P. Barnum Quotes

True economy consists in always making the income exceed the out-go. Wear the old clothes a little longer if necessary; dispense with the new pair of gloves; mend the old dress: live on plainer food if need be; so that, under all circumstances, unless some unforeseen accident occurs, there will be a margin in favor of the income. There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man who could go out in the morning and find a purse full of gold in the street to-day, and another to-morrow, and so on, day after day: He may do so once in his life; but so far as mere luck is concerned, he is as liable to lose it as to find it. A lovely nook of forest scenery, or a grand rock, like a beautiful woman, depends for much of its attractiveness upon the attendance sense of freedom from whatever is low; upon a sense of purity and of romance. Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs. There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt. Science is the pursuit of pure truth, and the systematizing of it. In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at all difficult for persons in good health to make money. Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself. Clowns are the pegs on which the circus is hung. Politics and government are certainly among the most important of practical human interests. Never attempt to catch a whale with a minnow. If I was not a remarkably modest man, I should probably brag a little, and say that I had done what no American ever before accomplished by visiting the queen at her palace twice within eight days. I would rather hear the pleased laugh of a child over some feature of my exhibition than receive as I did the flattering compliments of the Prince of Wales. The common man, no matter how sharp and tough, actually enjoys having the wool pulled over his eyes, and makes it easier for the puller. Nothing draws a crowd quite like a crowd. If I shoot at the sun, I may hit a star. You must exercise your caution in laying your plans, but be bold in carrying them out. True economy consists in always making the income exceed the outgo. There is no class of people in the world, who have such good memories as creditors. Many people are gullible, and we can expect this to continue. Let your motto then always be 'Excelsior', for by living up to it there is no such word as fail. I risked much, but I made much. To forgive heals the wound, to forget heals the scar. Money is the excellent slave and a horrible master. You can fool most of the people most of the time. Your success depends on what you do yourself, with your own means Without publicity a terrible thing happens: nothing. With the young man starting in business, let him understand the value of money by earning it. When a man is in the right path, he must persevere. Whatever you do, do it ardently.