What I know is that we no longer have free enterprise capitalism in health care; it’s not a system any longer where people are able to innovate. It’s not based on voluntary exchange. The government is directing it. – John Mackey
Human beings are made up of many different values, and sometimes those values are in tension with each other. – John Mackey
The more profit we make, the more stores we can open, the more donations we can make to our community, the more responsible citizens we can be for the environment. It’s all interactive. It’s all connected together. There’s no separation. – John Mackey
We believe that business is good because it creates value. It is ethical because it is based on voluntary exchange; it is noble because it can elevate our existence, and it is heroic because it lifts people out of poverty and creates prosperity. – John Mackey
At a lot of companies founded on principles, the notion of making money is almost antithetical to the ethos of the place. From the very beginning, our business has existed to meet the needs and desires of multiple constituencies: customers, team members, vendors, shareholders, the community. – John Mackey
The idea that in the system, if you manage it in an optimum way, all of the constituent parts of the system also win, flourish, and benefit, is intrinsic to business and even to capitalism itself, properly understood. But people don’t understand it because we’re not taught to think that way. – John Mackey
I really do believe that America has this weight problem – obesity issues – and we have all these diseases that we get – heart disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases – that are primarily lifestyle diseases. – John Mackey
I started out young and idealistic, and it was all about social justice and fair distribution of resources. I didn’t understand why everybody couldn’t be equally prosperous. – John Mackey
Every man, woman and child consumes, on average, 43 teaspoons of sugar a day. In 13 days, that adds up to a five-pound bag of sugar. – John Mackey
I believe our philosophy of conscious capitalism will eventually be widely adopted primarily because it is a better way to do business, and it creates more total value in the world for all of its stakeholders. – John Mackey
I love my cooking tools because I enjoy cooking – a Vitamix for smoothies and a rice cooker for steel-cut oats. I travel with a small rice cooker. I soak oats overnight, and when I get up, I just turn the rice cooker on, and it cooks the oats perfectly every time. – John Mackey
Snatam Kaur is a yogini, and I find her music deeply spiritual. I feel more love and I feel more peace when I listen to her music. – John Mackey
Message boards are like going to a Halloween masquerade party. Everybody has a screen name. – John Mackey
In general, when you travel, you get into a different reality and are able to more accurately reflect on your ordinary life. Hiking does that for me. – John Mackey
I tell students and young professionals all the time to follow their hearts, do what they truly love, and if it’s business, run it by being grounded in ethical consciousness. – John Mackey
At the end of the day, the quality of life is all we have, and it’s just as important to that lobster, the quality of life that it lives – even if it’s not as long – as the quality of your life. – John Mackey
I was looking for the meaning of life when I was in college. And my deal with my dad was as long as I was taking a full course load, then he would pay. And the times that I wasn’t taking a full course load, then I was off the dole and I was working. – John Mackey