Top 50 Thomas J. Stanley Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “Whatever your income, always live below your means.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

2. “Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and, most of all, self-discipline.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

3. “The foundation stone of wealth accumulation is defense, and this defense should be anchored by budgeting and planning.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

4. “Luck and risk taking go hand in hand.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

5. “Most people have it all wrong about wealth in America. Wealth is not the same as income. If you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier. You are just living high. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

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

— Thomas J. Stanley

7. “If you want to catch a cold, hang out with sick people. If you want to lose, associate with losers. But if you want to become successful, go out of your way to associate with successful people.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

8. “Building a business is like building a home. If the foundation rests on an unstable setting or is constructed with subpar materials, it doesn’t matter if the rest of the home is perfect. It will never be a joy to its owner.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

9. “The advertising industry and Hollywood have done a wonderful job conditioning us to believe that wealth and hyperconsumption go hand in hand.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

10. “One of the reasons that millionaires are economically successful is that they think differently.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

11. “I have always been goal-oriented. I have a clearly defined set of daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, annual goals, and lifetime goals. I even have goals to go to the bathroom. I always tell our young executives that they must have goals.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

12. “It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. You’ll be surprised how many sales calls you can make when you have no alternative except to succeed.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

13. “They became millionaires by budgeting and controlling expenses, and they maintain their affluent status the same way. Sometimes.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

14. “Big Hat No Cattle.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

15. “It is easier to purchase products that denote superiority than to actually be superior in economic achievement.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

16. “Most millionaires measure their success by their net worth, not by their realized income. For the purposes of wealth building, income doesn’t matter that much. Once you’re in a high-income bracket, say $100,000 or $200,000 or more, it matters less how much more you make than what you do with what you already have.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

17. “How can well-educated, high-income people be so naive about money? Because being a well-educated, high-income earner does not automatically translate into financial independence. It takes planning and sacrificing.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

18. “Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

19. “Wealth is not the same as income. If you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier. You are just living high.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

20. “Twenty years ago we began studying how people become wealthy. Initially, we did it just as you might imagine, by surveying people in so-called upscale neighborhoods across the country. In time, we discovered something odd. Many people who live in expensive homes and drive luxury cars do not actually have much wealth. Then, we discovered something even odder: Many people who have a great deal of wealth do not even live in upscale neighborhoods.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

21. “It is unfortunate that some people judge others by their choice in foods, beverages, suits, watches, motor vehicles, and such. To them, superior people have excellent tastes in consumer goods. But it is easier to purchase products that denote superiority than to be actually superior in economic achievement. Allocating time and money in the pursuit of looking superior often has a predictable outcome: inferior economic achievement.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

22. “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.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

23. “I don’t own big hats, but I have a lot of cattle.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

24. “Interestingly, self-employed people make up less than 20 percent of the workers in America but account for two-thirds of the millionaires.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

25. “If you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier. You are just living high. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

26. “Most of us want to be wealthy, but most of us do not spend the time, energy, and money required to enhance our chances of realizing this goal.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

27. “It’s easier to accumulate wealth if you don’t live in a high-status neighborhood.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

28. “Your test scores are inferior, therefore you’re inferior,” and the result is yet one more economic dropout. Instead, tell a youngster there are many ways to win. Tell him that creativity and even common sense, social skills, and integrity count in the economic arena. If we convey that message, we will have many more people becoming productive citizens.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

29. “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. But.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

30. “Have you ever noticed those people whom you see jogging day after day? They are the ones who seem not to need to jog. But that’s why they are fit. Those who are wealthy work at staying financially fit. But those who are not financially fit do little to change their status.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

31. “Once you’re in a high-income bracket, say $100,000 or $200,000 or more, it matters less how much more you make than what you do with what you already have.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

32. “Why aren’t you as wealthy as you should be? It may be because of the way you operate your household. Would a business, especially a very productive one, ever hire a key employee without doing a serious background check and an in-depth interview? No! Yet most people, even those with high incomes, hire financial advisors after obtaining little or no background information about these “employment candidates.” Some.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

33. “To many successful, achievement-oriented children of the affluent, accumulating money is not the superordinate goal. Instead, they want to be well educated, to be respected by their peers, and to occupy a high-status position. For.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

34. “But 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.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

35. “Mrs. Rule wants to be free of financial worry before her sixty-fifth birthday. Each time she tabulates, she tells herself she is reducing her fear of never being able to retire in comfort.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

36. “Victor wants his children to have a better life. He encourages them to spend many years in college. Victor wants his children to become physicians, lawyers, accountants, executives, and so on. But in so encouraging them, Victor essentially discourages his children from becoming entrepreneurs.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

37. “Mr. Denzi can teach us all something about accumulating wealth. Begin earning and investing early in your adult life. That will enable you to outpace the wealth accumulation levels of even the so-called gifted kids from your high school class. Remember, wealth is blind.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

38. “UAWs tend to live above their means; they emphasize consumption. And they tend to de-emphasize many of the key factors that underlie wealth building. YOU.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

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

— Thomas J. Stanley

40. “Most people who become millionaires have confidence in their own abilities. They do not spend time worrying about whether or not their parents were wealthy. They do not believe that one must be born wealthy.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

41. “For every millionaire who owns a $1,000 suit, there are at least six owners who have annual incomes in the $50,000 to $200,000 range but who are not millionaires.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

42. “All too often high-income-producing UAWs 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. As.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

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

— Thomas J. Stanley

44. “Wealth is not the same as income.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

45. “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.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

46. “What are the implications of our findings? It’s easier to accumulate wealth if you don’t live in a high-status neighborhood.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

47. “Operate your household like a productive business.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

48. “What you probably don’t know is that your neighbor in the $300,000 house next to yours bought his house only after he became wealthy. You bought yours in anticipation of becoming wealthy. That day may never come. Each.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

49. “Unfortunately, most Americans think that they are emulating the rich by immediately consuming any upward swing in their cash flow.”

— Thomas J. Stanley

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

— Thomas J. Stanley