Are you familiar with Andrew Carnegie, the accomplished businessman, philanthropist, and author? Although he made significant achievements in his lifetime, it is his wise words that have resonated with me the most.
Carnegie’s unique perspective on the world was shared through lectures, writings, and publications, inspiring and encouraging people for decades. His quotes continue to offer timeless guidance on living our best lives, from his ideas on money and success to his beliefs in hard work and perseverance.
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In this article, let’s explore some of Andrew Carnegie’s most famous quotes. Join me in discovering the wisdom of this extraordinary man and how it can still hold value in our lives today.
Who is Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American businessman, industrialist, and philanthropist who lived from 1835 to 1919. He immigrated to the United States as a kid and rose from poverty to become one of the world’s wealthiest people.
Here are some well-known facts about Carnegie:
- Andrew Carnegie built his wealth in the steel industry, founding the Carnegie Steel Company, which became the world’s largest steel manufacturer.
- He played a crucial role in the expansion of the railroad industry and invested heavily in various other businesses, including oil and real estate.
- Carnegie believed that the wealthy had a responsibility to use their riches to benefit society, and he donated millions of dollars to numerous charitable causes.
- Carnegie established numerous libraries and educational institutions, including Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
- Today, his philanthropic endeavors continue to impact society, with various institutions and organizations bearing his name.
Andrew Carnegie Quotes on Wealth, Business, and Teamwork
A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people.
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
All men are created equal. It is only men themselves who place themselves above equality.
Surplus wealth is a sacred trust that its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.
Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole clear, glorious life lies before you.
Concentrate your energies, your thoughts, and your capital.
Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.
He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.
As a rule, there is more genuine satisfaction, a truer life, and more obtained from life in the humble cottages of the poor than in the palaces of the rich.
I am no longer cursed by poverty because I took possession of my own mind, and that mind has yielded to me every material thing I want, and much more than I need.
If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.
I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.
Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.
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 from the shade into sunshine.
No man can become rich without himself enriching others.
Put all good eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.
Lack of schooling is no valid excuse for failure; neither is an exhaustive schooling a guarantee of success.
If you will analyze those who cry “no opportunity” you will find that they are using this as an alibi for their own unwillingness to assume responsibilities responsibilities and use their minds.
No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit for doing it.
Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasure, and you can create for the world a destiny more sublime that ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer.
Concentration is my motto-first honesty, then industry, then concentration.
People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents are.
I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle.
The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.
A word, a look, an accent, may affect the destiny not only of individuals, but of nations. He is a bold man who calls anything a trifle.
I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.
I believe the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master of that line.
I began to learn what poverty meant. It was burnt into my heart then that my father had to beg for work. And then and there came the resolve that I would cure that when I got to be a man.
The man who dies rich dies in disgrace.
It is not the rich man’s son that the young struggler for advancement has to fear in the race for life, nor his nephew, nor his cousin. Let him look out for the dark horse in the boy who begins by sweeping out the office.
The only irreplaceable capital an organization possesses is the knowledge and ability of its people. The productivity of that capital depends on how effectively people share their competence with those who can use it.
The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.
At the end, the acquisition of wealth is ignoble in the extreme. I assume that you save and long for wealth only as a means of enabling you the better to do some good in your day and generation.
Memorable Quotes by Andrew Carnegie
No person will make a great business; who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.
There is no class as pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else.
The secret of success lies not in doing your own work, but in recognizing the right man to do it.
You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best.
The surest foundation of a manufacturing concern is quality. After that, and a long way after, comes cost.
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.
There is little success where there is little laughter.
The true test of a leader is whether his followers will adhere to his cause of their own volition, enduring the most arduous hardships without being forced to do so, and remaining steadfast in the moments of greatest peril.
I shall argue that strong men conversely know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater purpose.
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.
Those who would administer wisely must, indeed, be wise, for one of the serious obstacles to the improvement of our race is indiscriminate charity.
Wealth is not to feed our egos but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.
While the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.
There is no way of making a business successful that can vie with the policy of promoting those who render exceptional service.
It marks a big step in a man’s development when he comes to realize that other men can be called in to help him do a better job than he can do alone.
You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb.
The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.
You must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessings.
Success can be attained in any branch of labor. There’s always room at the top in every pursuit.
The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.
I have had a long, long life full of troubles, but there is one curious fact about them-nine-tenths of them never happened.
No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.
I did not understand steam machinery but I tried to understand much more complicated mechanisms; – man.
The thorough man of business knows that only by years of patient, unremitting attention to affairs can he earn his reward, which is the result, not of chance, but of well-devised means for the attainment to ends.
Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results
When I did big things, some large corporations like the Pennsylvania Railroad Company were behind me and responsible party.
I would as soon leave my son a curse as the almighty dollar.
Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.
Wrapping up:
Here are some quotes by Andrew Carnegie that offer timeless guidance on success, teamwork, and giving back.
Andrew Carnegie was a man of many accomplishments, but his quotes and philanthropic endeavors are what continue to impact society even after his passing.
From his teachings on the importance of hard work, success, and giving back, his words offer ageless guidance that can inspire us all to strive for greatness.
As we reflect on his legacy, we can take heart in the knowledge that his contributions to society will continue to be felt for generations to come.
