Andrew Carnegie, often remembered as one of the greatest industrialists and philanthropists in history, built an empire in the steel industry and later gave away much of his fortune to fund education, libraries, and social causes. Known as the “father of modern philanthropy,” his wisdom on business, wealth, and personal growth continues to inspire entrepreneurs, leaders, and dreamers today.
- “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”
- “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit for doing it.”
- “You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb a little himself.”
- “The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.”
- “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.”
- “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.”
- “There is little success where there is little laughter.”
- “No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.”
- “He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.”
- “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity.”
- “All honor’s wounds are self-inflicted.”
- “Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.”
- “Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.”
- “You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb.”
- “The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.”
- “No man will make a great business who wants to do it all himself.”
- “And while the law of competition may be hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.”
- “A man’s reading program should be as carefully planned as his daily diet.”
- “The average person puts only 25% of his energy into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50%, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.”
- “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.”
- “Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.”
- “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.”
- “There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else.”
- “I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.”
- “There is nothing that robs a man of dignity as much as the eagerness to possess wealth.”
- “The man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
- “The greatest astonishment of my life was the discovery that the man who does the work is not the man who gets rich.”
- “It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you could do alone.”
- “Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.”
- “A sunny disposition is worth more than fortune.”
- “Concentration is my motto—first honesty, then industry, then concentration.”
- “All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.”
- “Success can be attained in any branch of labor. There’s always room at the top in every pursuit.”
- “Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.”
- “There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not want to help themselves.”
- “There is no substitute for hard work.”
- “I resolved that the man who dies leaving behind many millions of available wealth, which was free for him to administer during life, will pass away unwept, unhonored, and unsung.”
- “A man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
- “There is little success where there is little laughter.”
- “Do not look for approval except from the consciousness of doing your best.”
- “The surest foundation of a fortune is thrift.”
- “There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library.”
- “The man who does not improve himself ceases to be good.”
- “Pioneering don’t pay.”
- “Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.”
- “The secret of success lies not in doing your own work but in recognizing the right man to do it.”
- “The sole purpose of being rich is to give away money.”
- “The average man doesn’t want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.”
- “The man who gets the most satisfactory results is not always the man with the brilliant single mind, but rather the man who can best coordinate the brains and talents of his associates.”
- “Do real and permanent good in this world.”
Andrew Carnegie’s legacy is not just in the steel that built America’s cities but in the wisdom he left behind. His words highlight the importance of ambition, discipline, and generosity. More than a century later, his philosophy of combining personal success with responsibility to others continues to inspire leaders, entrepreneurs, and everyday people.
