Best 67 quotes of P. T. Barnum on MyQuotes

Advertising is like learning - a little is a dangerous thing. If a man has not the pluck to keep on advertising, all the money he has already spent is lost.

Advertising is like learning - a little is a dangerous thing.

Advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land, - it largely increases the product.

A lovely nook of forest scenery, or a grand rock, like a beautiful woman, depends for much of its attractiveness upon the attendance sense of freedom from whatever is low; upon a sense of purity and of romance.

A penny here, and a dollar there, placed at interest, goes on accumulating, and in this way the desired result is attained. It requires some training, perhaps, to accomplish this economy, but when once used to it, you will find there is more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational spending.

A penny here, and a dollar there, placed at interest, goes on accumulating, and in this way the desired result is attained.

A salary was not sufficient for me.

But however mysterious is nature , however ignorant the doctor, however imperfect the present state of physical science , the patronage and the success of quacks and quackeries are infinitely more wonderful than those of honest and laborious men of science and their careful experiments.

Clowns are the pegs on which the circus is hung.

Constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can be clinched. When a man's undivided attention is centered on one object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvements of value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a dozen different subjects at once.

Energy and patience in business are two indispensable elements of success.

Engage in one kind of business only, and stick to it faithfully until you succeed, or until you conclude to abandon it. A constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can be clinched.

Every crowd has a silver lining.

Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself.

He who is without a newspaper is cut off from his species.

How were the receipts today in Madison Square Garden ?

I am prouder of my title 'The Children's Friend' than if I were to be called 'The King of the World'.

I don't care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right.

If I was not a remarkably modest man, I should probably brag a little, and say that I had done what no American ever before accomplished by visiting the queen at her palace twice within eight days.

If you hesitate, some bolder hand will stretch out before you and get the prize.

In fact, as a general thing, money-getters are the benefactors of our race.

In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at all difficult for persons in good health to make money.

I think it is conceded that I generally do pretty big things as a manager, am audacious in my outlays and risks, give much for little money, and make my shows worthy the support of the moral and refined classes.

I would rather hear the pleased laugh of a child over some feature of my exhibition than receive as I did the flattering compliments of the Prince of Wales.

Let your motto then always be 'Excelsior', for by living up to it there is no such word as fail.

Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity.

Many people are gullible, and we can expect this to continue.

Many persons are always kept poor, because they are too visionary. Every project looks to them like certain successes, and therefore they keep changing from one business to another, always in hot water, always ‘under the harrow’.

Men, women, and children who cannot live on gravity alone need something to satisfy their gayer, lighter moods and hours, and he who ministers to this want is, in my opinion, in a business established by the Creator of our nature. If he worthily fulfills his mission and amuses without corrupting, he need never feel that he has lived in vain.

Money-getters are the benefactors of our race. To them ... are we indebted for our institutions of learning, and of art, our academies, colleges and churches.

Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it by experience.

Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servant but a terrible master.

Never attempt to catch a whale with a minnow.

No man ever went broke overestimating the ignorance of the American public.

No man has a right to expect to succeed in life unless he understands his business, and nobody can understand his business thoroughly unless he learns it by personal application and experience.

No profession, trade, or calling, is overcrowded in the upper story.

Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business. Large stores, gilt signs, flaming advertisements, will all prove unavailing if you or your employees treat your patrons abruptly. The truth is, the more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon him.

Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business.

Politics and government are certainly among the most important of practical human interests.

Small does of advertising result in nothing, obviously. It's like giving a sick person half the medicine he needs. It just causes more suffering. Give the whole dose, and the cure will be certain and decisive.

The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help themselves.

The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it.

The common man, no matter how sharp and tough, actually enjoys having the wool pulled over his eyes, and makes it easier for the puller.

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.

The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick.

The orthodox faith painted God as a revengeful being, and yet people talk about loving such a being.

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.

There is no class of people in the world, who have such good memories as creditors.

There is no greater picture than that of 10,000 smiling children. No brighter music than their clear-ringing laughter. That I, with my small amusements, have created such precious art is my life's proudest achievement.

There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man who could go out in the morning and find a purse full of gold in the street to-day, and another to-morrow, and so on, day after day: He may do so once in his life; but so far as mere luck is concerned, he is as liable to lose it as to find it.