S. Truett Cathy Quotes

Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.

- S. Truett Cathy

I'd be resentful if shareholders who don't know the business tried to tell me what to do.

- S. Truett Cathy

Why would I retire from something I enjoy doing? I can hardly wait to get here.

- S. Truett Cathy

We tell applicants, 'If you don't intend to be here for life, you needn't apply.'

- S. Truett Cathy

I motivate what I see in young people because we employ about forty thousand young people in our various Chick-fil-A units. Some of them come to work because they need to work; others just work because they just like to work. There's nothing wrong with that.

- S. Truett Cathy

We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed, and the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order.

- S. Truett Cathy

I'm planning to be here forever, but I know at some point I'll probably have to give it up. If you live to 100, there's a very good chance you'll live forever. Because very few people die after 100.

- S. Truett Cathy

I see no conflict whatsoever between Christianity and good business practices. People say you can't mix business with religion. I say there's no other way.

- S. Truett Cathy

If a man can't manage his own life, he can't manage a business.

- S. Truett Cathy

We don't expect every operator to be Christian, but we tell them we do expect them to operate on Christian principles.

- S. Truett Cathy

You don't have to be a Christian to work at Chick-fil-A, but we ask you to base your business on biblical principles because they work.

- S. Truett Cathy

We should be about more than just selling chicken: we should be a part of our customers' lives and the communities in which we serve.

- S. Truett Cathy

It's a silent witness to the Lord when people go into shopping malls, and everyone is bustling, and you see that Chick-fil-A is closed.

- S. Truett Cathy

I'd like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order.

- S. Truett Cathy

In the Great Depression, you bought something if you had the cash to buy it.

- S. Truett Cathy

Nearly every moment of every day, we have the opportunity to give something to someone else - our time, our love, our resources.

- S. Truett Cathy

I've experienced poverty and plenty, and there's a lesson to be learned when you're brought up in poverty.

- S. Truett Cathy

I have always encouraged my restaurant operators and team members to give back to the local community.

- S. Truett Cathy

I have people say, 'I'll come to work for you for free,' and I tell my employees they have to compete with that.

- S. Truett Cathy

I struggled to get through high school. I didn't get to go to college. But it made me realize you can do anything if you want to bad enough.

- S. Truett Cathy

I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities. One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday.

- S. Truett Cathy

The people are more important than the food. We want a person to be as successful as he can be, and it works the other way around, too.

- S. Truett Cathy

Putting people before profits is how we've tried to operate from the beginning.

- S. Truett Cathy

I lost two brothers in an airplane crash, both of them leaving a wife and kids. When I get to Heaven, that's probably the first question I'd like to ask: 'Why was it necessary?'

- S. Truett Cathy

I had a low image of myself because I was brought up in the deep Depression.

- S. Truett Cathy

If you have debt, you have to worry about it. I would challenge each of you to try to be debt-free.

- S. Truett Cathy

I had to create some good work habits and attitude.

- S. Truett Cathy

If it took seven days to make a living with a restaurant, then we needed to be in some other line of work.

- S. Truett Cathy

I cook chicken for a living.

- S. Truett Cathy

Why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done.

- S. Truett Cathy

Chick-fil-A is what it is today because of its people, purpose and product.

- S. Truett Cathy