“He warned the young men he hoped would read and profit from his teachings not to confine their reading to books that had a practical application to their work.” — from Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw
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“He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.” — from Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
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“Armed with a working memory of lines from the great poets, historians, novelists — from contemporary plays, ancient philosophers, and the latest articles in the leading journals, he could enter any room and engage anyone in conversation.” — from Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw
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“Franklin went on to catalog the most common conversational sins “which cause dislike,” the greatest being “talking overmuch…which never fails to excite resentment.” — from Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
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“Carnegie had taken this year off to enrich his mind as well as to reinvigorate his body and soak up as much European culture as was possible in twelve months… His friends found it difficult to keep up with him. He had to visit every museum, take in every concert, opera, and theatrical event.” — from Carnegie by David Nasaw
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“Would you win the hearts of others, you must not seem to vie with them, but to admire them. Give them every opportunity of displaying their own qualifications, and when you have indulged their vanity, they will praise you in turn and prefer you above others…Such is the vanity of mankind that minding what others say is a much surer way of pleasing them than talking well ourselves.” — from Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
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“Knowledge, he realized, “was obtained rather by the use of the ear than of the tongue.” So in the Junto, he began to work on his use of silence and gentle dialogue.” — from Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
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“You must be a lazy man if it takes you ten hours to do a day’s work.” — direct quote from Andrew Carnegie in the book Carnegie by David Nasaw
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“Another remarkable aspect about this note— and the life plan outlined in it — is the absence of any external motivating force. Carnegie had decided to ‘resign business’ not because anyone had asked him to, not because he had pangs of guilty or shame, not because he had a religious-inspired calling to pursue. He was changing his life because he wanted to — and had the resources to — and because he did not consider the amassing of dollars an end in itself.” — from Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw
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“He writes from 9 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon and again from 8:30 to 11 every night, meditating for at least an hour as well. His friend Mr. Mandvi said Mr. Akhtar practices another unusual writerly ritual, taking frequent baths, up to six a day, when a literary problem presents itself. Asked if this schedule permits him any time to socialize or date, Mr. Akhtar appeared momentarily flustered. “I feel like there’s been this explosion of creativity in my life,” he said, “and I am just very, very grateful for it, but I feel very responsible to it.” — from A Writer’s Unusual Rituals Yield Results in The New York Times
