Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, who played a major role in the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. Before he gave away most of his wealth he achieved the status as the 2nd richest man in the world, second only to John D. Rockefeller. Having amassed a fortune of over $409 billion by today’s standard, to then give most of it away, makes Carnegie not only one of the most successful people of all-time, but one of the most inspiring.
With that said, we aim to share some of Andrew Carnegies most insightful and inspiring words of wisdom. As such, we’ve rounded up the best Andrew Carnegie quotes on success, getting rich, and wealth. We hope they inspire you to strive to become a titan of achievement and generosity, much like Andrew Carnegie.
BEST ANDREW CARNEGIE QUOTES ON SUCCESS & WEALTH
This first section of quotes by Andrew Carnegie consists of his best statements on how to achieve success and obtain riches. Read, embrace, and live the wisdom in these quotes and you’ll be well on your way to achieving much more success your own life.
1. “The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.” – Andrew Carnegie
2. “Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!” – Andrew Carnegie
3. “Concentration is my motto – first honesty, then industry, then concentration.” – Andrew Carnegie
4. “The fastest way to double your money is to fold them in half and put them in your pocket.” – Andrew Carnegie
5. “Aim for the highest and when it’s a question of God’s almighty spirit. Never say I can’t.” – Andrew Carnegie
6. “All human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.” – Andrew Carnegie
7. “The secret of success lies not in doing your own work but in recognizing the best person to do it.” – Andrew Carnegie
8. “Success can be attained in any branch of human labor. There is always room at the top in every pursuit. Concentrate all your thought and energy upon the performance of your duties.” – Andrew Carnegie
9. “It is the mind that makes the body rich.” – Andrew Carnegie
10. “If you want to get rich, think of saving as earning.” – Andrew Carnegie
11. “The greatest astonishment of my life was the discovery that the man who does the work is not the man who gets rich.” – Andrew Carnegie
12. “Every man must be allowed to “sit under his own vine and fig-tree, with none to make afraid,” if human society is to advance or even to remain so far advanced as it is.” – Andrew Carnegie
13. “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity… no matter how impressive their other talents.” – Andrew Carnegie
14. “Do not look for approval expect fore the consciousness of doing your best.” – Andrew Carnegie
15. “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
16. “If a man would eat, he must work. A life of elegant leisure is the life of an unworthy citizen. The Republic does not owe him a living; it is he who owes the Republic a life of usefulness.” – Andrew Carnegie
17. “The man who acquires the ability to take possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.” – Andrew Carnegie
18. “No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.” – Andrew Carnegie
19. “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – Andrew Carnegie
20. “Aim for the highest.” – Andrew Carnegie
21. “Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.” – Andrew Carnegie
22. “I believe that the true road to pre-eminent success in any line is to make yourself master of that line.” – Andrew Carnegie
23. “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 a mind is a universal one, available to the humblest person as it is to the greatest.” – Andrew Carnegie
24. “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
25. “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.” – Andrew Carnegie
26. “The best time to expand is when no one else dares to take risks.” – Andrew Carnegie
27. “Here is the prime condition of success: Concentrate your energy, thought and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged. Having begun on 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
28. “Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.” – Andrew Carnegie
29. “If you want to conquer fear don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy!” – Andrew Carnegie
30. “The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket.” – Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie Wealth Quotes
Andrew Carnegie possessed an enlightened perspective on wealth. He was a shrewd and calculating businessman, but, he was also a wise and generous benefactor to the world. Thus, this small collection of quotes highlights best his philosophy of wealth and responsible philanthropy.
31. “Wealth is not to feed our egos but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.” – Andrew Carnegie
32. “The sole purpose of being rich is to give away money.” – Andrew Carnegie
33. “The parent who leaves his son enormous wealth generally deadens the talents and energies of the son, and tempts him to live a less useful and less worthy life than he otherwise would…” – Andrew Carnegie
34. “Not evil, but good, has come to the race from the accumulation of wealth by those who have had the ability and energy to produce it.” – Andrew Carnegie
35. “The man who dies rich dies disgraced.” – Andrew Carnegie
36. “I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.” – Andrew Carnegie
37. “There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else.” – Andrew Carnegie
38. “I believe that higher wages to men who respect their employers and are happy and content are a good investment, yielding, indeed, big dividends.” – Andrew Carnegie
39. “The thoughtful man must shortly say, ‘I would as soon leave to my son a curse as the almighty dollar.’” – Andrew Carnegie
40. “No man can become rich without himself enriching others.” – Andrew Carnegie
Wise and Inspirational Quotes From Andrew Carnegie
There are so many wonderful quotes from Andrew Carnegie, and this next set combines some of his most inspirational sayings, but also some of his wisest admonishments for living a successful and honorable life. Enjoy.
41. “The older I get the less I listen to what people say and the more I look at what they do.” – Andrew Carnegie
42. “There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves.” – Andrew Carnegie
43. “You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb a little.” – Andrew Carnegie
44. “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.” – Andrew Carnegie
45. “Life is not so much a matter of position as of disposition.” – Andrew Carnegie
46. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organization objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie
47. “Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace, and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark… In any library in the world, I am at home, unselfconscious, still and absorbed.” – Andrew Carnegie
48. “The men who have succeeded are the men who have chose one line and stuck to it.” – Andrew Carnegie
49. “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.” – Andrew Carnegie
50. “When fate hands us a lemon, let’s try to make lemonade.” – Andrew Carnegie
51. “Whatever I engage in, I must push inordinately.” – Andrew Carnegie
52. “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
53. “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.” – Andrew Carnegie
54. “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
55. “All honor’s wounds are self-inflicted.” – Andrew Carnegie
56. “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
57. “You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brand can do its best.” – Andrew Carnegie
58. “Speculation is a parasite feeding upon values, creating none.” – Andrew Carnegie
59. “And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the human race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.” – Andrew Carnegie
60. “There is little success where there is little laughter.” – Andrew Carnegie
61. “The secret of happiness is renunciation.” – Andrew Carnegie
62. “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
63. “You may never get a second chance to make a first impression.” – Andrew Carnegie
64. “He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.” – Andrew Carnegie
65. “Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something.” – Andrew Carnegie
66. “In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves; to provide part of the means by which those who desire to improve may do so; to give those who desire to rise the aids by which they may rise: to assist, but rarely or never to do all.” – Andrew Carnegie
67. “The price which society pays for the law of competition, like the price it pays for cheap comforts and luxuries, is also great; but the advantages of this law are also greater still than its costs — for it is to this lay that we owe our wonderful material development, which brings improved conditions in its train.” – Andrew Carnegie
68. “The great manufacturing or commercial concern which does not earn at least interest upon its capital soon becomes bankrupt. It must either go forward or fall behind; to stand still is impossible.” – Andrew Carnegie
69. “The Socialist or Anarchist who seeks to overturn present conditions is to be regarded as attacking the foundation upon which civilization itself rests, for civilization took its start from the day when the capable, industrious workman said to his incompetent and lazy fellow, “If thou dost not sow, thou shalt not reap,” and thus ended primitive Communism by separating the drones from the bees.” – Andrew Carnegie
70. “It is a waste of time to criticize the inevitable.” – Andrew Carnegie
71. “Neither, the individual nor the race is improved by almsgiving.” – Andrew Carnegie
72. “Perhaps the most tragic thing about mankind is that we are all dreaming about some magical garden over the horizon, instead of enjoying the roses that are right outside today.” – Andrew Carnegie
73. “I am as a speck of dust in the sun and not even so much, in this solemn, mysterious, unknowable universe.” – Andrew Carnegie
74. “The best portion of a good man’s life — his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” – Andrew Carnegie
75. “Young man, make your name worth something.” – Andrew Carnegie
76. “I did not understand steam machinery, but I tried to understand a much more complicated mechanism – man.” – Andrew Carnegie
77. “All achievements, all earned riches have their beginning in an idea.” – Andrew Carnegie
78. “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.” – Andrew Carnegie
79. “Men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn’t go into the mine looking for dirt — one goes in looking for gold.” – Andrew Carnegie
80. “Concentrate your energy, your thoughts, and your capital.” – Andrew Carnegie
Bonus Carnegie Quote:
Alright, here is our last and final Carnegie quote. This is one quote that should be taken to the bank. It is wise, to the point, and speaks volumes about what success is truly all about:
“Success Is Getting What You Want. Happiness Is Wanting What You Get.”
– andrew carnegie –
Related: Andrew Carnegie’s Net Worth
Final Thoughts
Andrew Carnegie was one of the richest men in modern history, and his legacy lives on to this day. Not only did he give most of his wealth away for the betterment of society, but he was also responsible for commissioning the 20 year study of the richest and most successful people of his day, so as to capture and share with the public, the true ingredients of success.
Needless to say, the man is truly and inspiration, and we hope you you’ve gained tremendous insights and inspiration from these Andrew Carnegie quotes. If you enjoyed the page, please considering sharing it, or any of the quotes with someone who may appreciate it.
Till next time,
STRIVE
PS – If you enjoyed these Andrew Carnegie quotes on success, money, and wealth, then you’ll likely enjoy these insightful money quotes or these inspirational billionaire quotes.