A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.
John D. RockefellerRead
I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.
Interpretation
Labor, in all its forms, is dignified and everyone deserves the chance to earn a living through their efforts.
John D. Rockefeller emphasizes the importance of labor in any capacity, asserting that every person has the right to an opportunity to work, rather than expecting to receive a livelihood without effort. This quote reflects a strong belief in personal responsibility and the value of hard work, suggesting that dignity comes from contributing to society through one's own endeavors.
In practice
In a motivational speech about the importance of hard work and using one's skills effectively.
A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.
It is wrong to assume that men of immense wealth are always happy.
The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets.
This Sunday School has been of help to me, greater perhaps than any other force in my Christian life, and I can ask no better things for you than that you, and all that shall come after you in this great band of workers for Christ, shall receive the same measure of blessedness which I have been permitted to have.
The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.
The person who starts out simply with the idea of getting rich won't succeed; you must have a larger ambition. There is no mystery in business success. If you do each day's task successfully, and stay faithfully within these natural operations of commercial laws which I talk so much about, and keep your head clear, you will come out all right.
The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point in this business. You've got to keep on working that talent. Someday I'll reach for it and it won't be there.
If we surround ourselves with people who are successful, who are forward-moving, who are positive, who are focused on producing results, who support us, it will challenge us to be more and do more and share more. If you can surround yourself with people who will never let you settle for less than you can be, you have the greatest gift that anyone can hope for.
As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don't know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.
As a kid from Compton, you can get all the success in the world and still question your worth.
In my first year, when I was driving in runs, winning games and making headlines, there was an old man who came to games at Seals Stadium, and one day he called me over, introduced himself and told me not to believe anything written about me or think too much of all the accolades.
A man to carry on a successful business must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing.
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