It only serves to show what sort of person a man must be who can't even get testimonials. No, no; if a man brings references, it proves nothing; but if he can't, it proves a great deal.
Joseph PulitzerRead
Performance is better than promise. Exuberant assurances are cheap.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Actions speak louder than words; it's better to deliver results than simply make promises.
This quote emphasizes the importance of performance over mere promises, suggesting that while it is easy to make grand assurances, true value is found in the actual outcomes of one's efforts. Joseph Pulitzer is reminding us that tangible results carry more weight than lofty claims, encouraging a focus on what can be accomplished rather than what is only said.
Themes
PerformancePromiseResultsActionAssurance
In practice
Example use cases
In a business meeting to emphasize the importance of delivering projects on time.
More from Joseph Pulitzer
All quotes βWhat a newspaper needs in its news, in its headlines, and on its editorial page is terseness, humor, descriptive power, satire, originality, good literary style, clever condensation, and accuracy, accuracy, accuracy!
Joseph PulitzerRead
Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.
Joseph PulitzerRead
If you will give the matter a moment's thought, you'll see that memory is the highest faculty of the human mind.
Joseph PulitzerRead
An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery
Joseph PulitzerRead
The American people want something terse, forcible, picturesque, striking - something that will arrest their attention, enlist their sympathy, arouse their indignation, stimulate their imagination, convince their reason, awaken their conscience.
Joseph PulitzerRead
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