There's a world of difference between a strong ego, which is essential, and a large ego-which can be destructive. Lee Iacocca More Quotes by Lee Iacocca More Quotes From Lee Iacocca The only mistake I ever made was not listening to my gut. Lee Iacocca made listening mistake You've got to say, "I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it." It's called perseverance. Lee Iacocca success motivational positive Get all the education you can then go out and do something - do anything. Lee Iacocca It's a good thing god doesn't let you look a year or two into the future, or you might be sorely tempted to shoot yourself. Lee Iacocca two looks years The trick is to make sure you don't die waiting for prosperity to come. Lee Iacocca money wise waiting My father used to say, 'You can spend a lot of time making money. The tough time comes when you have to give it away properly.' How to give something back, that's the tough part in life. Lee Iacocca money life father There are times in everyone's life when something constructive is born out of adversity... when things seem so bad that you've got to grab your fate by the shoulders and shake it. Lee Iacocca born fate adversity We load up on oat bran in the morning so we'll live forever. Then we spend the rest of the day living like there's no tomorrow. Lee Iacocca forever food morning I always go back to Harry Truman: Should we drop an atomic bomb to save 100,000 lives? That's a hell of a decision to make. Did he make that decision by himself? No, he had advisers. Lee Iacocca harry-truman bombs decision I was at Ford for 32 years. I went to Chrysler in 1978, four or five months after I got canned by Henry Ford. Lee Iacocca four months years I forgot to shake hands and be friendly. It was an important lesson about leadership. Lee Iacocca important leadership hands The kind of people I look for to fill top management spots are the eager beavers, the mavericks. These are the guys who try to do more than they're expected to do - they always reach. Lee Iacocca top-management guy people The affections are like lightning: you cannot tell where they will strike till they have fallen. Lee Iacocca affection lightning economy I was fortunate to get a scholarship when I went to Lehigh University and Princeton. They were both wonderful schools. Somebody was kind enough to spend their money to educate people that they would never get to know. That's what I think philanthropy is about. Lee Iacocca learning money school In the old days, if a neighbors apples fell into your yard, you worked it out over the back fence or picked them up and made pies. Today, you sue. Lee Iacocca yards apples pie If we wait until we've satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late. Lee Iacocca starting-over procrastination waiting I guess that's one achievement I'm really proud of. Saving Chrysler was more than jobs, more than shareholder value. Saving Chrysler was a good idea for the whole country. Lee Iacocca jobs country ideas No matter how I'm doing financially, the Depression has never disappeared from my consciousness. To this day, I hate waste. When neckties went from narrow to wide, I kept all my old ones until the style went back to narrow. Lee Iacocca style hate matter From what I've seen, you either get grounded in that kind of positive thinking early on in life or you don't. Establishing priorities and using your time well aren't things you can pick up at the Harvard Business School. Formal learning can teach you a great deal, but many of the essential skills in life are the ones you have to develop on your own. Lee Iacocca positive-thinking skills school A country's competitiveness starts not on the factory floor or in the engineering lab. It starts in the classroom. Lee Iacocca engineering competition country