It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice; I consider the real vice is making losses.
Winston ChurchillRead
There was a man who sold a hyena skin while the beast still lived and who was killed in hunting it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote illustrates the dangers of greed and taking risks without considering the consequences.
Winston Churchill's quote serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of acting recklessly in pursuit of wealth or success. The story of a man who attempts to sell a hyena skin before the beast is dead symbolizes the foolishness of trying to profit from a situation that is not yet secure, leading to dire consequences as demonstrated by his death in the hunt. It suggests that one should be mindful of the risks involved in their ambitions.
Themes
GreedRiskConsequencesCautionFoolishness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a discussion about financial investments and the importance of due diligence.
More from Winston Churchill
All quotes βThe United States is like a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lit under it, there's no limit to the power it can generate.
Winston ChurchillRead
Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.
Winston ChurchillRead
I will not pretend that if I had to choose between communism and Nazism I would choose communism.
Winston ChurchillRead
Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.
Winston ChurchillRead
True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
Winston ChurchillRead
Similar quotes
Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Quick as a snake. Calm as still water.
George R. R. MartinRead
Please be peaceful. We believe in law and order. We are not advocating violence, I want you to love your enemies... for what we are doing is right, what we are doing is just -- and God is with us.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution.
Emma GoldmanRead
We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience... But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
George S. PattonRead
As long as a man had the courage to reject what society told him to do, he could live life on his own terms. To what end? To be free. But free to what end? To read books, to write books, to think.
Paul AusterRead