"What I've learned in these 11 years is you just got to stay focused and believe in yourself and trust your own ability and judgment"
About this Quote
The specific intent is motivational, but also brand-consistent. Cuban has built a public persona around hustle, contrarian confidence, and the idea that markets reward the sharp-eyed outsider. “11 years” signals lived experience, not a seminar slide; it’s meant to sound earned. The triad - focused, believe, trust - creates momentum, like steps in a routine you can repeat when you’re tired or scared.
The subtext is more complicated: trust yourself because nobody else will, and because consensus is often wrong. That’s classic Cuban - the investor who prides himself on seeing value where others don’t. But it also quietly relocates responsibility. If you fail, the implication goes, you drifted, doubted, or second-guessed. Structural forces disappear; personal discipline becomes the whole weather system.
Context matters here: Cuban’s rise spans the late-90s internet boom, a moment when confidence could be mistaken for prophecy and “focus” could mean simply being early. The line reads as both genuine lesson and cultural artifact of American startup mythology: the reassuring belief that judgment is a muscle, and that winning is mostly a matter of insisting you’re right until the world agrees.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cuban, Mark. (2026, January 17). What I've learned in these 11 years is you just got to stay focused and believe in yourself and trust your own ability and judgment. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-ive-learned-in-these-11-years-is-you-just-76046/
Chicago Style
Cuban, Mark. "What I've learned in these 11 years is you just got to stay focused and believe in yourself and trust your own ability and judgment." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-ive-learned-in-these-11-years-is-you-just-76046/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"What I've learned in these 11 years is you just got to stay focused and believe in yourself and trust your own ability and judgment." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-ive-learned-in-these-11-years-is-you-just-76046/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.






