60 P.T. Barnum Quotes That Reveal the Truth About The Great Showman

‘The Greatest Showman on Earth’ was a spectacular film recounting the life of Phineas Taylor Barnum, more commonly referred to as P. T. Barnum of Barnum and Bailey Circus.

There is this ‘rags to riches’ story that surrounds Barnum, and it appeals to people looking for the ideals in American culture.

Who was this showman, and what can these P. T. Barnum quotes reveal about the man who made a fortune off oddities and humbugs?

P. T. Barnum got his start in the show business world by ‘leasing’ an old black woman who he portrayed as George Washington’s nurse.

Slavery was illegal in New York and Pennsylvania at the time, but he exploited a loophole, even borrowing the money to do so, which contradicts a later quote he made about going into debt.

This was not the only act that Barnum billed as something it was not.

He viewed this practice as ‘marketing,’ once saying, “I don’t believe in duping the public but I believe in first attracting and then pleasing them.”

Keep reading for more thoughts from P. T. Barnum about money, success, and hard work.

Also, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily wisdom. 

See the rest of our quote database for even more inspirational ideas and thoughts.

P. T. Barnum quotes about money

1. “Nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the American public.” ― P. T. Barnum

2. “The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick.” ― P. T. Barnum

3. “Young men starting in life should avoid running into debt. There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt. It is a slavish position to get ill, yet we find many a young man, hardly out of his ‘teens,’ running in debt. He meets a chum and says, Look at this: I have got trusted for a new suit of clothes. He seems to look upon the clothes as so much given to him; well, it frequently is so, but if he succeeds in paying and then gets trusted again, he is adopting a habit which will keep him in poverty through life. Debt robs a man of his self-respect and makes him almost despise himself.” ― P. T. Barnum

4. “Money is, in some respects, like fire. It is a very excellent servant, but a terrible master.” ― P. T. Barnum

5. “Fortune always favors the brave and never helps a man who does not help himself.” ― P. T. Barnum

6. “The history of money-getting, which is commerce, is a history of civilization, and wherever trade has flourished most, there, too, have art and science produced the noblest fruits. In fact, as a general thing, money-getters are the benefactors of our race. To them, in a great measure, are we indebted for our institutions of learning and of art, our academies, colleges, and churches?” ― P. T. Barnum

7. “The old proverb is full of truth and meaning, “Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.” Many a man acquires a fortune by doing his business thoroughly, while his neighbor remains poor for life because he only half does it. Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business.” ― P. T. Barnum

8. “Remember the proverb of Solomon: He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” ― P. T. Barnum

9. “True economy consists in always making the income exceed the out-go. Wear the old clothes a little longer if necessary; dispense with the new pair of gloves; mend the old dress: live on plainer food if need be; so that, under all circumstances, unless some unforeseen accident occurs, there will be a margin in favor of the income.” ― P. T. Barnum

P. T. Barnum quotes about success and progress

10. “Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed.” ― P. T. Barnum

11. “I don’t care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right.” ― P. T. Barnum

12. “Comfort is the enemy of progress.” ― P. T. Barnum

13. “The possession of a perfect knowledge of your business is an absolute necessity in order to ensure success.” ― P. T. Barnum

14. “The safest plan, and the one most sure of success for the young man starting in life, is to select the vocation which is most congenial to his tastes.” ― P. T. Barnum

15. “Dr. Franklin says, “it is the eyes of others and not our own eyes which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself I should not care for fine clothes or furniture.” ― P. T. Barnum

16. “Let your motto then always be ‘Excelsior’, for by living up to it there is no such word as fail.” ― P. T. Barnum

17. “Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed.” ― P. T. Barnum

18. “Clowns are the pegs on which the circus is hung.” ― P. T. Barnum

19. “Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business. Large stores, gilt signs, flaming advertisements, will all prove unavailing if you or your employees treat your patrons abruptly. The truth is, the more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon him.” ― P. T. Barnum

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of motivational quotes for employees about the power of a great team.

20. “No man has a right to expect to succeed in life unless he understands his business, and nobody can understand his business thoroughly unless he learns it by personal application and experience.”― P. T. Barnum

Wise P. T. Barnum quotes

21. “The noblest art is that of making others happy.” ― P. T. Barnum

22. “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” ― P. T. Barnum

23. Be cautious and bold.” ― P. T. Barnum

24. “Advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land – it largely increases the product.” ― P. T. Barnum

25. “I will loose my camel, and trust it to God!” ― P. T. Barnum

26. “Writing lives forever, while you may not.” ― P. T. Barnum

27. “Exposing an illusion is not the same as revealing a truth.” ― P. T. Barnum

28. “We agreed that many a human life is sacrificed in sudden anger because one or both the parties carry deadly weapons.” ― P. T. Barnum

29. “The public very properly shun all whose integrity is doubted. No matter how polite and pleasant and accommodating a man may be, none of us dare to deal with him if we suspect ‘false weights and measures.’” ― P. T. Barnum

30. “Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity.” ― P. T. Barnum

31. “A lovely nook of forest scenery, or a grand rock, like a beautiful woman, depends for much of its attractiveness upon the attendance sense of freedom from whatever is low; upon a sense of purity and of romance.” ― P. T. Barnum

32. “To me, there is no picture so beautiful as smiling, bright-eyed, happy children; no music so sweet as their clear and ringing laughter.” ― P. T. Barnum

33. “Men, women, and children who cannot live on gravity alone need something to satisfy their gayer, lighter moods and hours, and he who ministers to this want is, in my opinion, in a business established by the Creator of our nature. If he worthily fulfills his mission and amuses without corrupting, he need never feel that he has lived in vain.” ― P. T. Barnum

P. T. Barnum quotes about working hard

34. “WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now.” ― P. T. Barnum

35. “Work hard, think hard, be honest, and spend little – this will ‘make common gold.’” ― P. T. Barnum

36. “Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed.” ― P. T. Barnum

37. Without promotion, something terrible happens… nothing!” ― P. T. Barnum

38. “There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man who could go out in the morning and find a purse full of gold in the street to-day, and another to-morrow, and so on, day after day: He may do so once in his life; but so far as mere luck is concerned, he is as liable to lose it as to find it.” ― P. T. Barnum

39. Every man should make his son or daughter learn some useful trade or profession, so that in these days of changing fortunes of being rich today and poor tomorrow they may have something tangible to fall back upon. This provision might save many persons from misery, who by some unexpected turn of fortune have lost all their means.” ― P. T. Barnum

40. “In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at all difficult for persons in good health to make money.” ― P. T. Barnum

Cynical and blunt P. T. Barnum quotes

41. “There’s a sucker born every minute.” ― P. T. Barnum

42. “The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help themselves.” ― P. T. Barnum

43. “The greatest humbug of all is the man who believes—or pretends to believe—that everything and everybody are humbugs.” ― P. T. Barnum

44. “In my temperance speeches, I have frequently been interrupted and sometimes interrogated by opponents. I always take things coolly, let them have their say, and endeavor to give them a ‘Roland for an Oliver.’” ― P. T. Barnum

45. “Every crowd has a silver lining.” ― P. T. Barnum

46. Science is the pursuit of pure truth and the systematizing of it. ― P. T. Barnum

47. “Politics and government are certainly among the most important of practical human interests.” ― P. T. Barnum

48. The show business has all phases and grades of dignity, from the exhibition of a monkey to the exposition of that highest art in music or the drama which secures for the gifted artists a worldwide-fame, princes well might envy.” ― P. T. Barnum

49. “As a general thing, I have not ‘duped the world’ nor attempted to do so… I have generally given people the worth of their money twice told.” ― P. T. Barnum

50. “Medicine is the means by which we poor feeble creatures try to keep from dying or aching.” ― P. T. Barnum

More P. T. Barnum quotes and sayings

51. “You must exercise your caution in laying your plans, but be bold in carrying them out.” – P. T. Barnum

52. “To forgive heals the wound, to forget heals the scar.” – P. T. Barnum

53. “Energy and patience in business are two indispensable elements of success.” – P. T. Barnum

54. “There is no class of people in the world, who have such good memories as creditors.” – P. T. Barnum

55. “Your success depends on what you do yourself, with your own means.” – P. T. Barnum

56. “When a man is in the right path, he must persevere.” – P. T. Barnum

57. “The wonders of the ages assembled for your edification, education and enjoyment – for a price.” – P. T. Barnum

58. “The great ambition should be to excel all others engaged in the same occupation.” – P T Barnum

59. “Those who really desire to attain independence, have only to set their minds upon it and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily done.” – P.T. Barnum

60. “Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs.” – P. T. Barnum

Which of these P. T. Barnum quotes is your favorite?

It is likely that he never said his most famous quote, “There is a sucker born every minute,” as no one can attribute it to him.

Despite the cynicism of that quote and the decisions he made, he also had some wise and inspirational things to say.

While he may not have been the person who the movie portrayed him to be, he made a living doing what he loved.

He also made people laugh and smile.

That is something that we can all aspire to do, hopefully by using more moral methods.

Follow your dreams and fuel your passions into something that sustains you.

Do what you can to make other people forget their troubles for a moment and smile.

Spreading joy and laughter, if even to one other person, can make the world a better place.

If you liked this article on P. T. Barnum, check out these Never Enough quotes from the movie about the famous circus man!

Which of these P. T. Barnum quotes and sayings is your favorite?

Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.