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.
Interpretation
Success often comes from unexpected places, not just from wealth or privilege.
In this quote, Andrew Carnegie emphasizes that true competition in life comes not from those who are born into wealth or privilege, but rather from those who demonstrate hard work and determination, regardless of their background. The 'dark horse' symbolizes an underdog or overlooked individual who may unexpectedly rise to prominence through diligence and effort, suggesting that success can come from humble beginnings and that one should not underestimate those who seem insignificant initially.
In practice
In a motivational speech about overcoming adversity.
Give me the life of the boy whose mother is nurse, seamstress, washerwoman, cook, teacher, angel, and saint, all in one, and whose father is guide, exemplar, and friend. No servants to come between. These are the boys who are born to the best fortune.
To kill a man will be considered as disgusting [in the twentieth century] as we in this day consider it disgusting to eat one.
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.
Speculation is a parasite feeding upon values, creating none.
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.
He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.
Basically, when you get to my age, you'll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.
No one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourself.
He who wants to succeed should learn how to fight, to strive and to suffer. You can acquire a lot in life, if you are prepared to give up a lot to get it.
Put in the superlatives yourselves, I'm running out. It's already been a while now that he has been outstanding. He's more than decisive in every way. That he's capable of doing everything that he does at his age is something impressive, that doesn't make any sense.
I know it's not the most important thing for me to win the most Grand Slams and be remembered in this world. I certainly don't have to win little tournaments here, there and everywhere, I don't have to win at all. Although I do want to.
New products, new markets, new investors, and new ways of doing things are the lifeblood of growth. And while each innovation carries potential risk, businesses that don't innovate will eventually diminish.
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