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The 20 Best John Mulaney Quotes That Apply to Business

John Mulaney

John Mulaney is a stand-up comedian, writer, actor, voice actor, and producer who was born in Chicago in 1982. He is known for his stand-up performances, for being a writer for ‘Saturday Night Live’, and as the creator of the short-lived sitcom ‘Mulaney’. This comedian has said and written many things that are not only hilarious, but they are also motivational and inspirational, and many of his quotes can apply to the business environment. Here are the 20 best John Mulaney quotes that apply to business.

20. On Finding Your Business Style

“I just watched a ton of comedy and saw a ton of different styles, and eventually, you think, ‘Oh yeah, I could be like that.”

There is no one right or wrong style in business. Each person will have their own style that is based on their strengths and weaknesses, their experiences, styles that have influenced them, and the type of business. Use each of these factors to find a business style that works best for you. This will also influence your leadership style.

19. On Self-Awareness

“I’m pretty self-critical about everything I’ve ever done: stand-up, SNL.”

Self-awareness is important in business, and if you want to become successful. Becoming self-aware involves taking a critical look at yourself. This will help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. In turn, you can then use your strengths to your benefits, and to work on your weaknesses. This will benefit you both personally and professionally.

18. On Learning from Your Mistakes

“When you have something that you did so many jobs on and were so front and center on, and then people dislike it, you want to learn lessons from it, and you want to move on, and you want to move on too fast.”

Whenever you start a new project, you will want everything to run as smoothly as possible. You will also want to achieve the best outcomes. Unfortunately, things do not always go to plan. Making mistakes and failing at a task is not always a bad thing. It is an opportunity to learn and to move on by doing things differently and better. It is possible to get more business experience by making mistakes than if everything runs smoothly.

17. On Overcoming Failures

“The more you do stuff, the better you get at dealing with how you still fail at it a lot of the time.”

Although you always want to do well, making mistakes and experiencing failure is a natural part of life. It is important that you can cope with failure and move on from the situation. Giving up too easily just because you have failed once will eliminate your chances of success. Although failures can drag you down, they can also make you stronger and more able to tackle difficult situations in the future.

16. On Acknowledging Your Achievements

“The difficulty of getting a movie made through a major studio is so extreme that when a movie comes out, everyone should give it four stars because it was accomplished.”

This John Mulaney quote is listed by Brainy Quote. It is about how achievements are often overlooked. When you are working towards goals, you may not even realize that you have achieved things along the way. Make sure you acknowledge your successes, no matter how small. This will keep you motivated.

15. On Enjoying New Experiences

“Going on the road for long stretches can seem daunting, and I certainly miss being home sometimes, but the chance to see so many different cities, let alone perform in them, is something I am really grateful for.”

Doing something new can seem scary. However, trying new things is often positive. It will give you a range of new experiences that can make your business journey more fun, and these experiences may help you in various business situations in the future.

14. On Learning from Mistakes

“The best-case scenario is everything goes perfect and smooth, but we’re also a new and weird show. So all my conversations were, ‘Hey, last night didn’t go perfect but we kind of know what we’ve got in store for everybody episode-wise.’”

Even the most talented and knowledgeable people can make mistakes. It is crucial that you understand that mistakes can sometimes have a positive outcome and not to let the negativity of the situation overwhelm you. Consider your mistakes a learning curve that will help you to learn more about how to do things differently next time.

13. On Having Self-Belief

“Maybe I just have high self-esteem, but I have a lot that I really enjoy.”

It is essential that you have self-belief if you want to become successful in business. One reason for this is that others will not have belief in you if you do not believe in yourself. Also, you will find it difficult to maintain your motivation if you do not have self-belief. The belief that you can achieve your dreams will keep you working towards them.

12. On Ignoring Those Who Are Not Experts

“You all have a relative who is an expert even though they really don’t know what they’re talking about.”

When you are building a business, everyone will want to give you advice and opinions. They will give you this regardless of whether they have any experience or not. Take care of who you listen to, as only the opinions of experts and people with experience really matter.

11. On Meeting Expectations

“People having expectations maybe means they’ve enjoyed what I’ve done.”

Your own expectations are the only ones that really matter, and these are the ones on which you should focus. However, people who are important to you may also have expectations. If you value their opinion and want to please them, then you might also want to work hard to meet the expectations of others.

10. On Improving Things Over Time

“You start doing something, and you want it to be perfect right away, but most babies are born ugly, and then they shake it out, and you get beautiful toddlers.”

Those who are successful are often perfectionists, and they want every project to be perfect straight away. Usually, perfection is not achieved straight away. It can take time to achieve perfection, and you may need to smooth out imperfections and mistakes along the way. You should focus on achieving the perfect end result rather than worrying that things are not perfect from the start.

9. On Reducing Work Pressures

“In terms of instant relief, canceling plans is like heroin.”

People in business are often under a lot of stress, and many of them are responsible for the pressure they are under. They take on too many things, and this can cause them to feel pressure due to a large workload or limited time constraints. Putting too much pressure on yourself can lead to burning out, so try not to overload yourself with too much work or to give yourself unrealistic time constraints. Think realistically about what you can achieve and in what timeframe.

8. On Making Your Business Interesting

“Just because you’re accurate, it doesn’t mean you’re interesting.”

You can take all the right steps in your business, but that does not necessarily mean that it will become successful. Your competition is probably doing all the same things as you, and they will have more success if they are a bigger or more established company. To become successful, you must do something different or interesting that makes your business unique so that it will stand out against the competition.

7. On Making Decisions

“You can’t always see both sides of the story. Eventually, you have to pick a side and stick with it. No more equivocating. You have to commit.”

Regardless of whether you have your own business, or you are in a leadership position for someone else’s company, making decisions is part of your role. When making decisions, you must look at all your options and consider the pros and cons of each so that you can make an informed decision. Once you have made your decision, you must stick to it.

6. On Taking Care of Yourself

“You can do good work simply by staying up all night and eating nothing but junk food, but probably not in the long term.”

In this John Mulaney quote, he talks about the importance of taking good care of yourself so that you can work effectively. Working a lot of hours and having an unhealthy diet is not something that you should do in the long term. To work effectively and remain motivated, you need to take good care of both your physical and mental wellbeing. Make sure you get plenty of rest and time away from work. This will help you to focus better during your time at work and to get more done.

5. On Being Flexible

“I don’t make plans anymore. So, I’m not living minute to minute.”

According to Women.com, this is one of the best John Mulaney quotes that apply to business. Routines and order are important if you want to work effectively. However, you should avoid becoming too rigid in your ways. An element of flexibility is essential if you want to get things done as rigidity is not always the most effective and productive way to work.

4. On Not Taking the Easy Route in Life

“It’s 100% easier not to do things in life than to do them.”

Doing nothing is definitely easier than working hard, as John Mulaney points out. However, doing nothing will get you nowhere in life. There are very few people who become successful without working hard. In most cases, successful people have worked hard and put in a lot of effort to get where they are. If you are not willing to work hard, then expect yourself to achieve very little. Prepare yourself for years of hard work if you want to become successful.

3. On Taking Care of the Finances

“All my money is in a savings account. My dad has explained the stock market to me, maybe seventy-five times. I still don’t understand it.”

A business is only successful if it is profitable. To become profitable, it must have an income higher than the total costs of running the business. Therefore, taking care of finances is a vital element in making sure a company is successful. Keep on top of the finances, and track even the smallest costs as these can soon add up. Try to keep your expenditure as low as possible so that your profits are greater.

2. On the Satisfaction of Hard Work

“I like it when things are crazy. Something good comes out of exhaustion.”

Running a business is often difficult and hectic, especially if you are trying to launch your own business. It can take a lot of time, effort, and hard work to get things going. This may sometimes leave you wondering if all the effort is worth it and whether you should keep going. However, there is a lot of satisfaction in working hard for your success, more so than if you have a successful business handed to you on a plate. You can take great satisfaction in knowing that you have become a success because you were willing to work for everything you have in life.

1. On Fulfilling Your Dreams

“Things don’t exist until they exist.”

According to Life Chrome, this is one of the best John Mulaney quotes that apply to business. Dreaming about the things you can do in life is not the same as taking action and doing something about achieving your dreams. If you want to become successful, then do something about it. The sooner you take action, the sooner you can make your dreams a reality.

Dana Hanson

Written by Dana Hanson

Dana has extensive professional writing experience including technical and report writing, informational articles, persuasive articles, contrast and comparison, grant applications, and advertisement. She also enjoys creative writing, content writing on nearly any topic (particularly business and lifestyle), because as a lifelong learner, she loves to do research and possess a high skill level in this area. Her academic degrees include AA social Sci/BA English/MEd Adult Ed & Community & Human Resource Development and ABD in PhD studies in Indust & Org Psychology.

Read more posts by Dana Hanson

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