I believe the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master in that line. I have no faith in the policy of scattering one's resources, and in my experience I have rarely if ever met a man who achieved preeminence in money making.. certainly never one in manufacturing.. who was interested in many concerns.
Interpretation
To achieve true success, focus on mastering one area rather than spreading your efforts too thin.
In this quote, Andrew Carnegie emphasizes the importance of dedicating oneself to mastering a specific field or profession in order to achieve exceptional success. He argues that dividing attention and resources among multiple pursuits dilutes potential and hinders the ability to excel, suggesting that true preeminence comes from deep, focused expertise in one area rather than superficial engagement in many.
In practice
This quote could inspire entrepreneurs at a business seminar to specialize in their craft.
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.
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.
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.
I don't feel like a wealthy person. Other people think of me as a wealthy person, but I don't. I feel the same as when I was a fifth-year associate trying to make partner at Lehman Brothers. I haven't changed.
I'd like to think I could have and should have won more, but that's not the point. And I was at the point where I was playing great tennis in the mid 80s - the type of tennis people hadn't seen before - and I was very proud of that.
You're constantly trying to prove yourself, even after you've made it.
On the summit of Everest, I had a feeling of great satisfaction to be first there.
It's sort of good to see your vocation as a daily task and have fairly modest expectations for financial or reward in other coin - glory, love, whatever.
If you look historically, what creates growth and wealth is innovation and investment, and increase in scale - more customers.
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