Quotes from Blake Mycoskie

When you're buying a pair of TOMS, if you don't feel like you're part of a community, then I've failed.

I never thought I would be in a position like this, where my words and experiences are now inspiring others to follow suit. It's challenging at times, but I can only look forward to the future of business and philanthropy.

I can honestly say that TOMS is my future. I mean I have no desire to start any other company for as long as I live because this is the perfect blend of business and philanthropy to me.

Anyone can make a difference, so you don't have to have it be some huge, global campaign... you can start small, and that's just as important.

Life is more fun when you stop caring what other people think.

I don't think college is for everyone. School is awesome, but for me, I was learning a lot more outside the classroom in the real world than I was in school.

What got us to where we are today is not going to get us to where we need to go tomorrow.

Exercise your purchasing power as a consumer, volunteer and bring joy to those in need, and share your experiences, tell your stories, and inspire others along the way.

A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers and opens doors.

Complicated lives and heaps of possessions don't necessarily bring happiness; in fact, they can bring the opposite.

When you don't know the rules, you break them all. It's hard to take big risks when you know the history of an industry and what has worked and what didn't.

I surround myself with inspirational quotations.

With TOMS, I found a way to create sustainable giving and consistently help those who are in need.

I try and sweat every day even though I can't always get to the gym. I do a lot of running, which is a great way to see a city, and I try to bike to work.

Giving feels good, but it's also good for the bottom line. Charity is a viable growth strategy for a lot of companies. Our customers get excited to be a part of what we're doing. If you ask anyone wearing Toms how they first heard about us, most won't mention an advertisement; they'll say a friend told them our story.

I credit my grandmother for my sense of style. She was known for wearing bright, outrageous things because it made people happy and she thought it made her more approachable. When you wear a brightly colored shirt or pants, it shows you don't take yourself too seriously and it puts everyone around you at ease.

I feel a deep sense of responsibility to share everything that we've learned from TOMS, so that others can learn from both our mistakes and the counterintuitive principles that have guided our success.

I'm not a late-night person. After 10 P.M., I'm falling asleep. If I'm out at that time, I'll be the one falling asleep at dinner.

When people start serving together, they forgot about all their stress, [...] all their own problems. They start focusing on someone else's.

Setbacks and fear are inevitable. The thing that distinguishes the ultimate successes from the ultimate failures is this: What do you do with them?

Allow your team to incorporate giving into their life through their job. Not only do employees stay around a lot longer, they do a lot more good.

I always have my journal with me. It was handmade by a guy at the San Telmo market in Buenos Aires. If you go there he can make you one. It's leather and bronze and I'm able to replace the paper when it runs out. It has a lion on the cover that I say is there to protect my thoughts.

Keep it simple: own as little as you can get away with, schedule everything, keep a notebook, don't let technology enslave you.

With technology today, companies are less in control of their brand