Thomas J. Stanley Quotes

“Anybody with a reasonable income can become financially independent in a lifetime.”

“Don’t chase money. If you are the best in your field, money will find you.”

“Grades don't measure tenacity, courage, leadership, guts or whatever you want to call it.

Teachers or any other persons in a position of authority should never tell anybody they will not succeed because they did not get all A's in school.”

“I am not impressed with what people own. But I’m impressed with what they achieve.”

“If you are creative enough to select the ideal vocation, you can win, win big time. The really brilliant millionaires are those who selected a vocation that they love, one that has few competitors but generates high profits.”

“Operate your household like a productive business.”

“The reason that so few people are financially independent today is that they place many negative roadblocks in their heads. Becoming wealthy is, in fact, a mind game.”

“Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.”

“Conspicuous symbols of wealth, such as homes and motor vehicles, are better indicators of one’s credit use than of the size of one’s investment portfolio.”

“High self-esteem is related to achieving financial independence. Both the sense of achievement that comes from success and financial independence lead to happiness and life satisfaction, not meaningless badges.”

“Critics are a necessary part of our social system in America — they screen out those who lack the courage and resolve to take criticisms and triumph in spite of them.”

“Luck and risk taking go hand in hand.”

“The foundation stones of financial success are:
- Integrity: being honest with all people
- Discipline: applying self control
- Social skills: getting along with people
- A supportive spouse
- Hard work: more than most people”

“The majority either ignore their critics or use criticism as an inspiration to succeed.”

“A millionaire has told me that true diversity has much to do with controlling one’s investments.

No one can control the stock market. But you can, for example, control your own business, private investments, and money you lend to private parties.”

“About one-half of the millionaires in America don’t live in upscale neighborhoods.”

“According to our most recent survey, the typical American millionaire reported that he or she never spent more than $399 for a suit of clothing for himself or for anyone else.”

“Affluent people typically follow a lifestyle conducive to accumulating money. In the course of our investigations, we discovered seven common denominators among those who successfully build wealth.

1. They live well below their means.
2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.
3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.
4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.
5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.
6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.
7. They chose the right occupation.”

“After twenty years of studying millionaires across a wide spectrum of industries, we have concluded that the character of the business owner is more important in predicting his level of wealth than the classification of his business.”

“All too often high-income-producing UAWs (Under Accumulators of Wealth) spend countless hours studying the market — but not the stock market. They can tell you the names of the top auto dealers, but not the top investment advisors.

They can tell you how to shop and spend. But they can’t tell you how to invest. They know the styles, prices, and availability at various car dealers. But they know little or nothing about the various values of equity market offerings.”

“Allocating time and money in the pursuit of looking superior often has a predictable outcome: inferior economic achievement.

What are three words that profile the affluent? Frugal, frugal, frugal.”

“Always strive to be the best in your field.”

“America is still the land of opportunity. Over the past thirty years I have consistently found that 80 to 85 percent of millionaires are self-made.”

“Be tough… life is. In other words, there is no promise of a rose garden.”

“Before you can become a millionaire, you must learn to think like one. You must learn how to motivate yourself to counter fear with courage.

Making critical decisions about your career, business, investments and other resources conjures up fear, fear that is part of the process of becoming a financial success.”

“Courage can be developed. But it cannot be nurtured in an environment that eliminates all risks, all difficulty, all dangers.”

“Financially independent people are happier than those in their same income/age cohort who are not financially secure.”

“First-generation Americans tend to be self-employed. Self-employment is a major positive correlate of wealth.”

“Good health, longevity, happiness, a loving family, self-reliance, fine friends… If you have five, you’re a rich man.”

“Great offense and poor defense translate into under accumulation of wealth.”