Jeffrey Skoll Quotes

Powerful Jeffrey Skoll for Daily Growth

About Jeffrey Skoll

Jeffrey Skoll, born on September 15, 1960, in Toronto, Canada, is a renowned entrepreneur, film producer, philanthropist, and environmental activist. After graduating from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Skoll embarked on an extraordinary career journey that led him to become one of the most influential figures in the digital age. In 1995, Skoll joined eBay as its first full-time employee and served as its President from 1998 until his departure in 2005, helping the company grow into a multibillion-dollar business. His leadership at eBay earned him a place on Time Magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People" in 1999 and the recognition as one of the most influential businesspeople of the decade by Fortune magazine. Following his success with eBay, Skoll ventured into film production, co-founding Participant Media in 2004. This company has since produced award-winning films such as "An Inconvenient Truth," "The Help," "Spotlight," and "Lincoln." Through Participant Media, Skoll aims to entertain and engage audiences with stories that matter, using the power of media to inspire social change. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Skoll is a committed philanthropist. He co-founded the Skoll Foundation in 1999, which supports social entrepreneurs tackling pressing global issues such as poverty, climate change, and human rights. In recognition of his contributions to society, Skoll was awarded the Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013. Throughout his life, Jeffrey Skoll has demonstrated a relentless pursuit of excellence, leveraging the power of business and media for positive social impact. His story serves as an inspiration for entrepreneurs, filmmakers, and philanthropists alike, showcasing that one can achieve commercial success while making a tangible difference in the world.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Content is king, but engagement is queen, and the lady carries the scepter."

In this quote, Jeffrey Skoll suggests that content (king) is fundamental and important, but it's the audience engagement (queen) that drives action or success in the end. The "lady" carrying the scepter symbolizes the active role of engagement in driving results, as a queen wielding power does. Essentially, Skoll emphasizes the importance of both compelling content and meaningful interaction with the audience to achieve long-term success.


"When we started eBay, it was really about empowering people to do business with each other on a global scale, in a convenient way."

This quote by Jeffrey Skoll emphasizes the core vision behind eBay's inception, which was to create an inclusive digital platform that enables people worldwide to engage in commerce conveniently and directly with one another, transcending geographical boundaries. In essence, it's about democratizing trade on a global scale, making business more accessible and empowering individuals to participate in the global economy.


"The best ideas usually come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible."

Jeffrey Skoll's quote suggests that creative thoughts often emerge most naturally in a relaxed, humorous environment. By encouraging humor during the ideation process, we can stimulate our minds to think more freely and unconventionally, leading to innovative ideas. Laughter helps break down mental barriers, fostering originality and open-mindedness.


"I think success comes when preparation meets opportunity."

Jeffrey Skoll's quote emphasizes that success is not solely dependent on chance or luck, but rather a harmonious intersection between thorough preparation (skills, knowledge, and effort) and timely opportunities (encounters, situations, or chances). In other words, it suggests that being well-prepared increases the likelihood of seizing an opportunity when it arises, thus leading to success. This perspective underscores the importance of both hard work and readiness in achieving one's goals.


"Innovation is at the heart of every successful venture. It's not just about new technology or products, it's also about finding fresh approaches and new business models to meet changing consumer needs."

Jeffrey Skoll's quote underscores the essential role of innovation in driving success for any venture. Innovation isn't solely confined to introducing new technology or products; it encompasses discovering novel approaches and creative business models that cater to evolving consumer demands effectively. In essence, the quote emphasizes the need to adapt, create, and transform to remain competitive, all while meeting consumer needs in a dynamic marketplace.


We remain committed to inspiring and compelling social change to the world's most pressing problems through the power of great stories and engaging our audiences to take meaningful action.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Through, Committed, Stories, Pressing

If you can find ways to give people hope that they can achieve something or make a difference, then there's an opportunity for something good to happen.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Give, Achieve, Happen, Something Good

When I was 14, my dad came home one day and told us he had cancer. It was looking pretty bad. And I remember him saying how afraid he was that he hadn't gotten to do the things he wanted to do during his life. He had surgery and survived. And he's still alive today, thank God. But it made a big impact on me.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Big, Bad, I Remember, Surgery

I went from living in a house with five guys in Palo Alto, and living off their leftovers, to all of a sudden having all kinds of resources. And I wanted to figure out how I could take the blessing of these resources and share it with the world.

- Jeffrey Skoll

House, Leftovers, Kinds, Alto

As a philanthropist, I give away a lot of money every year. Yet I thought there was a higher leverage to come in and create movies and TV shows that were actually able to do some good in the world.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Give, Some, Leverage, Philanthropist

We gravitated to the idea of social entrepreneurs when it was a fairly nascent thing. We began to build the organization, focused on investing in and celebrating social entrepreneurs. Not long after that, we realized there was another opportunity to help bring them together and tell their stories.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Idea, Another, Entrepreneurs, Celebrating

My goal was to be at the point - no older than 40 - where I would have enough resources to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged people.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Goal, Lives, Disadvantaged, Make A Difference

My dad always wanted to sail. They lived on a boat for eight years.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Sail, Always, Wanted, Boat

As an industry, the film industry is better than most. It's not perfect - I wish every company would carbon-offset their productions - but it's better than one would expect.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Perfect, I Wish, Industry, Film Industry

I learned Hollywood is a small community, and you really have to be a part of the community to get anything done. Unlike traditional industries, where you can do things from afar with phone calls and e-mail, this town is really about being social. Because that's how trust gets built.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Trust, Small, Hollywood, E-Mail

As a teenager I read a lot of books. Books with lots of scary trends, things like nuclear weapons and overpopulation and global diseases, and I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great to write stories that showed people these problems and that we could do something about them.'

- Jeffrey Skoll

Thought, Overpopulation, Teenager

My goal is to make the biggest difference possible in the world. I have only so many resources and so much time.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Goal, Resources, Biggest Difference

At Participant, I am the board. I am the sole greenlight at the company. If something happened to me, that would be a problem.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Sole, Am, Participant, Board

Looking at America, which has so much wealth and potential and yet has so many deep-rooted problems, I think it gives us, as Canadians, an opportunity to be on the world stage on the climate change issue.

- Jeffrey Skoll

World, America, I Think, Canadians

My views tend to be centrist. I'm not a big fan of George W., but my politics tend to be more Republican than not.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Politics, Big, More, George W

If you believe that people are basically good, and you remove obstacles, then they'll do the right thing by each other.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Obstacles, Believe, Other, Remove

When I started Participant, I felt that the movie business was ripe for a company that dealt with big issues in a systemic way. I was a little surprised that nobody had done it before. But to most people, entertainment is escapism.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Big, Movie, Systemic, Surprised

By 2007, 85% of Americans cited climate change as an important issue, compared with just 33% in prior years. The phrase we invented, 'An Inconvenient Truth,' became a part of the lexicon.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Change, Became, Issue, Invented

Young entrepreneurs, in general, feel they're too busy running their companies, which I think is a mistake. But once they're older, you see much more of a propensity to be involved in philanthropy.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Mistake, Think, Which, Philanthropy

My goal was to leverage the power of movies and the reach they have and include important messages. Of course, they still have to be entertaining so that people will watch them, but I wanted to make sure there was a message, a takeaway.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Leverage, Include, Still, Messages

The goal of Participant is to tell stories that serve as catalysts for social change. With our television channel, we can bring those stories into the homes of our viewers every day.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Goal, Social, Stories, Viewers

My dream is that Participant is producing content in every language in every part of the world.

- Jeffrey Skoll

World, Dream, Producing, Participant

When I first moved to Hollywood from Silicon Valley, I had some misgivings. But I found that there were some advantages to being in Hollywood. And, in fact, some advantages to owning your own media company. And I also found that Hollywood and Silicon Valley have a lot more in common than I would have dreamed.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Fact, Some, Hollywood, Silicon

It's a real concern of mine every day. What can we do? How much can we do? How quickly can we address all these important things?

- Jeffrey Skoll

Every Day, Address, Mine, Concern

It's in my own interest - it's in everybody's interest - to have streets that are safe, children that are educated, and drug use that's diminished, crimes that are not affecting us.

- Jeffrey Skoll

My Own, Streets, Everybody, Diminished

I backpacked around the world and went to places like Mexico City and Pakistan, where I'm like, 'Oh. Things aren't quite as good.'

- Jeffrey Skoll

City, Like, Pakistan, Mexico

I wanted to be a writer, to write these stories that would make people see the world in a different way. But I ended up going to business school because I thought I could ultimately get to where I wanted to go faster that way.

- Jeffrey Skoll

Thought, See, Faster, Ended

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