“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it” (Estée Lauder)
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it” is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images. American businessperson Estée Lauder (1908-2004)—born Josephine Esther Mentzer in Corona, Queens—is credited with the saying. Lauder founded the cosmetics company that uses her name.
The book Newsmakers: The People Behind Today’s Headlines (1992) stated:
“She (Estée Lauder—ed.) explained the approach that brought her to the top in Fortune magazine: ‘I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.’”
“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it” is a similar and longer Estée Lauder quotation that has also been printed on many images. Estée Lauder was quoted by the Associated Press in December 1985:
“I did not get there by wishing for it, or dreaming about it, or hoping for it. I got there by working for it.”
Wikipedia: Estée Lauder
Estée Lauder (/ˈɛsteɪ ˈlɔːdər/; July 1, 1908 – April 24, 2004) was an American businessperson. She co-founded with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder), her eponymous cosmetics company. Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine’s 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century.
5 December 1985, Daily Record (Morristown, NJ), “Scent of success surrounds ‘Estee’” by Joseph Barbato, pg. D1, cols. 2-5:
(Discussing the book Estée: A Success Story by Estée Lauder.—ed.)
“I always put them off by telling them someday I was going to write a book,” Lauder says, “but I did explain I didn’t get there by wishing, hoping or dreaming. I got there by working for it.”
(...)
“If you want something, you have to work for it” is the message Lauder brings her salesgirls.
6 December 1985. The Montana Standard (Butte, MT), “People file: Estee Lauder” (AP), pg. 10, col. 3:
She also declined to discuss her firm’s finances, reportedly $1 billion in annual sales, the magazine (Parade—ed.) said.
We never mention money,” she said. “I can tell you one thing. I did not get there by wishing for it, or dreaming about it, or hoping for it. I got there by working for it.”
Google Books
Newsmakers:
The People Behind Today’s Headlines
By Louise Mooney
Detroit, MI: Gale Research, Inc.
1992
Pg. 301:
She explained the approach that brought her to the top in Fortune magazine: “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”
Google Books
It Starts on the Frontline
National School Public Relations Association
1993
Pg. ?:
“I did not get there by wishing for it, dreaming about it or hoping for it. I got there by working for it.”
Estee Lauder
16 January 1994, Palm Beach (FL) Daily News, “Estée: Homemade potions and marketing savvy made Estée Lauder the queen of cosmetics” by Maureen O’Sullivan, pg. D2, col. 3:
“I didn’t get there by wishing or dreaming,” she said. It was hard work. You work harder to stay No 1 than to get to be No. 1.”
Google Books
Ethics for Managers
By Philip Holden
Gower
2000
Pg. 60:
Cosmetics boss, Estée Lauder said, ‘I never dreamed about success, I worked for it’.
26 April 2004, Business Wire (New York, NY), “The Estee Lauder Companies Mourns Passing of Estee Lauder, Founding Chairman and Beauty Industry Leader; Estee Lauder”:
The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) today announced the passing of its distinguished founder, Estee Lauder, at her home in Manhattan on April 24, 2004. Until her death, Mrs. Lauder served as the Founding Chairman of the Company, an honorary position that will not be filled. She had not been active in the Company since her retirement in 1995.
(...)
The personification of the American dream, Mrs. Lauder began a family cosmetics business that evolved into a beauty empire spanning six continents. Her business and creative instincts, marketing breakthroughs and years of incredibly hard work made her a legend of the beauty and fragrance industry. Hers was not merely a success story; it was an inspirational tale of achievement through dedication. “I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it,” she reminded the Company’s employees during sales meetings.
26 April 2004, Washington (DC) Post, “Estee Lauder Dies at Age 97; Pioneer in Selling of Cosmetics” by Adam Bernstein, pg. B6:
Estee Lauder, the cosmetics tycoon who became a household icon to millions of women who used her Youth Dew, Clinique brand and other beauty creams and lotions, died of cardiopulmonary arrest April 24 at her home in New York.
(...)
“I never dreamed about success,” she once said. “I worked for it.”
26 April 2004, New York (NY) Post, “:Makeup Monarch—Business World Loses a Legend” by Bridget Harrison, pg. 25:
Este Lauder, who built a billion-dollar beauty empire on face cream she once made in her kitchen, has died age 97.
(...)
“I never dreamed about success, I worked for it,” she once said.
Born as Josephine Esther Mentzer in Corona, Queens in 1907 to Jewish Hungarian immigrants who ran a hardware store, Lauder started out by making skin treatments at home with the help on a uncle who was a chemist. Her first guinea pigs were her high-school friends.
Twitter
jc
@jc8
“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it. I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” Estee Lauder
6:06 PM - 16 Mar 2009
Twitter
Marina
@Makeup4all
QOTD: “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it” Estee Lauder
3:24 AM - 18 Aug 2009
Google Books
Branded Beauty:
How Marketing Changed the Way We Look
By Mark Tungate
Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Limited
2011
Pg. 53:
The company’s website quotes her advice to staff: ‘I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.’
Google Books
Estée Lauder:
Businesswoman and Cosmetics Pioneer
By Robert Grayson
Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Publishing Company
2014
Pg. 101:
Quote
“If you love to work, and you have a goal, you’ll get there. I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it or dreaming about it….I got there by working for it.” —Estée Lauder
Google Books
Girl Code:
Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur
By Cara Alwill Leyba
New York, NY: Portfolio/Penguin
2017
Pg. 136:
“I never dreamed of success, I worked for it.” —Estée Lauder
Google Books
The Stuff:
Unlock Your Power to Overcome Challenges, Soar, and Succeed
By Drs. Sampson Davis and Sharlee Jeter, with Marcus Brotherton
New York, NY: Gallery Books’
2018
Pg. 18:
The cosmetics diva Estée Lauder said, “I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”
Twitter
Adam Whitlock
@AdamWhitlock1
Work makes dreams come true. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” Estée Lauder #NimbleQuotes
4:16 AM - 12 Jun 2018