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The greatest CEOs create a daring vision that keeps their company ahead of the competition while inspiring a team of employees to take risks and follow them down an uncertain path.

Marketing agency Stratus Interactive, a HubSpot partner that's based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, collected inspirational quotes from top CEOs of the past decade, including Google's Larry Page, Pepsi's Indra Nooyi, and the late Steve Jobs of Apple.

We've published Stratus' presentation here with its permission.

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Some of the highest-paying, fastest-growing, most rewarding jobs in America are underrated.

Why? 

Perhaps it's because they're not the mostglamorous professions or they don't seem exciting. Or maybe it's because they haven't always been associated with fat paychecks and phenomenal growth opportunities. But, if you're looking to change careers, you could be doing yourself a huge disservice by failing to consider these jobs.

To identify which professions are most underrated in the U.S., CareerCast.com researchers analyzed BLS data and used their own judgment to determine high-paying, low-stress jobs with strong employment outlooks that are also undervalued.

"Underrated jobs often share certain traits, such as high growth potential, low stress, and the opportunity to make a difference," says Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast, in a press release. "While these jobs may not attract as much attention, they can be more fulfilling than a high-stress, high-profile career."

Most of the underrated jobs are in the STEM sector, which is consistent with widespread research showing that careers in science, engineering, technology, and math will provide healthy careers for years to come, Lee tells Business Insider. "They tend to be seen as boring and not glamorous, yet having a long-term career in a great field should be seen as pretty exciting."

CareerCast also rounded up the most overrated jobs in America, which includes attorneys, event coordinators, and surgeons. (See the complete list here.)

Accountants

What they do: Accountants examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others, according to the BLS.

Average Annual Salary: $63,550

Projected Hiring Outlook (between 2012 and 2022): 13%

Civil Engineers

What they do: The BLS says civil engineers perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems. 

Average Annual Salary: $79,340

Projected Hiring Outlook (between 2012 and 2022): 20%

Computer Systems Analysts

What they do: According to the BLS, these professionals analyze science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to implement and improve computer systems. 

Average Annual Salary: $79,680

Projected Hiring Outlook (between 2012 and 2022): 25%

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on September 19.

Most people know next to nothing about the huge company (which employs more people than Facebook and Yahoo combined), but American manager-turned-filmmaker Porter Erisman watched it struggle through its most pivotal early years.

After working for Alibaba and directly with its charismatic founder Jack Ma for more than eight years, Erisman started working on a documentary, "Crocodile in the Yangtze." 

The documentary tells Alibaba's incredible story through old footage and photos, and highlights how it managed to beat out eBay in China despite being the underdog in almost every way. The film is an excellent, entertaining watch and was recently released for purchase, so Business Insider touched base with Erisman to ask him about his experience putting it together. 

Even though he left the company over five years ago, he's incredibly proud of the company as its IPO looms. 

"I always knew this day would come, and I knew that it would wake up the world to just how strong innovation is on the internet in China right now," Erisman says. "There’s this misconception that a lot of Chinese internet companies just copy the US model, and take it to China. But Alibaba’s businesses are so different than any eBay or Amazon model."

Erisman started working at Alibaba right after the tech bubble burst, and stayed there for more than eight years. He asked for Ma's blessing before embarking on his journey to make the film, with the stipulation that the film would tell Alibaba's story totally from his point of view, with no involvement from the company, highlighting not just its successes, but all the mistakes as well.

Ma gave him the green-light and over the next three years Erisman traveled around the world tracking down more than 200 hours of footage from 35 different sources and stitching it together.  

When he eventually showed Ma the finished product, his old boss was hard to read. 

"I really couldn’t tell what his reaction was," Erisman said. "I felt like he didn’t love it but that he didn’t hate it. I think that he thought it was fair."

About a year later, Ma called him up and asked if he would be willing to show it at the 10th anniversary of Taobao, Alibaba's eBay-esque e-commerce site. 

Erisman says that Ma could see the value in having the company's new employees learn from its early ups-and-downs. In general, Erisman says that working with Ma was an inspiring experience.

"In the film you see him dressed up in a costume, or dancing around, but you don’t get to see him as a day-to-day manager," Erisman says. "His greatest skill is as a coach. He brought together a team of ordinary people with no special backgrounds, and he managed to get them to work together to do extraordinary things."

In the beginning, back when he started Alibaba in his apartment with 17 friends in 1999, Ma told people that he would resign in four years, because he wasn’t trained to be a CEO. He would have to bring in an expert. But by the time that Erisman left the company, Ma had realized that successfully leading a company didn't necessarily take any special background or skills. 

"He was a very demanding leader," Erisman says. "A manager would set a goal and then he would triple it. Everyone would push back and say 'That’s impossible!' but he'd tell them that it was possible, and that they could find a way. He has this reality distortion field where he can make you think that something is possible that you would never have imagined."

Erisman has shown the film all over the world, and that he loves the opportunity to show it to entrepreneurs, who can connect to the struggles of starting a business. 

"I haven’t really made any money from the film, but I get paid in experiences," Erisman says. "For the last year and a half, my travel has been covered. I get these emails, out of the blue, to come show the film that I can’t turn down. I’ve been to six continents, and 50 cities in just the last year alone. My life has been flying around, meeting entrepreneurs, going to places that I’ve never expected. I’ve been having the time of my life."

Erisman's film "Crocodile in the Yangtze" finally is available on Vimeo to rent or to buy. 

SEE ALSO: The remarkable story of how Alibaba defeated eBay in China

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How does Kelly Ripa's salary compare to Matt Lauer's on "Today" and Jimmy Fallon's on "The Tonight Show"?

TV Guide recently released its annual salary report, a list that rounds up the paychecks of some of television's highest-paid actors and TV personalities.

Jon Stewart may be the highest-paid late-night host; however, there's one woman who has been keeping him at bay from being the highest-paid on television.

[TIE] 17. Chelsea Handler: $10 million

Reports say Handler recently signed a $10 million deal with Netflix consisting of several comedy specials and a talk show for the streaming service. Handler previously made between $8 million and $12 million for her E! show over the past two years.

[TIE] 17. Jimmy Kimmel: $10 million

Kimmel's "Lie Witness News" and "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets" sketches have been big hits on the ABC late-night show.

[TIE] 17. Shepard Smith: $10 million

The FOX News anchor's contract was renewed last year. Smith was also named both the host of "Shepard Smith Reporting" and the managing editor of the network's new breaking news division.

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Located just steps from San Francisco's Union Square, the 36-story high Grand Hyatt offers fantastic views of the city and the greater Bay Area.

But there's one room that literally towers above all the others in every way, from its spectacular views of the city in all directions to its gigantic 2,200 square feet of space.

It's the Presidential Suite located on the 35th floor, and it's so exclusive you can't even reserve it.

The suite is typically booked on a case-by-case basis for "high profile" executives and VIPs, we're told. It's also not cheap. While the rate can fluctuate, one night will cost at least several thousand dollars.

The Grand Hyatt is located at 345 Stockton St. right next to Union Square, a popular spot for tourists with plenty of shops, restaurants, and other attractions close by.

After a quick elevator ride to the 35th floor, we find the front door to the suite.

The first thing you notice once you open the door is a long hallway, which features wood floors and nice artwork along the walls.

The U.S. economy is in pretty good shape. GDP is growing, unemployment is falling, and we're seeing signs that wages may be on the rise.

However, the U.S. economic story is actually just an aggregation of 50 economic stories.

Previously, Business Insider examined ranked every state by how quickly the economies were growing. This time around, we calculated which states had the best economies outright. 

We ranked each state on seven economic measures: the July unemployment rate; the change in nonfarm payroll jobs from June to July 2014; the 2013 GDP per capita; the 2012 per capita consumption; the 2013 average annual wage; the 2013 exports per capita; and the 2012 government expenditures.

For more details on the sources of the data click here. Or, go ahead and just check out the states.

50. Mississippi

Mississippi faces many challenges, frequently coming in last in state rankings of educational attainment and health. Mississippi came in dead last in four out of our seven metrics:

• The unemployment rate in July was at 8.0%, the highest in the country.
• Gross Domestic Product per capita was just $32,421 in 2013, the lowest among the states.
• Mississippi came in last in personal consumption, the largest component of GDP, with just $27,406 per person.
• Average annual wages were the lowest in the country, at $36,451.

49. New Mexico

New Mexico has struggled to recover from the Great Recession, with labor conditions and demographics stagnant over the past few years. New Mexico had low scores on most of our metrics:

• The average annual wage in New Mexico was somewhat low, at $40,804.
• New Mexico's state government finances were in bad shape, with a 2012 deficit of $1.8 billion, which, on a per-capita basis, is the fourth-worst in the country.
• International exports made up a much smaller part of New Mexico's economy than for other states, with just $1,307 of exports per capita in 2013.

48: Arkansas

Arkansas is the home of Wal-Mart, sitting proudly at the top of the Fortune 500 list. Unfortunately, Arkansas was among the 10 worst states on three measures:

• Average annual wages were only $38,927 in 2013.
• Personal consumption expenditures were the second-lowest in the country at $28,366.
• GDP per capita as a whole was just $39,111.

The 14th Dalai Lama was born as Lhamo Dondrub in a village in Tibet in 1935. 

He fled his home during the Chinese occupation of Tibet and soon set up a government in exile in India. 

The monk has been the spiritual leader of his people and his religion since he was 15 years old. He's also one of the foremost authors and philosophers within Tibetan Buddhism, having authored books like "The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living,""How To Practice: The Way To A Meaningful Life," and "Beyond Religion: Ethics for the Whole World." 

In 1989 he won the Nobel Peace prize, and he continues to travel the world giving talks on compassion, the nature of truth, and happiness. 

On responsibility

On impact

On necessity

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The United States has 169 active volcanoes — 55 of which are designated as serious threats by the United States Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program.

Of these, 18 are "Very High Threats"— volcanoes that, were they to erupt, could disrupt air travel and threaten people's lives.

A caveat: this is not a ranking of the volcanoes by their danger level.

As Wendy Stovall, a geologist with USGS, told Business Insider in an e-mail:

There are many volcanoes that are threatening due to factors such as tectonic setting, population density, eruption frequency, and potential to erupt again. The variations in these factors make each of the ... 'high threat' volcanoes uniquely dangerous.

Since they pose such substantial threats, we figured we should get to know them a little better. So, here are the 18 most dangerous volcanoes in the US.

Mount Akutan, in the Alaskan Aleutian Island chain, last erupted in 1992, releasing ash and steam for nearly three months.

In May of 2005, Augustine Volcano in Alaska began experiencing a number of "microearthquakes," which built to explosive eruptions of ash that reached nine kilometers above sea level.

Makushin Volcano, located in the Aleutian island chain of Alaska, has erupted 34 times in the last 250 years— most recently in 1995.

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Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Stanford Graduate School of Business is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world, regularly competing with Harvard Business School and UPenn's Wharton School for the No. 1 spot in most rankings.

Today it's the most selective school in the U.S., with a 6.8% acceptance rate in 2013.

Its elite academic programs have produced some of the most prominent and innovative figures in their respective industries. Here's a look at 25 of the most successful.

If his name doesn't ring a bell, his company will: Joe Coulombe, MBA graduate of 1954, founded the grocery chain Trader Joe's in 1967. Today Trader Joe's is one of the top groceries in the U.S., bringing in $12 billion in annual revenue.

Charles Schwab graduated from Stanford in 1961. He founded his eponymous investment company 10 years later, and today he has an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion.

Phil Knight got his MBA in 1962 and went on to found Nike, which brought in $24 billion in revenue last year. Knight is worth an estimated $19 billion.

Success isn't always a linear path.

Thomas Edison famously developed thousands of prototypes of the light bulb before finding the one that worked, and Albert Einstein was unemployed for two years after he graduated college.

But in some cases these struggles can be valuable learning experiences. Like Edison and Einstein, modern day luminaries like Mark Cuban and J.K. Rowling were able to use their setbacks to push them forward.

We decided to highlight 11 extremely successful people who learned from their failures.

Oprah Winfrey learned that failure is only an illusion after her cable network started off poorly.

Oprah Winfrey says the worst time in her professional life came in 2012, when the Oprah Winfrey Network's ratings were in the tank a year after launch.

In a 2013 commencement speech at Harvard, Winfrey says that while critics bagged on the network, which was losing money at the time, she worked through it by telling herself that failure is an illusion.

"There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction," Winfrey says. "Now when you’re down there in the hole, it looks like failure. So this past year I had to spoon feed those words to myself. And when you’re down in the hole, when that moment comes, it’s really okay to feel bad for a little while. Give yourself time to mourn what you think you may have lost but then here’s the key, learn from every mistake because every experience, encounter, and particularly your mistakes are there to teach you and force you into being more who you are."

Ultimately, Winfrey was able to get OWN moving in the right direction, and the network turned a profit in 2013.

Mark Cuban learned he only had to be right once.

Prior to starting his first company, MicroSolutions, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban worked as a bartender, a short-order cook, and a carpenter — all jobs he failed at.

In fact, Cuban tells CNN in an interview earlier this year that on multiple occasions, he would come home with a date only to find the electricity had been turned off by the utility company.

Cuban decided to have a positive outlook about his failures and made sure to learn something from his missteps.

"I've learned that it doesn't matter how many times you failed," Cuban tells Smart Business. "You only have to be right once. I tried to sell powdered milk. I was an idiot lots of times, and I learned from them all."

Facebook ad chief Carolyn Everson decided to be an asset to someone else's company after her dream of starting her own didn't work out.

Facebook VP of marketing Carolyn Everson spent her second year at Harvard Business School working to launch the company that would ultimately become the doomed internet startup Pets.com. She even turned down job offers from Goldman Sachs and Bain because she planned to be Pets.com's VP of business development after graduating.

Instead, the nascent company got a new CEO who had a different vision for the site than Everson, causing her to separate from Pets.com and leaving her jobless after business school.

Everson tells CNNMoney that after her dream of founding a company died, she reached within herself to find the confidence to be an asset to another company, going to work for Zagat Survey after graduation.

"When I had to really abandon the dream of starting Pets.com, I have to be honest and tell you those first couple of weeks were devastating," Everson tells CNNMoney. "I was really, really down and I wasn't quite sure what to do next. And then I realized that I am just graduating from b-school, I have great experience, I’m going to be an asset to another company. I had to get my feet back on the ground and get my confidence back."

Billionaires and CEOs have something in common with the rest of us: They didn't know everything in their 20s.

The people who start and run awesome companies, write best-sellers, and become household names haven't always known what was best for their money. How do we know? We asked them.

From investor Mark Cuban, who laments his misuse of credit cards, to TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie, who cautions against chasing money, keep reading to find out how investors, CEOs, authors, and other highly successful people answered the question: What do you wish you'd known about money in your 20s?

Learn to manage your credit cards.

Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, investor:

"That credit cards are the worst investment that you can make. That the money I save on interest by not having debt is better than any return I could possibly get by investing that money in the stock market. I thought I would be a stock market genius. Until I wasn't.

"I should have paid off my cards every 30 days."

Skills are worth more than a job.

Tim Ferriss, angel investor, best-selling author of "The 4-Hour Workweek":

"In your 20s, optimize for learning, not earning. Work directly under or with master dealmakers, and acquire skills. This is particularly true for negotiating and hard skills like coding.

"What would you rather have: $20,000 more per year in your 20s, leading to making $100,000 to $200,000 a year in your 30s, or a lower-paying job from 20 to 25 — but one like a real-world MBA you're paid for — leading to making millions in your 30s?  

"It often comes down to prioritizing skill acquisition over immediate postcollege earning. McKinsey or Goldman can be seductive, but it's easy to get trapped in a 20-plus-year path of paying for a bloated lifestyle that is always a bit more expensive than the year before. Serfs can become self-made kings, but consultants tend to remain consultants. The only true job security is a superior skill set."

You need a plan for your money.

Alexa von Tobel, founder/CEO of LearnVest.com, author of "Financially Fearless":

"Not having a financial plan is a plan — just a really bad one! Given what I see as a general lack of personal-finance education, it can be all too easy to wing it with your money.

"I was lucky enough to learn this lesson while still in my 20s, so I had time to put a financial plan into place for myself (and start LearnVest to help people nationwide do the same!)."

Today's women are CEO's of tech companies; they are starring in their own TV shows; and they are managing directors at investment banks.

That means they need some help organizing and simplifying their daily lives.

So Business Insider decided to come up with a list of apps that will give a modern lady a hand or two.

These apps cover everything from planning a night out to tracking your sleep. You can learn new skills, cook a meal, and track workouts.

Enjoy.

Awesome Note

Usually personal organizer apps are pretty inconvenient to use. They're over-cluttered with features and poorly designed.

But Awesome Note is a well-designed organizer with a built-in calendar, to-do list, party-planning section, and photo journal. Plus there are tabs for anniversary reminders and travel diaries. You'll actually want to use this one.

You can download Awesome Note here.

Evernote

It's not only the men who need to stay professionally organized in a digital fashion. 

While Awesome Note is great for life organization, you're going to want to use Evernote for your professional life. The app can sync all your notes across multiple devices and computers, and it helps you scan business cards and search for anything. Evernote converts swear by it.

You can download Evernote here.

Nike Training Club

Instead of struggling to rearrange your schedule so that maybe you'll make it to that kick-boxing class next Thursday, you can use the Nike Training Club app and get your workouts done whenever you have a free second — right in your own room.

There are over 100 workout videos by Nike trainers and superstar athletes on the app so that you can actually see what to do without the hassle of going to a gym.

You can download Nike Training Club here.

Few people will remember that Apple founder Steve Jobs gave an interview to Playboy back in 1985.

As with most long interviews with the late CEO, it's filled with fantastic nuggets about his life, Apple, and the future of computing.

We pulled out our 15 favorite quotes and anecdotes for you to check out.

The Mac team spent $100,000 annually on juice!

The author of the interview was amazed by the perks and culture of Apple:

"The Apple offices are clearly not like most places of employment. Video games abound, pingpong tables are in use, speakers blare out music ranging from The Rolling Stones to Windham Hill jazz. Conference rooms are named after Da Vinci and Picasso, and snack-room refrigerators are stocked with fresh carrot, apple and orange juice. (The Mac team alone spends $100,000 on fresh juice per year.)"

Steve Jobs showed off a Mac to a 9-year-old at a New York party. Andy Warhol was there, saw the computer and was amazed.

But, the best part is Jobs was more interested in playing with the 9 year old. Why? Jobs says, "Older people sit down and ask, 'What is it?' but the boy asks, 'What can I do with it?'"

Steve Jobs was saying things like "incredibly great" back in 1985.

Now that we're all headed back to the office to buckle down for fall, it's a great time to work on a little self-improvement. 

Head back to the gym, explore a new neighborhood ... learn more about managing money and building wealth.

If that third one is on your list, you're in luck.

Here, we've highlighted some of the best personal finance books out there for 20-somethings, from expert-recommended classics to some of our favorite new editions. Just because we aren't going back to school doesn't mean there isn't more to learn.

Lydia Dallett contributed reporting to this article.

'I Will Teach You To Be Rich' by Ramit Sethi

In a breezy, irreverent style, Sethi lays out a serious six-week personal finance program for 20- to 35-year-olds who want to master their money with the least amount of effort and then get on with their lives.

Why it's great for young people: 

"'I Will Teach You To Be Rich' is hands down the BEST book out there for the younger generation," says J. Money from Rockstar Finance. "It’s funny, educational, and full of exact 'how tos.' And a super easy one at that — which anyone with A.D.D. can appreciate (like me!)."

'If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly' by William Bernstein

"If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly," was written by William Bernstein, cofounder of investment management firm Efficient Frontier Advisors, for his grandchildren's generation. In it, Bernstein offers a short, 7,000-word guide to retiring with $1 million in the bank. You can read an excerpt on Business Insider.

Why it's great for young people:

Bernstein debunks the "you won't get Social Security by the time you retire" myth, and explains the hurdles specifically facing the millennial generation. Plus, any cash-strapped 20-something can get access: He's giving the book away for free on his website.

'The Millionaire Next Door' by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

First published in 1996, "The Millionaire Next Door" distills Stanley and Danko's findings from more than 20 years of research into seven key characteristics that explain how the elite club of America's millionaires became rich.

Why it's great for young people: 

"'The Millionaire Next Door' is great for people in their 20s because it talks about the basics of personal finance," says Rob Gough, cofounder and president of Eckim (DefinitiveDeals.com, CouponChad.com). With simple, commonsense lessons like "spend less than you earn,""avoid buying status objects," and "diversify your investments," the book helps readers develop good habits from the very beginning.