P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman who is best remembered for his entertaining hoaxes and for founding the circus that eventually became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Sourced
- I am a showman by profession...and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me.
- As quoted in Philip B. Kunhardt, et alm P. T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman (1995), ISBN 0-679-43574-3, p. vi
Art of Money Getting (1880)
- The plan of "counting the chickens before they are hatched" is an error of ancient date, but it does not seem to improve by age.
- Ch. 10: "Let hope predominate but be not too visionary"
- Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business.
- Ch. 17: "Be polite and kind to your customers"
- The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help themselves.
- Ch. 18: "Be charitable"
- In fact, as a general thing, money-getters are the benefactors of our race.
- Ch. 20: "Preserve your integrity"
- The desire for wealth is nearly universal, and none can say it is not laudable, provided the possessor of it accepts its responsibilities, and uses it as a friend to humanity.
- Ch. 20: "Preserve your integrity"
Misattributed
- There's a sucker born every minute.
- Commonly attributed to Barnum, there is much testimony of contemporaries that he never actually said this, and in "P. T. Barnum Never Did Say "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute" R. J. Brown asserts that it actually originated with a banker named David Hannum, in regard to one of Barnum's hoaxes: a replica of the Cardiff Giant.