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The man who has won millions at the cost of his conscience is a failure.
B. C. Forbes
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Interpretation

What this quote means

True success is measured not just by wealth but by one's ethical standards.

This quote emphasizes that achieving financial success at the expense of one's moral principles constitutes a failure. It suggests that integrity and conscience are fundamental elements of true success, and one cannot truly be considered a success if they have compromised their values to gain material wealth.

Themes

SuccessConscienceIntegrityWealthValues

In practice

Example use cases

This quote is perfect to use during a business ethics seminar to highlight the importance of integrity in achieving success.

More from B. C. Forbes

How you start is important, very important, but in the end it is how you finish that counts. It is easier to be a self-starter than a self-finisher. The victor in the race is not the one who dashes off swiftest but the one who leads at the finish. In the race for success, speed is less important than stamina. The sticker outlasts the sprinter in life's race. In America we breed many hares but not so many tortoises.
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I have known not a few men who, after reaching the summits of business success, found themselves miserable on attaining retirement age. They were so exclusively engrossed in their day to day affairs that they had no time for friend making.
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Jealousy is an inner consciousness of one's own inferiority. It is a mental cancer.
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He is a wise man who seeks by every legitimate means to make all the money he can honestly, for money can do so many worthwhile things in this world, not merely for one's self but for others. But he is an unmitigated fool who imagines for a moment that it is more important to make the money than to make it honestly. One of the advantages of possessing money is that it facilitates one's independence and mental attitude. The man head over heels in debt is more slave than independent.
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Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.
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Opportunity rarely knocks on your door. Knock rather on opportunity's door if you ardently wish to enter.
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