey gave one of the best inspirational stories about dedication and perseverance in life. She had a difficult childhood that many people couldn’t even imagine, yet she went on to become a successful, influential, and wealthy woman that the whole world respects. Her message in the video about positivity and fulfilling your dreams is a good dose of encouragement that any entrepreneur, man or woman, can receive.

24. Brené Brown’s speech

We have kind of a different speech here in the form of animation, created based on the researcher Brené Brown’s speech about the power of vulnerability. It is something that other speeches on the list can’t quite touch, which is how to be empathetic towards other people. In the speech, Brown explained how our fears drive us to stay away from our vulnerabilities. But this emotional suit of armor can lead to dishonesty sympathy, which doesn’t really help. What we need is to embrace vulnerability through empathy.

This is a lesson that you can remember to connect with your employees, customers, and yourself. Since the road of entrepreneurship is not easy, we need to learn about our hurts to grow in the right way.

25. Tom Brady’s speech

Tom Brady is one of the most well-known football players of all time. He received a lot of doubts when he walked into the NFL league, yet, he is now still a top player in the game 20+ years later and is considered one of the best quarterbacks the league has ever seen. In this video, you can listen to a combination of Tom Brady’s best speeches, including the famous point: What separates good players from great players is the execution under pressure.

26. Ray Lewis, Eric Thomas’s speech

There is something about the sport that is so hyped that it just gets us going. In this inspirational speech, you will get to hear from two icons of the NFL league. Ray is a former professional player who is in the NFL’s hall of fame and known for the ability to generate excitement, hype, and enthusiasm among teammates. Eric Thomas is a motivational speaker with great energy and messages. It is an awesome combination that gives you the much-needed spirit to make your dream become a reality.

27. Dan Pink’s speech

Commissions, bonuses, other benefits in the business world, these are the things that motivate people the most. According to Dan Pink, in this 2009 TED Talk, such external boosters can actually do more harm than good. Most recent sociological researches show that the real key to doing a better job is to find your inner motivation.

There is a mismatch between what science found and what business still does. And as we stand here in the jungle of economic competition, it is worrisome that so many organizations make their decisions on talented people based on outdated and unproven methods rather than science. As an entrepreneur, this speech can urge you to find a better and more effective way to run your business.

28. Elizabeth Gilbert’s speech

After the phenomenal success of the book Eat, Pray, Love, people started asking author Elizabeth Gilbert the same question over and over: How would you make something even better than that? This is something that not only artists struggle with - the invisible responsibility to be on top with the previous work.

In this TED Talk in 2009, Gilbert explored that responsibility while looking at our ideas about genius and creativity, which have changed over generations. Although once considered to be separate entities or states that anyone can touch, genius and creativity have become increasingly attached to individuals. And, according to Gilbert, that change has been putting increasing pressure on artists, writers, and other creators to create unrealistically great works.

As an entrepreneur, you will have to learn to have realistic expectations for yourself and your business.

29. Charles Dutton’s speech

In this scene from the film Rudy, Sean Astin’s character - Rudy, just left the Notre Dame soccer team because he had to watch one of his last matches from the stands. After two years of hard practice and never once having the chance to shine fully, he didn’t want to deal with humiliation anymore.

But Fortune - played by Charles Dutton - came to his side and spat some hard truths. He showed Rudy that he shouldn’t quit. He should be proud because he proved to everyone that his perseverance and willpower could take him through all challenges. He just needs to realize that about himself. And the only way to live with himself is to stay with the team for the rest of season.

That is a lesson for you. No matter what, you have to realize your own journey and prove yourself worthy.

30. Orlando Scampington’s speech

Sometimes humor is the best motivation. Last but not least, we have this INBOUND Bold Talk from Orlando Scampington - a self-proclaimed author, thought leader, dreamer, visionary, cat owner, and one who believes in unlimited human potential. As you keep watching, you will see that it’s hard to explain what this speech is actually about, but it is surely enjoyable.

And that is a good message for entrepreneurs, too; it doesn’t always have to be serious and do or die in business. You can take some time to enjoy your time, make a funny experience, and connect through humor. What you can learn from Orlando is making complicated things lighter to work in a good mood and positivity.

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Final words

Okay, that is my list of the best motivational speeches for you to go for eCommerce success. I hope that you enjoyed them and felt the motivation to achieve your dream. There will be many challenges along the way, even failure, but if you want and enjoy what you do, success is always in your reach.

Did I miss any other motivational speech? Do you have a favorite speech or speaker? Let me know in the comments section, and thanks for reading!

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