Mark’d In Quotes
Some have asked if they could use a quote or two from Mark. In response we assembled this page. Below is an evolving list of quotes from writings, speeches and more. Feel free to use.
The video below is an example.
“The biggest change in higher education that’s been lost on, as well as destroyed by these institutions of higher learning, is the following: The prior signpost all businesses used to hire qualified people was: College educated and/or Ivy League graduate. Today, that signpost is now sporting a highly visible, illuminated warning sign, flashing: College educated and/or Ivy League graduate. Proceed with extreme caution, untold dangers ahead. Seek alternate routes.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Regardless of what is going on in the world that is clouding the mind of the populace and news media. The people that are reliant on getting their paychecks (aka Wall Street) are single minded, laser focused, fully acute to do what ever it takes to push whatever little gas is left in any tank to make the best possible run available to end said month at the best place possible, using any and every tool available to accomplish that single objective. For if it can be done – it will be done – because their paychecks depend on it.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Here’s the issue with MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) that is apparent to anyone with a modicum of business acumen as opposed to the entirety of students, politicians and corporate ideology that seems to be enshrining the possibility for such lunacy. Ready? The moment an outside source or vendor decides they no longer recognize the value of your currency in the valuation you attribute to it – it’s over. Welcome to the Zimbabweification process. In other words: The moment you need one item outside of the national borders of the issuing currency – it’s over – because if they, the counter party, decides they want Zimbabwe currency rather than yours? Yours just became worth less than Zimbabwe’s.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I am not a financial analyst or anything even close. I watch and comment on the machinations of the “markets” only in regard to what it may mean to the bigger picture of business because, we’re all interconnected far more tightly to ‘Wall Street’ than most dare contemplate. Understanding where we all are in relation to the ups-and-downs is more a kin to knowing if you’re going to be dealing with a scattered shower, or Cat-5 Hurricane regarding the business climate. It’s an imperative aspect and facet for anyone taking their business or, business in general, seriously.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If one does not continually exercise a robust introspection of one’s own claims of ‘knowing’ a certain topic or personality, with not just a willingness, rather, an eagerness to jettison part if not all prior assumptions if one is found incorrect – there is no personal growth.” -Mark St.Cyr
“What most don’t fully appreciate, let alone truly understand, is that when it comes to business, self improvement, goal setting, dealing with other people, new ideas, news, politics and more. Nothing has really changed except for the man-made tools to communicate them. Other than that – people are still dealing with the same inner struggles, political viewpoints, business challenges and more that we’ve all been facing for millenniums. The old phrase ‘There’s nothing new under the sun.’ is far more relative today as to understand just where one is and the challenges they need to overcome rather, than some mindset or viewpoint that is causing them indecision under the guise of ‘This time it’s different. For, it is not. The only thing ‘different’ today than 5000 years ago, is one’s personal perspective as to why something matters or not. Period.” -Mark St.Cyr
“When there’s no fundamental reason to answer why a stock price is propelling ever higher. The only logical conclusion is that there’s now far more probabilities why it can come crashing down.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The relentlessness surge to ever higher heights across all major stock indexes (aka ‘markets’) over the last 18 months (e.g., 2020-2021) has demonstrated, unequivocally just how untethered they are to anything once known as ‘fundamentals.’ What appears even more offensive, is the complete repudiation to anyone, including myself, as to try and apply any sanity for any logical postulations. In other words, trying to access these “markets” has morphed into nothing more than inept attempts of applying logical conclusions to illogical nonsense, and will continue to do so until it all ends in tears as history has always shown. QE (quantative easing) has made a mockery of us all. -Mark St.Cyr
“What far too many business people don’t understand in regards to company culture, is the following: If you do not have true shared values for the enterprise, then all discussions and remedies will be superficial at best. The reason for this, is there will be no true shared value to endure the hardships or possible sacrifices for either in order to accomplish an end goal. This is why committees and teams are vastly different animals. One committee can win against another, regardless if its good for the team. A team will suffer all hardships or loss if its for the good of the team as to win. However, most think their working on a team when they’re really working for a committee, and vice versa. This is why most things fail.” -Mark St.Cyr
“What’s at issue for many of these these so-called “social platforms” or what some call “Big Tech” is that the workers now run the company – not management nor, the CEO. What I base this on is: Every-time you see or hear one of the heads’ for these firms come out and say how they will ‘fix’ something in regards to a practice, that is obviously antithetical to its business, such as its staff willy-nilly jettisoning content, regardless of the monetary significance to its own survival. What happens? The CEO has to come out days later and basically do a ‘hostage tape’ styled public reversal saying, ‘They were wrong.’ Why? The staff said ‘Do it, or else!’ This is what central bank interventionism is fueling. Because business and bottom line considerations don’t matter when Wall Street buys and buys regardless of bottom-line considerations. But just like everything, nothing lasts forever. And this entire set of workers are going to be in for a rude surprise the day Wall Street either doesn’t buy, regardless. Or worse, can’t.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It is precisely these types of circumstances that create the greatest opportunities. However, as that other saying goes, Be careful what you wish for! Because the circumstance to deliver what you desire might just be the circumstance that’ll try one’s soul.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It has become obvious to me that the role of Ivy League based business forecasting and insight today is to make fundamental business decisions based via astrological signalling look respectable in comparison.” ~Mark St.Cyr
“There’s an old adage on Wall Street that goes something like this: ‘The markets can remain crazy far longer than one can remain solvent.’ However today, with central banks doing what was once unimaginable, there’s been a new addition to it and goes something like this: ‘$90 Trillion dollars of globally synchronized central bank money printing will enable the fantastical fantasy of money for nothing to be believed far longer than prudent perspectives can keep their sanity.'” -Mark St.Cyr
“It is only when you truly understand what you need to know can you fully begin to know it.” ~Mark St.Cyr
“From a pragmatic perspective when it comes to prudence regarding markets: Central Bank interventionism has pretty much nullified every once useful metric for calculation into the dust-heap of comparable analysis history. That’s the causation affect of what $90 Trillion dollars of globally synchronized central bank money printing has done. i.e., It enables the fantastical fantasy of “money for nothing” to be believed far longer than prudent perspectives can keep their sanity. Let alone their enterprise.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I always ‘Think Big’ – but I dream even bigger!” -Mark St.Cyr
“One of the most damning ideas to capitalism over the last decade can be seen in real-time as corporate leaders who used to argue that competing against GSE’s (government sponsored entities) was something totally anathema to free-markets and would rail against these entities with calls they need to be curtailed, if not outright banned. That idea is all but dead and buried. Because today, we now have a “new and improved” version known as FSE’s (Fed sponsored equities). This newest perversion is something that is currently hailed as a “brilliant use of monetary policy.” What adds insult-to-injury? It is now replete with its own band, bandwagon and cheering section made up of those very same corporate leaders whom prior railed against such a notion. It’s not only appalling, it should be seen as downright disgusting to any true self-identifying capitalist.” -Mark St.Cyr
“People mistakenly assume that the more people employed within a company, the more diverse the setting will be for idea creation; risk taking; and first mover advantages. What they’ll come to realize if they truly look, it will be far more monolithic in thought; far more risk averse to the point of timid; and far too willing to remain in dwindling markets with ever-reduced profits till they finally go out of business.” -Mark St.Cyr
“When it comes to productivity: If you notice your washing machine becoming envious from all the “spin” it hears when the mainstream business/financial media TV is on. You’ll be far more productive if you put down the remote – and pick up the hamper. Not to mention, less stressed.” -Mark St.Cyr
“In business how you fix problems can also affect how others fix their image of your business, here’s an example: When it comes to fixing problems the proverbial “patch” method does work, sometimes with great efficacy. The real problem manifests when this solution going forward is not just the go-to preference, but the only one. Using a parking lot as an example, it’s perfectly fine to patch a problem area, however, if all you do is patch every-time what ends up happening, more often than not, is you end up spending more over time than fixing the original problem properly to begin with. But what’s worse is that your people, as well as current and potential customers, look at your lot and wonder, ‘Maybe this place isn’t as stable as we think, because it sure looks like they can’t even afford to pave their own parking lot.”‘ -Mark St.Cyr
“If you don’t think social media is dead. Then please explain away why Mark Zuckerberg is now pivoting into cryptos rather, than fixing what is suppose to be the embodiment of social dominance? I always need a good laugh.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It’s an oversimplification, but true nonetheless: Most who’ve lived through the slings and arrows to tell, work, or create another business will tell you, without pause – It’s all about understanding people, first. Understanding your business, comes second. Get the first right – the second falls into place much easier. Get the second right and not the first? The business doesn’t stand a chance to stay in business.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If you understand the people dynamic first, you’ll understand the business dynamic better. Reverse the order – and you’ll sooner be out-of-business, than in one.” -Mark St.Cyr
“There’s a difference between right and wrong that most are oblivious and fall prey to far worse perils when being ‘wrong’ rather than when being ‘right’ was the correct viewpoint. I argue it this way: When your assumptions are being proven as “right” but for all the wrong reasons, there’s inherit danger in this because you tend not to question your assumptions for clarity or proof. However, when you’re being proven “wrong” but for all the right reasons? You are forced to defend your assumptions and viewpoint continuously, always questioning, always seeking real truth. Inherent in this footing, you tend not to kid yourself and is painful to do so. An example of this would be someone thinking they’re investments prowess to invest with a firm claiming outlandish returns was a smart decision because of the dividend checks the received over the course of a few months. They don’t ask deeper questions, just assume, their decision was ‘right’ compared to others warning they’re wrong – only to find out that the right question to have asked in the beginning and continually was “Is it a Ponzi scheme or not?’ then finding out in the affirmative all too late.” -Mark St.Cyr
“When it comes to either seeking wisdom or gaining advice: If you can’t understand it, apply it, or make any sense of it? It’s useless. Period. No matter who’s touting it.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If you dare print any currency note, then try to buy an asset, you would be immediately arrested and thrown in jail for a little thing called counterfeiting. When a central bank does the same they are rewarded with both keeping said assets and publicly defended with accolades for doing so under the guise of “prudent monetary policy.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The problem with being too early is you appear wrong for all the wrong reasons and many will argue that you’re just plain wrong. The flip side of that is when all the reasons that you were early in calling suddenly arrive, all the people who were taking credit for being so smart prior suddenly appear not to be so.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It’s not about the questions you ask yourself – It’s about the answers you believe are true.” –Mark St.Cyr
“My description of Silicon Valley’s current business model: We promise you two hamburgers tomorrow for one today – as long as you promise never to ask us to make good on it.” -Mark St.Cyr
“As I have stated ad nauseam concerning the central banks: There has never been a time in recent history that so much power has been allocated to a handful of unelected individuals since the time of kings.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If you lack the resources others believe you need – then create or invent your own.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The reason why the obvious gets missed – is because nobody really wants to see it.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It may be seen as unseemly to some, but the reality of it is this: If you don’t blow your own horn in a crowded market – nobody will know you’re there.” -Mark St.Cyr
“There comes a point in some discussions when I have to stop myself and remember that when I’m explaining what I’m seeing over the horizon from my vantage point (or where I’m standing) that many times, to my audience, where I am standing is over the horizon. Never mind what I see further out.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Demonstrable skills trump academic credentials every time unless the game is rigged.” –Mark St.Cyr
“You’ll be well rewarded for all the hard work to become a better listener once you begin realizing, in real-time conversations, just how little others do.” -Mark St.Cyr
“My greatest competitive advantage is: I’m not afraid to allow me – to be me.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Rules are made to be bent or broken. Laws are created for exploitation. Amateurs focus on the former, professionals move heaven and earth to protect the latter.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Be willing to start your own business revolution, rather than waiting for others who can’t. Or, won’t.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If you want to stand out from the crowd, solve interesting problems while leading others through the process.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Do what needs to be done, to be who you want to become.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I always choose my words carefully. Using them correctly is another matter entirely.” -Mark St.Cyr
“All roads end. That’s why it’s how you traveled that counts.” -Mark St.Cyr
“There is a very clear sign you should be on high alert for when, or if you believe you’re in the midst of either a bubble or severe upcoming sea change, and it’s this: “when you begin seeing companies considered sclerotic consuming the stunted” -Mark St.Cyr
“Far too many overthink not only the direction in which to progress, but also the baby steps they assume should be taken, resulting in inaction. In fact what they should be doing is setting themselves up into the best guessed direction possible – and begin making giant leaps or strides into that assumed unknown.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If you wait for perfection before doing, then perfectly waiting is all you’ll ever do.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Stop worrying about the damn competition and begin to make them worry about you!” -Mark St.Cyr
“Entrepreneurs are the elite special forces of the business world.
They go where others fear to tread without needing to be told.” -Mark St.Cyr
“You must not only know how to read the writing on the wall, you must also verify the message written is both intelligible, and actionable. Not some equivalent of graffiti where people see what they want to see as if it were painted by Hermann Rorschach himself.” -Mark St.Cyr
“There’s more to wealth than money or toys, but it’s despairingly referred to as being realistic.” -Mark St.Cyr
“We can hit bottom unintentionally, but bouncing is a choice.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The entrepreneurial class generally will only buy and read biographies of people they respect or impressed with to gain relevant insights, regardless of genre.
The managerial class purposely buy and sometimes read business books from some “Best Seller” list to try and impress other managers, regardless of insight or relevance.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Most business books are like romance novels: they sound magical, because they are, i.e.., fantasy thinking. It rarely works that way in real life. If it did – we wouldn’t have the growth industry known as divorce or bankruptcy law” -Mark St.Cyr
“Understand today you have the greatest opportunity to acquire riches. If you look around most of your competition won’t get out of bed let alone dress for success.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Bubbles are easy to spot – pinpointing when they’ll pop – is quite another.” -Mark St.Cyr
“When it comes to this study called ‘Technical Analysis,’ just remember: there is no Holy Grail. Period. When used properly, it’s all just honed based interpretation skills, while paying respect to demonstrated results over time, that give an inclination to apply reasonable odds for conclusions. Nothing more.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Buried in what many are calling the worst of economies are the opportunities you’ve been wishing for all your life.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It’s not for a lack of information, it’s the overload of useless information. Not only do many not know what they should pay attention to; rather, it’s what they should avoid altogether!” -Mark St.Cyr
“The rules are dead but their ghosts keep most terrified from acting.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I’ve noticed many have switched to lower wattage bulbs as to better match the intensity of ideas that come into their heads.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Markets right themselves with pain… That’s Capitalism.
Back room manipulation to avoid pain only increases the severity of the pain to be felt down the road.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Many say we are lacking leadership. I don’t buy it. It’s not that we are lacking – it’s most are no longer looking.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Properly articulated, actionable advise has no boundary.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If you are one of those whom sits at a conference thinking if they’re so smart or wealthy why are they here talking to us? Then the best thing for you is to pick up your belongings and leave because you’ll never get it, and you’ll only annoy the rest of us with your questions.” -Mark St.Cyr
“When you’re marketing your wares be diagnostic in your approach. When you’re selling is when you want to become prescriptive.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Some look at things and ask why. I look at some things and say: You have got to be kidding me!” -Mark St.Cyr
“The more so-called experts I meet. The wiser I feel when I unsubscribe to their musings.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Distractions are the true devil in the details.” -Mark St.Cyr
“There are certain values that must be attained and adhered to. Dignity and self-reliance are just two that can not be altered of lightly held.” -Mark St.Cyr
“You’ll know there’s real danger ahead the moment those in charge vociferously commence to assure everyone, ‘there is no danger.'” -Mark St.Cyr
“Some can walk, some can talk, but most have gum on their shoe.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Before gaining leverage you must adjust your fulcrum.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I’m not here to speak and make you feel comfortable. I’m here to provoke and get you to remember to think in the first place – comfortably or not.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Forget the mantra: Walking the Talk. True leadership is through example while simultaneously inspiring others to do the same.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The shackles you believe placed on you are not to be removed by someone else but are to be unlocked from within for your mind is the key that opens all locks.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Sprint, Walk, Run. What’s missing is the only word that can hinder them…Stop.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Life is a game based on 3 fundamentals rules. Inertia, trajectory, and momentum.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The greatest epiphany one can have is when they realize they can forget the reading and start the Be-ing.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Many give lip service to the walk the talk mantra. However true leaders not only walk, but hold a torch to light the path for others.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Lead or get out-of-the-way is not a hollow euphemism for me. It’s a way of life.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The inconsistencies from the so-called Smart Crowd are happening with an amazing consistency.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Life is about how you take it. Not how it’s dished out.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Information is only that – information. It’s one thing to use information to gain an edge. However, if you don’t know what questions to ask about that information; it can turn that edge from a useful tool in hand – to a hand found with an edge at your throat.” –Mark St.Cyr
“Odds of success are amplified when the preparation and willingness to act meets opportunity. Luck is just jargon for the process.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I’ve permanently broke more things by trying to temporarily fix them.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The people most afraid of dying are those whom haven’t lived.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The first warning sign that a company might be losing its customers focus is when there seems to be an ever-present rush to replace a customers interactions from dealing with a smiling face, to interacting with a shiny interface.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Sales is all about momentum. Nothing makes more sales than more sales!” -Mark St.Cyr
“It’s not about the questions you ask yourself… It’s about the answers you give and believe.” –Mark St.Cyr
“Beware when everyone’s on the band wagon – except the band.” -Mark St.Cyr
“You know what the difference is between an Economist/Analyst, and a Business owner? When a Business owner makes a prediction on his or her business and predicts wrong; the business could wind up in bankruptcy. When the Economist/Analyst makes a wrong prediction; they just make another prediction.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It’s not what people do too you that’s the tough part of life – It’s how you have to treat everyone now going forward that’s the real tough part.” -Mark St.Cyr
“When it comes to market dominance one should always remember: Blooms fade no matter the rose.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I learned that maybe the better solution to efficiency or productivity was less involvement with efficient productivity wasters.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Reading, as to utilize or dismiss plans of action, whether in life or the market place, with an eye towards immediacy – trumps reading volume. One book, one idea put into motion, is far more valuable than reading a thousand only to do nothing.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Remember, your bottom line should be to make a profit. Not break even.” –Mark St.Cyr
“Understanding what you need to pay attention to, as well as what not to – is just as imperative a skill as knowing whom too listen to, as well as, who not. Followed by – where to find either.” -Mark St.Cyr
St.Cyr’s Law of Wisdom: “The more knowledge one begins to amass…
The dumber the questions you’ll be asked en masse.” -Mark St.Cyr
“In the search for lost loves – you just might find something you like even more!” –Mark St.Cyr
“It’s one thing to mistakenly put the cart before the horse. However, when you’ve convinced yourself it’s not an issue because your horse is a unicorn? You might need a dose of reality more than you think.” -Mark St.Cyr
“It takes a lot of hard work to find the easy route.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Adapt is a tool many need to adopt.” -Mark St.Cyr
“I see far too many entrepreneurs claiming they can skip over fundamental principles or disciplines in business claiming they found some loophole. Unfortunately they come to realize only too late that loop was actually connected to a snare trap they can’t free themselves from which hastens their demise.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Make no mistake about it. Entrepreneurship is an exclusionary club. The barriers for entry are nearly nil however; The requisites for what it takes to continue on; Is the stuff legends are made from.” –Mark St.Cyr
“Information is only that – information. It’s one thing to use information to gain an edge. However, if you don’t know what questions to ask about that information; it can turn that edge from a useful tool in hand – to a hand with an edge at your throat.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Consider the following: You can be fired from a job or title by anyone.
The only one who can dismiss you from being an entrepreneur…Is you.” –Mark St.Cyr
“The only thing infinitely greater than the universe is your imagination.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Forget the so-called “easy way” to do the “hard stuff”: There isn’t.
It’s the learning of new skills, then adapting them through pragmatic application that make the “hard stuff” more enjoyable to deal with.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Some just don’t get the true meaning of critical thinking. It’s really no simpler than knowing the real difference between an encyclopedia and Wikipedia™ along with when to use either – or neither.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Rules are made to be broken – Laws are made to be exploited.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The dirty little secret about social media is you can buy the metrics you crave that will make you ‘feel’ like you’re accomplishing something for pennies. Yet, most are throwing away fortunes based on their time and energy trying to get them for free as if it mattered.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The most fortified prison in the history of mankind is the one that resides within their own mind. Not that there are locks, or bars, chains, or anything else holding them against their will. The greatest reason for its surety in keeping one locked within is that the locks are made from one’s own will to believe they are locked within.” -Mark St.Cyr
“There is nothing wrong with the economy. The only thing wrong is your relationship too it. The economy is, what ever it is, at any point in time. How you work in relationship too it – is all that matters. You have to be fearless in defining and stating your value proposition to people or businesses you can help with fearless abandonment!” -Mark St.Cyr
“You grow in business when your knowledge of product gets replaced by your knowledge of people.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The biggest thing holding you back, no matter what you think: Is what you think!” -Mark St.Cyr
“At issue is too many executives see their businesses as some form of monolith. They’re not. What they are is a culmination of fractals.” -Mark St.Cyr
“What’s new (i.e., Social Media) is becoming old. The old such as face-to-face selling is once again being rediscovered. Screen-to-screen selling is a poor substitute for peer-to-peer. Period.” -Mark St.Cyr
“Today all the storytelling is about Billion dollar valuations for companies that have no tangible net profits. Sorry, but I’ve both heard and read this book before – and it always ends at Chapter 11.” -Mark St.Cyr
“True entrepreneurship is a lot like how one views the Marine Corp. You don’t just join – you become one. You’re not really any good to these clubs if you’re just interested in ‘joining.’ Joiners won’t last. Entrepreneurship is a way of life, a discipline, and so much more.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The fundamental calculation of personal vs technological selling can be expressed by the following: S2S≠F2F. In other words; screen-to-screen, as in you in front of yours, and your customer in front of theirs, is never equal to the intrinsic dynamism afforded via face-to-face sales meetings.” -Mark St.Cyr
“The inherent risk of any commodity business is: It’s a race to the bottom. And sooner or later, the bottom drops out and mayhem ensues. Credit lines, share prices, management, equipment, personnel, real estate, everything gets scrutinized and either split up and sold off. Or, bankrupted and liquidated all together. And when it happens – it happens at a breathtaking pace.” -Mark St.Cyr
“So many people focus on “doubling down” when things are going against them. I think a better way of approach or thought process would be to “exponentially put up!” -Mark St.Cyr
“When it comes to the Federal Reserve and other central banks: There has been no time in history where so much power has been given to a non-elected cadre to dispense edicts that can reward, stifle or punish any business, economy, or the wealth of its citizens, as they see fit, since the time of kings.” -Mark St.Cyr
“If you’re running a business – run a business. Know, accept, and be responsible for outcomes. Excuses are for hobbies – not business. Knowing the difference between the two and acting accordingly makes all the difference in one’s chosen career, as well as bank balance.” -Mark St.Cyr
“There are greater and more lasting riches made in times of uncertainty by those who are certain to not fall prey to calamities – than all the riches made then lost when everyone thought getting rich was easy.” -Mark St.Cyr
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