Andrew Carnegie quotes are profound in many ways and are reminiscent of a proverb like saying. He was a very successful business man and shared a host of information that if considered would make many more entrepreneurs. His business ideas have seen men like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet become millionaires.
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, and philanthropist who made his wealth through the steel industry. He became one of the richest men in his day and contributed huge amounts of wealth in the United States and the British empire. His practices then are still carried on by other billionaires like Jeff Bezos who donated $10 billion to fight climate change in 2020. Below are a number of powerful quotes by Carnegie.
Quote #1 "A sunny disposition is worth more than fortune. Young people should know that it can be cultivated; that the mind, like the body can be moved for the shade into sunshine.” |
Quote #2 “Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was because you wanted something. Aim for the highest and when it’s a question of God’s almighty spirit. Never say I can’t.” |
Quote #3 “I did not understand steam machinery but I tried to understand much more complicated mechanism; – man.” |
Quote #4 “It is the mind that makes the body rich.” |
Quote #5 “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.” |
Quote #6 “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” |
Quote #7 “The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.” |
Quote #8 “There is no class as pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else.” |
Quote #9 “You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb a little.” |
Quote #10 “Aim for the highest.” |
Quote #11 “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.” |
Quote #12 “He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. he that dare not is a slave.” |
Quote #13 “I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.” |
Quote #14 “Mr. Morgan buys his partners, I grow my own.” |
Quote #15 “No person will make a great business; who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.” |
Quote #16 “The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world will take off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity and the world will stand on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.” |
Quote #17 “The secret of happiness is renunciation.” |
Quote #18 “Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!” |
Quote #19 “You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best.” |
Quote #20 “All achievements, all earned riches have their beginning in an idea.” |
Quote #21 “Concentrate your energy, your thoughts and your capital.” |
Quote #22 “I began to learn what poverty meant. It was burnt in my heart then that my father had to beg for work and there came the resolve that I would cure that when I got to be a man.” |
Quote #23 “My motto is concentration. First honesty; then industry and then concentration.” |
Quote #24 “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” |
Quote #25 “The secret of success lies not in doing your own work but in recognizing the best person to do it.” |
Quote #26 “Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.” |
Quote #27 “All honor’s wounds are self-inflicted.” |
Quote #28 "Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself." |
Quote #29 "I believe that the true road to per-eminent success in any line is to make yourself master of that line." |
Quote #30 "I would as soon leave my son a curse as the almighty dollar." |
Quote #31 "No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor." |
Quote #32 "Success can be attained in any branch of labor. There’s always room at the top in every pursuit." |
Quote #33 "The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he justly entitled." |
Quote #34 "The wise man put all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket." |
Quote #35 "Whatever I engage in, I push inordinately." |
Quote #36 "And here is the prime condition of success, the great secret. Concentrate your energy, thoughts and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged in. Having begun in one line, resolve to fight it out on that line; to lead in it. Adopt every improvement, have the best machinery and know the most about it." |
Quote #37 "Don’t look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best." |
Quote #38 "I can’t afford to pay them any other way." |
Quote #39 "Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs." |
Quote #40 "No man becomes rich without himself enriching others." |
Quote #41 "Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of his community." |
Quote #42 "The man who dies rich dies in disgrace." |
Quote #43 "There is little success, where there is little laughter." |
Quote #44 "When I did big things, some large corporations like the Pennsylvania Railroad Company were behind me and responsible party." |
Quote #45 "Concentration is my motto - first honesty, then industry, then concentration." |
Andrew Carnegie quotes have left an impressionable mold on many of the rich people in modern times. It is a common practice of many of today’s rich to give back to society by starting foundations to help fight poverty, disease and other social issues. I hope his most positive quotes prove an inspiration to all readers.