Oracle Founder on Fear, Madness, Victory and the Benefits of Lunch

• Not taking risks means not living.

• I always feel great when I hear people call me crazy. To me this means that we did something new and different from others.

• I think the most effective people are motivated less by a desire for success than by a fear of failure.

• Whenever I think the possibility of failure is on the horizon, I start working like crazy.

• My defining characteristic has always been my tendency to question conventional wisdom, be skeptical of experts, and not be in awe of authority.

• A good education is an advantage in business, but not a guarantee of success.

• We had a company policy that we wouldn't hire anyone we couldn't have lunch with at least three times a week.

• I am not inclined to give socially approved answers just because they want to hear them.

• We compare our products with those of our competitors. We're not lying. We simply say that we can do what they cannot.

• The deepest state of fear I can remember was when I returned home from school and my mother was not home.

• My number one priority is family, number two is working at Oracle.

• The idea of turning some unknown experts into existential beacons guiding me through life has never resonated with me.

• I always try to analyze my actions from two points of view: how fair and moral they are and how practical they are.

• I like it when people prove me wrong. This is wonderful! I don't want to be wrong. So I'm grateful if I'm kept from making a mistake.

• When I founded Oracle, I just wanted to create an environment in which I would enjoy working.

• I've always been a rebel.

• I don't think about what the client wants. I prefer to ask about this.

• Intense fear is a terrible thing. But the feeling of walking on the edge, a little apprehension and anxiety form a cocktail that I enjoy.

• The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion driven than the women's fashion industry.

• I'm addicted to winning. The more you win, the more you want to win.

• Our products may be terrible, but as long as they are superior to all others, we will win.

• If I had a chance to start my life over, I would devote myself not to computerization, but to genetic engineering.

• When they say you're crazy, that's good. It’s bad when you don’t hear accusations of insanity against you.

• If you are not capable of becoming number one, then you have no business in this business.

• We make a choice not between fast and slow growth, but between life and death.

• I think about business all the time. But I don’t think I should talk about it all the time.

• It’s not enough for me to just win. Everyone around should go broke.

Sources: Academy of achievement, CNBC, CNET, Business insider, Forbes, The New York Times, Karen Southwick “Everyone around should go broke . ”

Larry Ellison's Rules of Business