He’s richer than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined.
And he started off as a broke Scottish immigrant. I’ve been dreaming of interviewing him for my book. The only problem? He died 96 years ago.
How did Andrew Carnegie, the man with the world’s largest steel empire, rise from no money, no opportunity, and no connections — to the richest man alive?
I’ve spent hundreds of hours researching Carnegie’s success, and here are the 5 best lessons from the man himself.
WATCH: SHORT BIO ON THE LIFE OF ANDREW CARNEGIE
1. Get Out Of The Shade
One afternoon, a young man walked into Carnegie’s office to interview him about his success. Carnegie could have told the young man about his journey from poverty to riches or about his wild dealings with John Rockefeller. But instead, Carnegie talked about something else.
His optimism.
Carnegie said the most important thing in his life was his “ability to shed trouble and to laugh through life.” He said that seeing life through a lens of positivity was worth more to him than millions of dollars.
“Young people should know that it can be cultivated,” Carnegie said. “The mind, like the body, can be moved from the shade into sunshine.”
And it makes good business sense, too. By not getting weighed down by the negative, Carnegie could keep his focus on the positive, bounce back from failures faster, and see opportunities where other people didn’t know they existed.
Ask yourself: do you sometimes slip into pessimistic thoughts and negative self-talk? Are you missing opportunities because you let your mind fall under “the shade”? How much would your business grow if you taped a note above your desk that reads: “move your mind into the sunshine”?
2. Tell Him to Keep the Ten Thousand
Carnegie and J.P. Morgan were once partners in a business. One day Morgan wanted to buy out Carnegie’s stake, so Morgan asked how much he wanted for it.
Carnegie said his shares were worth $50,000, plus he wanted an extra $10,000 on top — so a total of $60,000. Morgan agreed to the terms. But the next morning, Carnegie got a call.
“Mr. Carnegie, you were mistaken,” Morgan said. “You sold out for $10,000 less than the statement showed to your credit.” Morgan had calculated that Carnegie’s stake was actually worth $60,000, and with the additional $10,000, that made $70,000. So Morgan sent Carnegie a check for the full $70,000.
Carnegie responded by telling Morgan to keep the extra $10,000 — which, adjusted for inflation, is over $130,000 today. Morgan replied, “No thank you. I cannot do that.”
When reflecting on this story, Carnegie wrote, “A great business is built on lines of the strictest integrity.” He learned from Morgan that it is better to lose money in the short-term if that means maintaining your reputation for the long-term.
Think hard about this: Is your business doing everything it can to ensure that reputation comes before profits?
Andrew Carnegie is proof that if you work hard, keep your mind “out of the shade,” take risks, act quickly, and build a reputation of the strictest integrity — anything is possible.
And the craziest part?
Carnegie is just one example of how it’s possible to work your way from poverty to radical success.
Read the final three lessons on Carnegie’s life, click here. And to get exclusive content from Alex’s book and more on his latest adventures, click here.
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