Quotes from the World’s Richest Man

When it comes to getting financial inspiration, it never hurts to follow the advice of some of the most successful people out there. In fact, you should actively seek the thoughts of those who have been successful to try to find inspiration to achieve your own financial goals. You can learn a lot from the words of those like Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. It’s even better if the person who is successful and wealthy is also frugal. You can do that with a new book “The World’s Richest Man: Carlos Slim In His Own Words”

Although in 2014 Carlos Slim was ranked at number two behind Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, he did previously top the list in 2010 as the first person from a developing country to ever to do. Despite his wealth, he still lives in the same house he has for the last 40 years.

The book contains a collection of over 200 quotes giving Carlos Slim’s perspective about business, corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, management, philanthropy, smart investing and wealth. It should give anyone who wants to create wealth a wonderful deposit of inspiration and down-to-earth advice on a variety of business related topics.

Below you’ll find 10 quotes excepted from the book and their original sources:

1. “Whomever doesn’t invest, out of fear, precaution, or whatever, will stay behind.”
— Agence France-Presse, March 9, 2011

2. “Share price is important — in the end. But when does the end come?”
— Financial Times, February 25, 2013

3. “Any personal crisis — you have to use it to get stronger.”
— New Yorker, June 1, 2009

4. “In acquisition, we don’t really move people. We cannot get involved at that level with so many companies. Besides, if you move people, they will run.”
— Korn/Ferry Briefings on Talent & Leadership, Fall 2010

5. “Buying well is a discipline.”
— Arizona Republic, May 30, 2007

6. “Mistakes are normal and human. Make them small, accept them, correct them, and forget them.”
— American University of Beirut, March 18, 2010

7. “Periods of excess make you ambitious, but not always for the right thing.”
— Korn/Ferry Briefings on Talent & Leadership, Fall 2010

8. “I invest for the long term, not the short. If you buy something because it’s cheap, that’s only speculation.”
— New Yorker, June 1, 2009

9. “Firm and patient optimism always yields its rewards.”
–“Questions and Answers,” Carlosslim.com, 2007

10. “I don’t believe too much in luck. I believe in circumstances. I believe in work.”
— George Washington University Global Forum, October 29, 2010

Personally, I find quotes number three, six and ten appeal to me the most from the ten listed above. We all have crisis which we have to overcome, and using them to make you stronger and better is a key to not repeating them again. It’s also vitally important to realize that everyone makes mistakes. The only thing that’s wrong with mistakes is if you don’t learn from them so that you repeat the same ones again and again. Finally, while there may be luck that plays a part for some people building wealth, for the vast majority of us, it’s a matter of creating opportunity from the circumstances we find through our own work.

Of course, that’s just me. Quotes tend to hit different people and different ways, and chances are others may appeal to you more. What is pretty certain is that you can find a large amount of inspiration among the 200 quotes in the book.

For more on Carlos’s Slim’s business career, Bloomberg has an excellent article,  so does Business Insider, and Forbes.