Quote of the Day: Jordan Belfort on Life & Wisdom

“Try” is the most honest word we have. It admits uncertainty, makes room for reality, and protects us from disappointment. But it also protects us from momentum. That’s why the bluntness of “Winners use words that say ‘must’ and ‘will’” sounds almost reckless, until you notice what those words actually do: they turn intention into a decision.

“Will” isn’t optimism; it’s ownership. When you say, “I will finish,” you’re no longer describing a preference, you’re drafting a plan that expects follow-through. The mind treats that kind of language like a closed door: excuses don’t fit through it as easily. “Might” and “could” keep options open, but they also keep responsibility diffuse. In a world engineered to distract you, vagueness isn’t neutrality, it’s surrender.

“Must” goes further by creating urgency without waiting for motivation to arrive. It reframes action as a necessity, not a mood. That can sound harsh, even joyless, but it’s often the missing ingredient between ambition and execution. A “must” is a private contract: not with your boss, your audience, or your future self, your present self, the one who decides whether the work happens today. Done well, this is discipline disguised as vocabulary, and leadership aimed inward.

Jordan Belfort understands the dangerous and productive sides of certainty. His meteoric rise in finance, public fall, and reinvention as a motivational speaker make him a living case study in how language can sell illusions, or build resolve.

If you can’t control every outcome this May, control the sentence you start with: replace “I’ll try” with one clear “I will,” and one accountable “I must,” then act as if your words are evidence.