P. T. Barnum

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Optimistic mindset

  “my natural disposition impels me to look upon the brighter side of life, and I hope my humorous experiences will entertain my readers as much as they were enjoyed by myself.”

  Our noteBarnum reflects on his tendency to include humor and practical jokes in his life story.

• Resilience and incentive

  “I have thought that the review of a life, with the wide contrasts of humble origin and high and honorable success; of most formidable obstacles overcome by courage and constancy; of affluence that had been patiently won, suddenly wrenched away, and triumphantly regained--would be a help and incentive to the young man”

  Our noteBarnum describes the purpose of sharing his struggles and triumphs with the younger generation.

• Use plain language

  “Things were becoming serious, and I saw that in order to get rid of these people they must be addressed in plain language”

  Our noteBarnum realized his performers' fancy closing speeches were confusing the rural audience.

• Negotiation commitment

  “"you may bind me in any way, and as tightly as you please--only give me a chance to dig out, or scratch out, and I will do so or forfeit all the labor and trouble I may have incurred."”

  Our noteBarnum pleads with a landlord to buy the museum for him on credit.

• Confidence in negotiation

  “"I'll not bet the money," I replied, "for I tell you I know it is tobacco; I placed it there myself."”

  Our noteBarnum was baiting a boastful passenger into a bet by pretending to be certain of his facts.

• Calculated exclusivity

  “This procedure, though in some measure a stroke of policy, was neither singular nor hazardous, under the circumstances.”

  Our noteBarnum explains why he initially restricted access to his exhibition to create an aura of dignity.

• Negotiating fixed costs

  “I told him I was anxious to bring a "dwarf" to Paris, but that the percentage to be paid for a license was so large as to deter me from bringing him”

  Our noteBarnum negotiates with a French official to lower the exhibition tax.

• Smart asset acquisition

  “I bought them, and adding "B." to the "P. T.," had a very fine table service, still in my possession, and bearing my own initials, "P. T. B.”

  Our noteBarnum explains how he acquired luxury goods at a discount by leveraging a coincidence.

• Everyone is a showman

  “I laughingly replied, "Why, I consider you the eminent Professor Pinte, preceptor to General Tom Thumb; but, after all, we are all showmen."”

  Our noteBarnum addresses his interpreter's insecurity about being associated with the show business.

• Value in diversity

  “I hold that every faith has somewhat of truth; and that each sect, in its way, does a work which perhaps no one of the other sects can do as well.”

  Our noteBarnum explained his philosophy on why different approaches are necessary for different people.

• Information control

  “I immediately telegraphed him not to mention it to any person, and that I would meet him the next day in New York.”

  Our noteBarnum instructs his agent to keep the massive deal secret until the right moment.

• Exceeding customer expectations

  “The transcendent musical genius of the Swedish Nightingale was superior to all that fancy could paint, and the furor did not attain its highest point until she had been heard.”

  Our noteBarnum reflects on how Jenny Lind's actual performance surpassed the massive marketing hype he created.

• Price anchoring risks

  “One of the Havana papers, notwithstanding the great triumph, continued to cry out for low prices. This induced many to absent themselves, expecting soon to see a reduction.”

  Our noteBarnum explains how media demands for lower prices caused potential customers to wait for discounts.

• Relationship with money

  “Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servant but a terrible master.”

  Our noteBarnum warns about the dangers of debt and financial mismanagement.

• Value of money

  “Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it by experience.”

  Our noteExplaining why inherited wealth often leads to failure without experience.

• Strive for excellence

  “The great ambition should be to excel all others engaged in the same occupation.”

  Our noteBarnum discusses the importance of being the best in your chosen field to ensure success.

• Necessity of advertising

  “Be careful to advertise it in some shape or other because it is evident that if a man has ever so good an article for sale, and nobody knows it, it will bring him no return.”

  Our noteBarnum explains why even the best products need public visibility to generate sales.

• Persistence in marketing

  “Your object in advertising is to make the public understand what you have got to sell, and if you have not the pluck to keep advertising, until you have imparted that information, all the money you have spent is lost.”

  Our noteBarnum emphasizes that advertising requires courage and persistence to be effective.

• Universal nature of humbug

  “A little reflection will show that humbug is an astonishingly wide-spread phenomenon--in fact almost universal.”

  Our noteBarnum introduces the idea that deception exists in every field of human endeavor.

• The ultimate cynic

  “The greatest humbug of all is the man who believes--or pretends to believe--that everything and everybody are humbugs.”

  Our noteBarnum explains that total cynicism is a form of self-deception and foolishness.

• Curiosity Drives Trials

  “The curiosity of the public was thus aroused, and they did "try" it, and finding it a superior article, they continued to purchase it and recommend it to their friends”

  Our noteHow a controversial marketing stunt led to long-term customer retention through quality.

• Self-deception through cynicism

  “Many persons have such a horror of being taken in, or such an elevated opinion of their own acuteness, that they believe everything to be a sham”

  Our noteHe explains why some visitors refused to believe a real whale was in his museum tank.

• Newsjacking in advertising

  “Mr. Pease's plan was to seize upon the most prominent topic of interest and general conversation, and discourse eloquently upon that topic”

  Our noteBarnum describes a successful advertising strategy that leveraged current events to sell candy.

• The Power of Advertising

  “Advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land,--it largely increases the product.”

  Our noteBarnum explains how advertising acts as a catalyst for business growth.

• Conditions for deception

  “Mediums always insist upon certain conditions, and those conditions are just such as will best enable them to deceive the senses and pervert the judgment.”

  Our noteBarnum explains how fraudulent mediums control the environment to trick their audience.

• Learning the trick

  “Before a trick can be exposed it must be learned.”

  Our noteBarnum emphasizes that understanding the mechanics of a competitor's trick is necessary to debunk it.

• Word of mouth

  “All who sought to look on those pictures were satisfied with what had been shown them, and, by conversation on the subject, increased the number of visitors.”

  Our noteThe passage describes how satisfied customers naturally acted as a marketing force.

• Speculative gambling

  “Now, this petroleum business--very much of it--is just as thorough a gambling business as any faro bank ever set up in Broadway”

  Our noteBarnum compares the speculative oil mania of his time to high-stakes gambling.

• Lack of utility

  “But nobody ever pretended that tulips could be eaten, or manufactured, or consumed in any way of practical usefulness.”

  Our noteBarnum explains why the tulip mania was the most irrational speculation in history.

• Inevitability of crashes

  “After about three years of fool's paradise, people began to reflect that the shuttlecock could not be knocked about in the air forever”

  Our noteReflecting on the moment when the Dutch public realized the tulip bubble was about to burst.