Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son

by George Horace Lorimer

Some men learn the value of money by not having any and starting out to pry a few dollars loose from the odd millions that are lying around; and some learn it by having fifty thousand or so left to them and starting out to spend it as if it were fifty thousand a year.

The first thing that any education ought to give a man is character, and the second thing is education.

Anything that trains a boy to think and to think quick pays;

it isn’t so much knowing a whole lot, as knowing a little and how to use it that counts.

what your earning capacity will be, the easier they will find it to live together.

Now I want to say right here that the meanest man alive is the one who is generous with money that he has not had to sweat for,

There are times when it’s safest to be lonesome.

Putting off an easy thing makes it hard, and putting off a hard one makes it impossible.

There is one excuse for every mistake a man can make, but only one. When a fellow makes the same mistake twice he’s got to throw up both hands and own up to carelessness or cussedness.

Have something to say. Say it. Stop talking.

Remember, too, that it’s easier to look wise than to talk wisdom.

Say less than the other fellow and listen more than you talk; for when a man’s listening he isn’t telling on himself and he’s flattering the fellow who is.

when you have been in business as long as I have you will be inclined to put a pretty high value on loyalty. It is the one commodity that hasn’t any market value, and it’s the one that you can’t pay too much for.

You can trust any number of men with your money, but mighty few with your reputation.

if you really want a look at the solid facts of a thing you must strain off the sentiment first.

There’s no easier way to cure foolishness than to give a man leave to be foolish.

the only way to show a fellow that he’s chosen the wrong business is to let him try it.

the easiest way in the world to make enemies is to hire friends.

The fun of the thing’s in the run and not in the finish.

A man can’t pick his own mother, but he can pick his son’s mother,

To marry for money or to marry without money is a crime.

There’s no real objection to marrying a woman with a fortune, but there is to marrying a fortune with a woman.

You can trust a woman’s taste on everything except men;

I might add that you can’t trust a man’s taste on women, either,

There’s nothing in the world sicker-looking than the grin of the man who’s trying to join in heartily when the laugh’s on him, and to pretend that he likes it.

Of course, you want to be nice and mellow with the trade, but always remember that mellowness carried too far becomes rottenness.

If there’s one piece of knowledge that is of less use to a fellow than knowing when he’s beat, it’s knowing when he’s done just enough work to keep from being fired.

You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.

I had to make considerable of a study of the Missouri mule when I was a boy, and I discovered that he’s not really patient, but that he only pretends to be.

If there’s anything worse than knowing too little, it’s knowing too much.

Tact is the knack of keeping quiet at the right time; of being so agreeable yourself that no one can be disagreeable to you; of making inferiority feel like equality.

Some salesmen think that selling is like eating—to satisfy an existing appetite; but a good salesman is like a good cook—he can create an appetite when the buyer isn’t hungry.

A dirty shirt may hide a pure heart, but it seldom covers a clean skin.

Appearances are deceitful, I know, but so long as they are, there’s nothing like having them deceive for us instead of against us.

it isn’t enough to be all right in this world; you’ve got to look all right as well, because two-thirds of success is making people think you are all right.

a man can’t do what he pleases in this world, because the higher he climbs the plainer people can see him.

If you succeed they will say it was an accident; and if you fail they will say it was a cinch.

There are two unpardonable sins in this world—success and failure. Those who succeed can’t forgive a fellow for being a failure, and those who fail can’t forgive him for being a success.

Back up good looks by good character yourself,

When a speculator wins he don’t stop till he loses, and when he loses he can’t stop till he wins.

A fellow is a boss simply because he’s a better man than those under him, and there’s a heap of responsibility in being better than the next fellow.

Consider carefully before you say a hard word to a man, but never let a chance to say a good one go by.

Be slow to hire and quick to fire.

The time to discover incompatibility of temper and curl-papers is before the marriage ceremony.

In all your dealings, remember that to-day is your opportunity; to-morrow some other fellow’s.

Right here I want to repeat that in keeping track of others and their faults it’s very, very important that you shouldn’t lose sight of your own.

The way to think of a thing in business is to think of it first, and the way to get a share of the trade is to go for all of it.

Some fellows can only see those above them, and others can only see those under them, but a good man is cross-eyed and can see both ends at once.

In handling men, your own feelings are the only ones that are of no importance.

A man’s as good as he makes himself, but no man’s any good because his grandfather was.