He is the richest man who enriches his country most; in whom the people feel richest and proudest; who gives himself with his money; who opens the doors of opportunity widest to those about him; who is ears to the deaf; eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. Such a man makes every acre of land in his community worth more, and makes richer every man who lives near him.
Interpretation
True wealth comes from enhancing the lives of others and contributing to the greater good.
In this quote, Orison Swett Marden emphasizes the idea that real richness is not merely about accumulating material wealth but rather about how one impacts the lives of others and their community. A truly wealthy person is someone who uses their resources to uplift those around them, creating a ripple effect that enriches the entire society and fosters a sense of pride and opportunity among its members.
In practice
In a speech about philanthropy, one might say, 'As Orison Swett Marden once stated, true wealth is about enriching our community.'
Opportunity is latent in the very foundation of human society. Opportunity is everywhere about us. But the preparation to seize upon the opportunity, and to make the most of it, is to be made by every one for himself ... he will be self-made or never made.
We lift ourselves by our thought, we climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always, everywhere - your ideal of what you long to attain - the ideal of health, efficiency, success.
You know from past experiences that whenever you have been driven to the wall, or thought you were, you have extricated yourself in a way which you never would have dreamed possible had you not been put to the test. The trouble is that in your everyday life you don't go deep enough to tap the divine mind within you.
You cannot measure a man by his failures. You must know what use he makes of them. What did they mean to him. What did he get out of them.
Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.
Many a man has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat he would never have known any great victory.
Victory was to be bought so dear as to be almost indistinguishable from defeat.
I was an overnight success all right, but 30 years is a long, long night.
Such is the prestige of the Nobel Award and of this place where I stand that I am impelled, not to speak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession and in the great and good men who have practised it through the ages.
In a competitive industry, only paranoid incumbents - those constantly striving for betterment - have any hope of surviving.
As long as I'm in great shape, nobody beats me, for sure.
Much of our American progress has been the product of the individual who had an idea; pursued it; fashioned it; tenaciously clung to it against all odds; and then produced it, sold it, and profited from it.
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