“If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.”
“I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.”
“Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on income distribution, the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: It is earned.”
“Among the rich you will never find a really generous man even by accident. They may give their money away, but they will never give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. To be smart enough to get all that money you must be dull enough to want it.”
“If you are willing to do only what’s easy, life will be hard. But if you are willing to do what’s hard, life will be easy.”
“Wealth, my son, should never be your goal in life. Your words are eloquent but they are mere words. True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse.”
“This is the thing: If you have the option to not think about or even consider history, whether you learned it right or not, or whether it even deserves consideration, that’s how you know you’re on board the ship that serves hors d’oeuvres and fluffs your pillows, while others are out at sea, swimming or drowning, or clinging to little inflatable rafts that they have to take turns keeping inflated, people short of breath, who’ve never even heard of the words hors d’oeuvres or fluff. Then someone from up on the yacht says, It s too bad those people down there are lazy, and not as smart and able as we are up here, we who have built these strong, large, stylish boats ourselves, we who float the seven seas like kings. And then someone else on board says something like, But your father gave you this yacht, and these are his servants who brought the hors d oeuvres. At which point that person gets tossed overboard by a group of hired thugs who d been hired by the father who owned the yacht, hired for the express purpose of removing any and all agitators on the yacht to keep them from making unnecessary waves, or even referencing the father or the yacht itself. Meanwhile, the man thrown overboard begs for his life, and the people on the small inflatable rafts can t get to him soon enough, or they don t even try, and the yacht s speed and weight cause an undertow. Then in whispers, while the agitator gets sucked under the yacht, private agreements are made, precautions are measured out, and everyone quietly agrees to keep on quietly agreeing to the implied rule of law and to not think about what just happened. Soon, the father, who put these things in place, is only spoken of in the form of lore, stories told to children at night, under the stars, at which point there are suddenly several fathers, noble, wise forefathers. And the boat sails on unfettered.”
“When you are able to shift your inner awareness to how you can serve others, and when you make this the central focus of your life, you will then be in a position to know true miracles in your progress toward prosperity.”
“This wise man observed that wealth is a tool of freedom. But the pursuit of wealth is the way to slavery.”
“Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.”
“I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, but it hasn t changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I m just wearing better shoes.”
“Everyone creates realities based on their own personal beliefs. These beliefs are so powerful that they can create [expansive or entrapping] realities over and over.~Kuan Yin”
“No, my son, do not aspire for wealth and labor not only to be rich. Strive instead for happiness, to be loved and to love, and most important to acquire peace of mind and serenity.”
“Our heart is a treasury; if you pour out all its wealth at once, you are bankrupt.”
“Where people are really attached, poverty itself is wealth.”
“It is good, he thought to taste for yourself everything you need to know. That worldly pleasures and wealth are not good things, I learned even as a child. I knew it for a long time, but only now have I experienced it. And now I know it, I know it not only because I remember hearing it, but with my eyes, with my heart, with my stomach. And it is good for me to know it!”
“When people love each other, they are content with very little. When we have light and joy in our hearts, we don t need material wealth. The most loving communities are often the poorest. If our own life is luxurious and wasteful, we can t approach poor people. If we love people, we want to identify with them and share with them.”