Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and is often identified as one of the richest people (and richest Americans) in history. He became a leading philanthropist in the United States and in the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away about $350 million to charities, foundations, and universities – almost 90 percent of his fortune.

With the fortune he made from business, he built Carnegie Hall in New York, NY, and the Peace Palace and founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, Carnegie Hero Fund, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, among others.

“A man’s reading program should be as carefully planned as his daily diet, for that too is food, without which he cannot grow mentally.” – Andrew Carnegie
“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.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Aim for the highest.” – Andrew Carnegie
“All achievements, all earned riches have their beginning in an idea.” – Andrew Carnegie
“And here is the prime condition of success, the great secret: concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged. 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.” – Andrew Carnegie
“And the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual but it’s best for the race because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Any idea that is held in the mind that is either feared or revered will, begin at once to clothe itself in the most convenient and appropriate physical forms available.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Anything in life worth having is worth working for.” – Andrew Carnegie
“As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.” – 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 because you wanted something. Aim for the highest and when it’s a question of God’s almighty spirit. Never say I can’t.” – 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 am no longer cursed by poverty because I took possession of my own mind, and that mind has yielded me every material thing I want, and much more than I need. But this power of mind is a universal one, available to the humblest person as it is to the greatest.” – Andrew Carnegie
“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.” – Andrew Carnegie
“I believe that 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 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 should say to young men, no matter how little it may be possible to save, save that little.” – Andrew Carnegie
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – Andrew Carnegie
“If you will analyze my definition of success you will see that there is no element of luck about it.” – Andrew Carnegie
“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 and use their minds.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.” – Andrew Carnegie
“It is the mind that makes the body rich.” – 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
“It may interest you to know that approximately ninety-eight out of every hundred people are totally without a major goal, and it is significant that approximately the same percentage of people are regarded as failures.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Lack of schooling is no valid excuse for failure; neither is an exhaustive schooling a guarantee of success.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Look carefully and you will discover that great successes are the result of understanding and the use of a positive mental attitude through which nature aids men in converting their aims and purposes into their physical and financial equivalent. Mental attitude is the quality of mind which gives power to one’s thoughts and plans.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Men who know exactly what they want of life, and are determined to get it, do not stop with wishing. They intensify their wishes into a burning desire, and back that desire with continuous effort based on a sound plan.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Men who reach decisions promptly usually have the capacity to move with definiteness of purpose in other circumstances.” – Andrew Carnegie
“No man can become rich without himself enriching others.” – 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
“One great cause of failure of young men in business is the lack of concentration.” – Andrew Carnegie
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Remember, that a man’s achievements correspond, with unerring certainty, to the philosophy with which he relates himself to others. If you follow through your willingness to give something in return for the knowledge you desire, you are certain to make yourself so useful to the world that it will be compelled to reward you in terms of your own choice.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Show me a man of average ability but extraordinary desire and I’ll show you a winner every time.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Study any person who is known to be a permanent success and you will find that he has a Definite Major Goal; he has a plan for the attainment of this goal; he devotes the major portion of his thoughts and his efforts to the attainment of this purpose.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Success can be attained in any branch of human labour. There is always room at the top in every pursuit. Concentrate all your thought and energy upon the performance of your duties.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Success is the power to acquire whatever one demands of life without violating the rights of others.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – 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
“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 best time to expand is when no one else dares to take risks.” – Andrew Carnegie
“The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.” – Andrew Carnegie
“The first thing to do about an obstacle is simply to stand up to it and not complain about it or whine under it but forthrightly attack it. Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have. Just stand up to it, that’s all, and don’t give way under it, and it will finally break. You will break it. Something has to break and it won’t be you, it will be the obstacle.” – 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 man who dies rich dies in disgrace.” – Andrew Carnegie
“The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.” – Andrew Carnegie
“The rare individuals who unselfishly try to serve others have an enormous advantage – they have little competition.” – Andrew Carnegie
“The secret of success lies not in doing your own work but in recognizing the best person to do it.” – Andrew Carnegie
“The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.” – Andrew Carnegie
“The world of great opportunity is available now, as it has always been, only for those with great vision.” – Andrew Carnegie
“There are two types of people who never achieve very much in their lifetimes. One is the person who won’t do what he or she is told to do, and the other is the person who does no more than he or she is told to do.” – Andrew Carnegie
“There is a power under your control that is greater than poverty, greater than the lack of education, greater than all your fears and superstitions combined. It is the power to take possession of your own mind and direct it to whatever ends you may desire.” – Andrew Carnegie
“There is little success where there is little laughter.” – Andrew Carnegie
“There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!” – Andrew Carnegie
“Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.” – Andrew Carnegie
“We begin doing things because of a motive; we continue doing them because of both motive and habit; but there may come a time when motive is forgotten and we continue on because of established habit.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Whatever I engage in, I must push inordinately.” – Andrew Carnegie
“You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big and live big.” – Andrew Carnegie
“You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb.” – Andrew Carnegie
“You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Young man, make your name worth something.” – Andrew Carnegie

Tags: Quotes