You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best.
- Andrew Carnegie
Quotees Archive
You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself.
- Andrew Carnegie
Whatever I engage in, I must push inordinately.
- Andrew Carnegie
What one does easily, one does well.
- Andrew Carnegie
To make a ton of steel on and half tons of iron stone has to be mined, transported by rail a hundred miles to the Lakes, carried by boat hundreds of miles, transferred to cars, transported by rail 150 miles to Pittsburgh; one and a half tons of coal must be mined and manufactured into coke and carried 50 (odd) miles by rail; and one ton of limestone mined and carried 150 miles to Pittsburgh. How then could steel be manufactured and sold without loss at 3 pounds for 2 cents. This, I confess seemed to me incredible, and little less than miraculous, but it was so.
- Andrew Carnegie
Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!
- Andrew Carnegie
There is no way of making a business successful that can vie with the policy of promoting those who render exceptional service.
- Andrew Carnegie
There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else.
- Andrew Carnegie
The ‘morality of compromise’ sounds contradictory. Compromise is usually a sign of weakness, or an admission of defeat. Strong men don’t compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.
- Andrew Carnegie
My supply of Scotch caution never has been small; but I was apparently something of a daredevil now and then to the manufacturing fathers of Pittsburgh. They were old and I was young, which made all the difference.
- Andrew Carnegie
Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.
- Andrew Carnegie
Put all of your eggs in one basket, watch that basket.
- Andrew Carnegie
Put all good eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.
- Andrew Carnegie
People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.
- Andrew Carnegie
Nothing tells in the long run like a good judgment, and no sound judgment can remain with the man whose mind is disturbed by the mercurial changes of the stock exchange. It places him under an influence akin to intoxication. What is not, he sees, and what he sees, is not.
- Andrew Carnegie
No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.
- Andrew Carnegie
No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.
- Andrew Carnegie
No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.
- Andrew Carnegie
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%.
- Andrew Carnegie
The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.
- Andrew Carnegie
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.
- Andrew Carnegie
The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.
- Andrew Carnegie
The secret of happiness is renunciation.
- Andrew Carnegie
The successful leader must plan his work, and work his plan. A leader who moves by guesswork, without practical, definite plans, is comparable to a ship without a rudder. Sooner or later he will land on the rocks.
- Andrew Carnegie
The surest foundation of a manufacturing concern is quality. After that, and a long way after, comes cost.
- Andrew Carnegie
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.
- Andrew Carnegie
The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.
- Andrew Carnegie
There is little success where there is little laughter.
- Andrew Carnegie
Mr. Morgan buys his partners. I grow my own.
- Andrew Carnegie
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.
- Andrew Carnegie
Concentrate your energies, your thoughts and your capital. The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket.
- Andrew Carnegie
Concentration is my motto – first honesty, then industry, then concentration.
- Andrew Carnegie
Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.
- Andrew Carnegie
Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.
- Andrew Carnegie
Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something.
- Andrew Carnegie
He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.
- Andrew Carnegie
I believe the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master of that line.
- Andrew Carnegie
I have had a long, long life full of troubles, but there is one curious fact about them-nine-tenths of them never happened.
- Andrew Carnegie
I have never known a concern to make a decided success that did not do good, honest work, and even in these days of fiercest competition, when everything would seem to be a matter of price, there lies still at the root of great business success the very much more important factor of quality. The eff …
- Andrew Carnegie
I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.
- Andrew Carnegie
I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle.
- Andrew Carnegie
I would as soon leave my son a curse as the almighty dollar.
- Andrew Carnegie
If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.
- Andrew Carnegie
Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.
- Andrew Carnegie
In our day Capital, Business Ability, and Manual Labor are the legs of a three-legged stool. While the three legs stand sound and firm, the stool stands; but let any one of the three weaken and break, let it be pulled out or struck out, down goes the stool to the ground. And the stool is of no use until the third leg is restored.
- Andrew Carnegie
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.
- Andrew Carnegie
I have the courage to surround myself with people who are smarter than me.
- Andrew Carnegie
A wise man is a confirmed optimist.
- Andrew Carnegie
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.
- Andrew Carnegie
Aim for the highest.
- Andrew Carnegie