E. Joseph Cossman

Making $30,000 on my first business deal was exciting, but not as exciting as the sudden knowledge that I did not have to work for anyone again.

Your goals should be to have the system work for you instead of your working for the system! Be the hammer - not the nail!

Many past products advertised in old publications can be profitably promoted all over again. Sometimes, just by giving them a new twist or modern application, you'll hit a real winner.

'Salaryitis' is when you become so accustomed to that salary that you no longer have the gumption to pull out of the rut and strike out on your own. It destroys the nerve of ambitious, imaginative men, and bowing to it has meant sure defeat for more people than any other sickness, mental or physical.

Square meals often make round people.

The criteria, the only rule you should follow - the only rule - is to never touch a product or service unless, every time it is sold, part of the profit has to come back to you.

A lot of magic happens when you put out a publicity release. I have launched many products with the money I got back from my publicity release.

Expose yourself to the products and promotions of other manufacturers, and your own field of new ideas will greatly increase.

Starting in business is like getting married... there is really no good time and no bad time. The time is now.

Since it is not granted to us to live long, let us transmit to posterity some memorial that we have at least lived.

Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.

If you are ready to put a product or service on the market, look at that product or service and see how you can test it inexpensively. Keep in mind, you'll only need one; you don't need 1,000 to get the answer.

For products with revision possibilities, there is no better source available than a company going out of business!

This country is conducive to making money. Once you learn this lesson and make your first deal, you will really appreciate the tools available to you in the United States, the tools that will help you 'boot-strap' yourself into a large income.

If you try to make money doing something you're not enjoying, it's a hard way to make money.

I believe the classified section of a newspaper - especially the 'Business Opportunities' column - can tell you more about your city 'business-wise' than any other publication.

Do not quit! Hundreds of times I have watched people throw in the towel at the one-yard line while someone else comes along and makes a fortune by just going that extra yard.

If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.

You can have the best product in the world, you can have the best motivation in the world, you can have best education in the world, you can have all the money in the world - but if you don't have direction, you'll never go anywhere.

Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places.