December 15th is right around the corner and what better way to celebrate the birth of an American success story than with some inspiring J. Paul Getty quotes? He was the ultimate rebel -- practically disinherited for doing things his father didn't like, yet amassing a fortune of billions on his own. How does someone with such a drive for success think? What makes them who they are? Maybe these 14 J. Paul Getty quotes can give us some insight.



1. "Going to work for a large company is like getting on a train. Are you going sixty miles an hour or is the train going sixty miles an hour and you're just sitting still?"

2. "If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem."

3. "To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about that business."

4. "The meek shall inherit the Earth, but not its mineral rights."

5. "A man may fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else."

6. "Money isn't everything but it sure keeps you in touch with your children."

7. "Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells."

8. "In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy."

9. "The employer generally gets the employees he deserves."

10. "Without the element of uncertainty, the bringing off of even, the greatest business triumph would be dull, routine, and eminently unsatisfying."

11. "The #1 guideline to success is you must be in business for yourself. When you work for someone else, you sell your time at wholesale to your employer, who then re-sells it at retail to the customer."

12. "I'd rather have 1% of the effort of 100 men than 100% of my own effort."

13. "The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might of the force of habit and must understand that practices are what create habits. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires."

14. "The man who comes up with a means for doing or producing almost anything better, faster or more economically has his future and his fortune at his fingertips."

It's not often that one gets to glimpse inside the mind of a great man. Through their words and thoughts, people's quotes allow us to do just that. As we celebrate the greatness of who J. Paul Getty was, let us remember not just what he did, but who he was through these inspiring J. Paul Getty quotes.