My mom was terrific. I described my mom once. If fear was a color, she was color blind. Nothing frightened her. If I told her that I was going to take over General Motors, she'd say, You can do it. Just the most preposterous things, ambitious things, she said, You can do it.

I am really proud of the development of the people on my team as they grow in purpose they like what they see in the mirror.

Growing up, I knew you were supposed to have a profession - and something better than being a shopkeeper, which is what my parents were.

If you start painting yourself into a corner, life starts shutting down. There is always hopefully a next.

If your life lease, your existence was canceled tomorrow, what would you wish you had done? What are the things you would like to impact? Start on those and you can change the world. Maybe you can only make your neighborhood a little bit better, or make someone's life a little bit better. Isn't that the kind of purpose?

Society can't wait. It's sad there are so many entrepreneurs, business successes and venture capitalists who give no thought to society.

Ask yourself: What forms the decisions you make? What is it that gnaws at you? What are your crucible moments?

I don't think most analysts understand that whether I work a 70-hour week or an 80-hour week, I take my head with me when I go home.

Everything has a lifecycle. You have to believe it’s going to change.

There is always hopefully a next.

Sometimes I wish I lived more in the day, but I'm happier thinking about tomorrow or the day after. The way I see it, there's always a new or next thing.

I think a lot of people would assume that my job is more about supermodels and naked ladies and all that, and no, it's just really about fashion, merchandise and customers. So the obviously sexy parts - you get to go to the fashion show and all that stuff. It's really just business. That's my story. I'm sticking to it.

The foundation of leadership is your own moral compass. I think the best quality leaders really know where their moral compass is. They get it out when they are making decisions. It's their guide. But not only do you have to have a moral compass and take it out of your pocket, it has to have a true north.

What makes you tick? Why do you care about the things you care about?

You’re not going to be a 1.000 hitter all the time. You’re going to be more wrong than right. You just have to correct your errors as quickly, as economically, as possible.

A woman at the Limited once asked me, 'Why do you work?' She said, 'You made a lot of money as a young man, so why are you still working?' I had never thought about it before. Forced to consider it, I told her, 'You know why? Because I think that if you stop to smell the roses, you'll get hit by a truck.

Entrepreneurs, guys that start businesses, grow with them. It's more painful than it would appear.