Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.
Theodore RooseveltRead
It tires me to talk to rich men. You expect a man of millions, the head of a great industry, to be a man worthhearing; but as a rule they don't know anything outside their own business.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We often expect successful individuals to possess vast knowledge, yet many only understand their own industry.
The quote by Theodore Roosevelt highlights the disconnect between wealth or success and genuine knowledge. It suggests that while society places high value on individuals who have amassed riches, those individuals often lack broader insights and understanding beyond their specific field, revealing a limitation in their perspective that can render conversations with them unfulfilling.
Themes
WealthKnowledgeSuccessBusinessConversation
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on economic disparities.
More from Theodore Roosevelt
All quotes →No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned.
Theodore RooseveltRead
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
Theodore RooseveltRead
Conservation means development as much as it does protection._x000D_ _x000D_ A man's usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can.
Theodore RooseveltRead
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.
Theodore RooseveltRead
There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother.
Theodore RooseveltRead
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