29 Andrew Carnegie Quotes

Andrew Carnegie quotes

1. Three generations from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves.

2. The problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth, so that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship. (p. 653)

3. While the law [of competition] may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it insures the survival of the fittest in every department. We accept and welcome, therefore, as conditions to which we must accommodate ourselves, great inequality of environment, the concentration of business, industrial and commercial, in the hands of the few, and the law of competition between these, as being not only beneficial, but essential for the future progress of the race. (p. 655)

4. Upon the sacredness of property civilization itself depends-the right of the laborer to his hundred dollars in the savings bank, and equally the legal right of the millionaire to his millions. (p. 656)

5. Those who would administer wisely must, indeed, be wise, for one of the serious obstacles to the improvement of our race is indiscriminate charity. (p. 662)

6. Thus is the problem of Rich and Poor to be solved. The laws of accumulation will be left free; the laws of distribution free. Individualism will continue, but the millionaire will be but a trustee of the poor; intrusted for a season with a great part of the increased wealth of the community, but administering it for the community far better than it could or would have done for itself. (pp. 663-664)

7. The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced. (p. 664)

8. Such, in my opinion, is the true Gospel concerning Wealth, obedience to which is destined some day to solve the problem of the Rich and the Poor, and to bring 'Peace on earth, among men Good Will.' (p. 664)

9. Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community. (p. 684)

10. Money can't buy happiness but it bought me every skyscrapper in New York.

11. Anything in life worth having is worth working for!

12. No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.

    Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.

13. The world stands on its head ...for those few and far between souls who devote 100 percent.

14. I don't believe in God. My god is patriotism. Teach a man to be a good citizen and you have solved the problem of life.

15. As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do

16. Watch the costs, the profits will take care of themselves

1. TEAMWORK: the fuel that allows common people attain uncommon results.

2. Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.

3. Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.

4. The battle of life is already half won by the young man who is brought in contact with high officials; and the great aim of every boy should be to do something beyond the sphere of his duties- something which attracts the attention of those over him.

5. Be king in your dreams. Make your vow that you will reach that position, with untarnished reputation, and make no other vow to distract your attention.

6. The secret of happiness is renunciation.

7. Give me the life of the boy whose mother is nurse, seamstress, washerwoman, cook, teacher, angel, and saint, all in one, and whose father is guide, exemplar, and friend. No servants to come between. These are the boys who are born to the best fortune.

8. Wealth is not to feed our egos but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.

9. You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb.

10. The more difficult a problem becomes, the more interesting it is.

11. Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.

12. The Republic may not give wealth or happiness, she has not promised these. It is the freedom to pursue these, not their realization, we can claim.

13. The price which society pays for the law of competition, like the price it pays for cheap comforts and luxuries, is great; but the advantages of this law are also greater still than its cost- for it is to this law that we owe our wonderful material development, which brings improved conditions in its train.