Brandon Donnelly

Daily insights for city builders, delivered every morning at 6 AM ET. I’m Brandon Donnelly — a Toronto-based real estate developer and founder of Globizen. I’ve been writing here since 2013.

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Tag: quote

  • The Globe and Mail: Why Toronto is still a streetcar city

    In anticipation of our new streetcars beginning service this Sunday, the Globe and Mail published an article on Friday called: Why Toronto is still a streetcar city. And I was quoted as saying the following:

    I had no idea that I was going to be cited, but I like the quote that was chosen. The key words are: “when done well.” There are a myriad of different ways in which a city can implement streetcars, and each will have varying degrees of performance.

    So if you’re one of those people who are critical of streetcars, I would encourage you to think about streetcars not just in terms of how they’re implemented today in Toronto, but also in terms of how they could be implemented going forward.

    All streetcars lines are not created equal.

  • When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

    Paulo Coelho (via kickstarter)

  • Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.

    C.S. Lewis  (via psych-facts)

  • As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the one who has the best information.

    Benjamin Disraeli

  • People say startups are risky, but for me, working at a job my entire life seemed like the worst possible outcome, so starting a company was the least risky thing I could do. I think that’s what people mean when they talk about founders being a little crazy. I realize this is an unusual personality trait.

    Arram Sabeti

  • This is the most manic depressive way you could possibly live life. You’re never having a good day. You’re either having the best day ever, or you are thinking you are about to die.

    Sam Lessin, Founder of Drop.io, about being an entrepreneur

  • Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

  • Right now, there are brilliant students from all over the world sitting in classrooms at our top universities. They’re earning degrees in the fields of the future, like engineering and computer science. But once they finish school, once they earn that diploma, there’s a good chance they’ll have to leave our country. Think about that.

    Intel was started with the help of an immigrant who studied here and then stayed here. Instagram was started with the help of an immigrant who studied here and then stayed here. Right now in one of those classrooms, there’s a student wrestling with how to turn their big idea—their Intel or Instagram—into a big business. We’re giving them all the skills they need to figure that out, but then we’re going to turn around and tell them to start that business and create those jobs in China or India or Mexico or someplace else? That’s not how you grow new industries in America. That’s how you give new industries to our competitors. That’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform.

    damn straight

    President Obama in Nevada today, laying out a four-part plan for comprehensive immigration reform
     (via barackobama)

  • By it’s nature, the internet undermines anyone whose status depends on the privileged access to information.

    Moneyball (Movie)

  • Live in the future, then build what’s missing.

    @paulg