Les Wexner quotes:

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

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

Nobody remembers who was the richest toga salesman in Rome.

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

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 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.

In the '70s and '80s, the mentality of America was that everything was disposable. The notion of quality wasn't important.

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.'

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

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.

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.

As an entrepreneur, you work out solutions.

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

There is always hopefully a next.

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