From May 1st - 3rd, I had my laptop hooked up to my TV screen and immersed myself in a multi-day virtual summit. For $1 per speaker, I got to listen to so many gems.

Matthew Ade said “I don’t even see this as a summit, I see this as a digital party.” It was like a back-to-back marathon sermon of excellence.

Below are a few quotes that stuck with me.

Surround yourself with the right people

• “Hire for ability instead of the TRAINABILITY.” - Marco Hansell

• “Sometimes people just need to just HEAR someone else say that they are powerful before they actually believe it.”  - Catalina Pena

• “Audit who you’re following. Audit your conversations.” - Alix Burton

• “If you understand human beings, I promise you, you will win at life.” - David Shands

• “People of colour come up in a space where we think we aren’t worthy, especially not feeling worthy being an entrepreneur.” - Ladun Thompson

• “Stop worrying about people who don’t worry about you.” - Steve Canal

• “Some of the closest people to you are the last to believe in you.” - Dawn Dickson

• “You can’t have a big vision with a small minded person. It don’t work. They will make you sound like you’re crazy.” - Spectacular Smith

Quality

• “If they [other football players that could potentially get drafted] wanted it as bad as me, we needed to see who is willing to die for it.” - Brett Locket

• “When you decide that you don’t want to work with a specialist, you will lose money on the back-end. When you use specialists in the beginning, the experience is more seamless for customers.” - Dr. Nicole Garner Scott

• “I’m the kind of person who only knows 0% or 150%” - Brett Locket

• “You need to make yourself as essential as possible in this new world.” - 19 Keys

• “I don’t chase, I don’t over-hustle, I just align.” - Enitan Bereola

• “What technology allowed me to do was to scale.” - Alix Burton

• “Everybody wants to be a speaker, but it doesn’t mean you’ll be remembered.” - Andrew Nguyen

• “Who wants to buy from somebody who always talks about themselves but no one else is talking about them?” - Mz. Skittlez

• “You don’t want MORE customers. You want to create better experiences for the few people that are going to buy from you.” - Jeremy Darby

Success is not a straight and narrow path

• “There is no clear way of getting towards your dream” - Brett Locket

• “The L is the LESSON, not the LOSS.” - Enitan Bereola

• “Money is not made through the exchange of time, it is made through the exchange of value. The hard thing with creatives is, we have to pinpoint the value. ” - Billy ABSTRACT

• “When you’re going through mistakes, just remember that that test is the testimony.” - Alix Burton

• “When you are aligned with your purpose, fear will be on your tail because it wants you to fail.” - Ladun Thompson

• “I have a list of dream customers. What did I do today that would bring me closer to them? What did I do today to bring value to them?” - Catalina Pena

If you take care of your finances, it will take care of you

• “I know not to go to the grocery store hungry, so I’m not going to go to the bank broke.” - Dr. Omai Kofi

• “If you don’t respect a woman, she will leave you. The same mindset should be applied for money.” - Alix Burton

• “You don’t do the work first. You do the selling first. For example, if you want to write a book, put a cover of the book up, beta test it by pre-selling it. Then with the pre-sale people, give them 25% off. “ - Billy ABSTRACT

• “Always get the money when you don't NEED the money...This also applies to networking. The seeds you plant, years ago, are the seeds that turn into trees.” - Spectacular Smith

• “You're a hacker’s dream if you don’t check your bank accounts every few months.” -Dr. Nicole Garner Scott

• “To be financially free is to be free from finances.” - Chris Cole

• “Deposits speak louder than words.” - Christianna Hurt

• “When you SPEND money, it ENDs for you and works for other people.” - Justin Owens

Enrich yourself

• “Each time that I learned I had a new skill, it increased my value." - 19 Keys

• “We are frustrated because we speak different languages. To influence, I must speak your language. If you want someone to work with you, you must speak their language.” - David Shands

• “If you know you are powerful, the company that you create will be great.” - Catalina Pena

• “If you don’t know the purpose of something, you misuse it and that’s what I was doing with my gifts.” - Enitan Bereola

• “You cannot be a light for other people if you are trying to figure out how to pay the light bill.” - Dr. Nicole Garner Scott

• “I grew up seeing people living a life of luxury and want to have that for myself. I’m not working to stay the same. I’m not working to live humble.” - Marcus Barney

Accountability

• “If you don’t own it, you don’t control it.” - 19 Keys

• “How are you going to run an ORGANIZATION if you are DISORGANIZED? Your financials are in shambles. Your health and relationships are garbage.” - Matthew Ade

• “If we focus on impact, we can always get income.” - Brother Ben X

• “Take off your hat of emotion and say I’m going to do what I can to get this goal. You are the only one responsible for you.” - Dr. Nicole Garner Scott

• “If you don’t document it, I don’t believe you. Document your journey.” - Matthew Ade

• “Purpose is about losing yourself in something that’s bigger than you. Being able to serve and give to others.” - Dee-1

Thank you to the Ground Zero Team for putting this summit together and all of the speakers that shared their knowledge.