If you have never heard of the story of Jordan Belfort, read his book “The Wolf of Wall Street,” or seen the motion picture of the same name, this name may not mean very much to you. However, Belfort was one of the most successful Wall Street traders of all time. He was also guilty of fraud, stock market manipulation, running a penny stock scam and running a boiler room. Today, he is an author and motivational speaker, and while his ethics may be called in question, there is no denying that this man knows a thing or two about making money.
Jordan Belfort famously gave testimony against several of the partners and subordinates that were part of his fraud scheme, then went on to write a book about his adventures. This book was later turned into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This story may be one of the most over-the-top tales of Wall Street, but the story of the “Wolf of Wall Street” actually comes with some pretty pertinent quotes about finding financial success.
The Story of Jordan Belfort
Jordan Belfort’s story is one that is so wild and fantastical, it is easy to see why it was both a best-selling book and a major motion picture. Belfort started his career with the intentions of being a dentist and enrolled at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. On the first day of class, he quit when the dean told him “if you are looking to make a lot of money, you are in the wrong place.”
Determined to make money of his own, Belfort set out on a sales career, becoming a door-to-door meat and seafood salesman in Long Island. However, the business failed and Belfort filed for bankruptcy at the age of 25. According to Belfort, a family friend helped him find a job as a trainee stockbroker at L.F. Rothschild, but he was eventually laid off after the stock market crash of 1987.
It was then that Belfort found Stratton Oakmont a penny stock operate that defrauded investors with “pump and dump” stock sales. Jordan found his calling and eventually bought out the owner. He went on to grow this firm into one of the largest of its kind, employing over 1,000 brokers, which managed more than $1 billion in trades. The firm was also behind the initial public offering of footwear giant Steve Madden Ltd.
However, the illegal operation was almost constantly monitored by law enforcement, until it was permanently shut down in 1995. During this time, Belfort was known for throwing lavish parties and using a great deal of recreational drugs, particularly while at the office. Eventually, Belfort was indicted for securities fraud and money laundering and was eventually ordered to pay back $110.4 million that he took from stock buyers.
After serving time, Belfort overcame his drug addiction, paid back what he owed and went on to write two memoirs The Wolf of Wall Street and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street. Today, Belfort acts as a motivational speaker, delivering messages of inspiration to audiences around the country.
The Best Quotes from the Wolf of Wall Street
All of the following quotes are from Jordan Belfort, author of The Wolf of Wall Street.
“If you want to be rich, never give up. People tend to give up. If you have persistence, you will come out ahead of most people. More importantly, you will learn. When you do something, you might fail. But that’s not because you’re a failure. It’s because you have not learned enough. Do it differently each time. One day, you will do it right. Failure is your friend.”
“Without action, the best intentions in the world are nothing more than that: intentions.”
“The easiest way to make money is- create something of such value that everybody wants to go out and give and create value, the money comes automatically.”
“Whether you say ‘I can’ or ‘I can’t,’ you’re right either way.”
“I believe in total immersion, if you want to be rich, you have to program your mind to be rich. You have to unlearn all the thoughts that were making you poor and replace them with new thoughts – rich thoughts.”
“No matter what happened to your in your past, you are not your past, you are the resources and the capabilities you glean from it. And that is the basis for all change.”
“Successful people are 100% convinced that they are masters of their own destiny, they’re not creatures of circumstance, they create circumstance, if the circumstances around them suck, they change them.”
“Winners use words that say ‘must’ and ‘will’.”
“But what I sincerely hope is that my life serves as a cautionary tale to the rich and poor alike; to anyone who’s living with a spoon up their nose and a bunch of pills dissolving in their stomach sac; or to any person who’s considering taking a God-given gift and misusing it; to anyone who decides to go to the dark side of the force and live a life of unbridled hedonism. And to anyone who thinks there’s anything glamorous about being known as a Wolf of Wall Street. BOOK I”
“If you give people a good enough ‘why’ then they will always find the ‘how’.”
“Act as if! Act as if you’re a wealthy man, rich already, and then you’ll surely become rich. Act as if you have unmatched confidence and then people will surely have confidence in you. Act as if you have unmatched experience and then people will follow your advice. And act as if you are already a tremendous success, and as sure as I stand here today – you will become successful.”
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.”
“I want you to back yourself into a corner. Give yourself no choice but to succeed. Let the consequences of failure become so dire and so unthinkable that you’ll have no choice but to do whatever it takes to succeed.”
“And from the time I was a kid, I’ve had this internal monologue roaring through my head, which doesn’t stop – unless I’m asleep. I’m sure every person has this; it’s just that my monologue is particularly loud. And particularly troublesome. I’m constantly asking myself questions. And the problem with that is that your brain is like a computer: If you ask a question, it’s programmed to respond, whether there’s an answer or not. I’m constantly weighing everything in my mind and trying to predict how my actions will influence events. Or maybe manipulate events are the more appropriate words. It’s like playing a game of chess with your own life. And I hate f-cking chess!”
“Successful people are 100% convinced that they are masters of their own destiny, they’re not creatures of circumstance, they create circumstance, if the circumstances around them suck they change them.”
“No matter what happened to you in your past, you are not your past, you are the resources and the capabilities you glean from it. And that is the basis for all change.”
“I want you to back yourself into a corner. Give yourself no choice but to succeed. Let the consequences of failure become so dire and so unthinkable that you’ll have no choice but to do whatever it takes to succeed.”
If you are looking for some new motivational quotes that are outside the normal realm of self-help and inspirational works, then consider some of these best quotes from “The Wolf of Wall Street.” While Jordan Belfort may have had some flawed practices, there is no denying that he has some truly profound quotes on success that anyone can benefit from.
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