Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist who played a pivotal role in the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century.
Born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, he moved to the United States in 1848 following an economic downturn triggered by the advent of the power loom.
His industrious journey from railroad jobs to owning Carnegie Steel Corporation by 1889 marked him as one of the wealthiest individuals in American history.
Carnegie’s success wasn’t confined to industry; he was a noted philanthropist and a man of letters.
He sold his business in 1901, dedicating his remaining years to philanthropic endeavors, founding libraries and universities and mingling with notable figures such as Matthew Arnold, Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt.
His influential 1889 article, “The Gospel of Wealth”, emphasized the duty of the rich to contribute to the greater good.
Related: Jack Dorsey Quotes and Paul Allen Quotes.
Carnegie’s significant legacy continued until his death at 83 on August 11, 1919.
I have outlined some of the most popular quotes from Andrew Carnegie for you.
Best Andrew Carnegie Quotes
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“TEAMWORK: the fuel that allows common people attain uncommon results.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“There is little success where there is little laughter.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Anything in life worth having is worth working for.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” ~ (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).
“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.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Young man, make your name worth something.” ~ (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).
“Teamwork appears most effective if each individual helps others to succeed, increasing the synergy of that team; ideally, every person will contribute different skills to increase the efficiency of the team and develop its unity.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Show me a man of average ability but extraordinary desire and I’ll show you a winner every time.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
Top Andrew Carnegie Quotes
“The best time to expand is when no one else dares to take risks.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“The older I get the less I listen to what people say and the more I look at what they do.” ~ (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).
“One great cause of failure of young men in business is the lack of concentration.” ~ (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).
“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).
“You develop millionaires the way you mine gold. You expect to move tons of dirt to find an ounce of gold, but you don’t go into the mine looking for the dirt-you go in looking for the gold.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“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).
Famous Andrew Carnegie Quotes
“The secret of success lies not in doing your own work, but in recognizing the right man to do it.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“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).
“The man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” ~ (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).
“Capitalism is about turning luxuries into necessities.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“The more difficult a problem becomes, the more interesting it is.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Wealth is not to feed our egos but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“I spent the first half of my life making money and the second half of my life giving it away to do the most good and the least harm.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
Popular Andrew Carnegie Quotes
“Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate. More money has been made in real estate than in all industrial investments combined. The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“My hopes were high, and I looked every day for some change to take place. What it was to be I knew not, but that it would come I felt certain if I kept on. One day the chance came.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“The secret of happiness is renunciation.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“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).
“I wish to have as my epitaph: ‘Here lies a man who was wise enough to bring into his service men who knew more than he.’” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Success can be attained in any branch of labor. There’s always room at the top in every pursuit.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
Inspiring Andrew Carnegie Quotes
“Don’t be content with doing only your duty. Do more than your duty. It’s the horse that finishes a neck ahead that wins the race.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“There is no use whatsoever in trying to help people who do not help themselves.” ~ (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).
“The rare individuals who unselfishly try to serve others have an enormous advantage-they have little competition.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Humanities education is the worst thing for an industrialist.” ~ (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).
“Pioneering don’t pay.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Here lies one who knew how to get around his men who were cleverer than himself.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
“A sunny disposition is worth more than fortune.” ~ (Andrew Carnegie).
