30 Quotes About Making Money and Keeping Perspective Success, happiness and money are intertwined — and seldom interchangeable.
By John Boitnott Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Money is fuel for dreams, but it's not the dream itself. Whether you're launching a business, building a career, or chasing financial independence, it's easy to let the pursuit of cold, hard cash take the wheel. Too many entrepreneurs have lost sight of what matters most as they pursue monetary wealth.
The truth is, building meaningful relationships and keeping perspective are crucial if you want to thrive long-term. These 30 quotes explore the intersection of hustle and humility, remaining authentic and using your ambition to earn and keep money while staying true to what's more important.
Earning it
The quotes below provide insights about what it takes to earn wealth and thrive. Some of history's most ambitious, wise and successful individuals understand that you must be consistent, passionate and unwavering in your pursuits.
1. "Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." - David Frost, British journalist and writer
2. "The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows." - Aristotle Onassis, business magnate
3. "Don't worry about being famous or making money; the most important thing is being the best. You have to become a master of your craft, and everything else will come." - Anastasia Soare, CEO and founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills
4. "You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour." - Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur and author
5. "The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does." - Napoleon Hill, American self-help author
6. "Pretty much, Apple and Dell are the only ones in this industry making money. They make it by being Wal-Mart. We make it by innovation." - Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple
7. "You must acquire the habits and skills of managing a small amount of money before you can have a large amount. Remember, we are creatures of habit and, therefore, the habit of managing your money is more important than the amount." - T. Harv Eker, author, businessman and motivational speaker
8. "Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems." - Rene Descartes in "Discours de la Methode"
9. "Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art." - Andy Warhol, artist and leader of the Pop Art movement
10. "Opportunities multiply as they are seized." - Sun Tzu, philosopher
11. "Success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success — and success is in direct proportion to our service." - Earl Nightingale, American radio speaker, author and motivational thinker
Related: From Pennies to Millions: What It Felt Like to Make Money For the First Time
Keeping it
Earning money is an important milestone, but what you do once you've arrived matters more.
12. "Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants." - Epictetus, Greek Stoic philosopher
13. "You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave." - Dave Ramsey, bestselling author and financial expert
14. "Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver." - Ayn Rand, Russian-born American philosopher and author
15. "A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life." - Suze Orman, financial expert and television personality
16. "Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." - Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur and author
17. "The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire, the size of your dream, and how you handle disappointment along the way." - Robert Kiyosaki, American investor, educator, author and entrepreneur
18. "The importance of money flows from it being a link between the present and the future." - John Maynard Keynes, English economist and philosopher
19. "I have ways of making money that you know nothing of." - John D. Rockefeller, the world's first billionaire
20. "It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating." - Oscar Wilde, author
21. "Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No.1." - Warren Buffett, business magnate, investor and philanthropist
Related: 12 Ways to Smoothly Start Waking Up Earlier
What's more important than it
Money is more than just numbers in an account. It's a tool for chasing your dreams, buying back your time, and elevating the people around you.
22. "A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart." - Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels
23. "You can be rich in spirit, kindness, love, and all those things that you can't put a dollar sign on." - Dolly Parton, country music icon and philanthropist
24. "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." - William Bruce Cameron, sociologist
25. "If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability." - Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company
26. "One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." - Bertrand Russell, British philosopher
27. "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious." - Vince Lombardi, championship-winning NFL coach
28. "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein, esteemed scientist
29. "There are two ways of being happy: We may either diminish our wants or augment our means — either will do — the result is the same and it is for each man to decide for himself and to do that which happens to be easier." - Benjamin F ranklin, founding father and polymath
30. "Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds." - Orison Swett Marden, American author
Related: How to Set Boundaries With Your Team While You're on Vacation
Chasing success and fulfillment
Everyone's road to success is unique. However, you can glean valuable insights from each of the quotes outlined above as you forge your own path toward being a successful entrepreneur.
