Collis P. Huntington

"I have found that those who fear failure have already failed in spirit."

"The consolidation of power is not tyranny; it is the natural order of commerce."

"I learned that yesterday's impossibilities are today's commonplaces and tomorrow's forgotten victories."

"The man who seeks only profit has lost sight of true wealth, which is achievement."

"I have observed that the law follows commerce, never leading it."

"The greatest tragedy is not failure, but the failure to attempt."

"I have spent a lifetime building not just business, but the infrastructure of civilization itself."

"A man's true measure is not the enemies he makes, but the obstacles he overcomes."

"I learned that those who understand the past are best equipped to shape the future."

"The railroad is progress made manifest in iron and determination."

"I have never apologized for ambition. It is the engine of all human advancement."

"The consolidation of American railroads was the consolidation of American destiny."

"A man should leave the world slightly altered by his presence in it."

"I have found that those who speak of fairness often speak from positions of weakness."

"The secret of my success has never been hidden; it is simply outworking and outwitting my competition."

"I learned that in business, as in life, perception often matters more than reality."

"The man who waits for certainty will spend his life waiting."

"I have observed that the truly powerful never need to speak of their power."

"The railroad business taught me that vision without execution is merely daydreaming."

"A man's legacy is not measured in gold, but in the progress he catalyzed."

"I have never been comfortable with comfort; comfort is the enemy of excellence."

"The consolidation of competing interests is not destruction; it is creation at a higher level."

"I learned that those who understand leverage understand the world."

"The man who builds for eternity must first master the present."

"I have found that loyalty in business is a luxury that only the powerful can afford."

"The railroad transformed the continent because it connected the possible to the inevitable."

"A man's character is not defined by his wealth, but by the manner in which he acquired it."

"I have observed that those who fear the future are those unprepared for it."

"The secret to sustained influence is understanding that today's victor may be tomorrow's vassal."

"I learned that the consolidation of power is the consolation of the ambitious."