Andrew Carnegie's Autobiography
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish native that emigrated to Allegheny, Pennsylvania when he was a young boy. Through rigorous work, reading, and dedication Andrew Carnegie became one of the wealthiest men in history. In this autobiography Andrew Carnegie explains the story of being an immigrant who goes through numerous obstacles and struggles, however, rises to the top. Carnegie’s autobiography is moving and extremely powerful for being one of the first of its kind in the 1900s. He starts as a telegrapher and with hard work and complete devotion to being the best, becomes the captain of industry and steel magnate.
In addition to this, The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and His Essay The Gospel of Wealth was one of the first of its kind. The
autobiography was published in 1920, one year after Carnegie passed away. However, this autobiography was one of the earliest memoirs of an American capitalist. Many words and qualities are thought of when describing Andrew Carnegie, but the most important would be how gracious he was. With the money that Carnegie made from being an innovator, philanthropist, industrializer, and much more, he contributed ninety percent of his income to the establishment of libraries. This autobiography shows how Andrew Carnegie wanted the best for humanity and did what he could with his great wealth to better those around him. I believe the ultimate goal of Carnegie was to aid those that wanted to benefit themselves as well.
After reading this book about Andrew Carnegie did a lot for me. After reading the autobiography, I began to feel more motivated and determined to succeed in life. This book, as well as others like it appear to me as if anything is possible. While reading I noticed that Carnegie came from a lot less than myself. This, however, did not stop him from persevering what he wanted. In addition to this I detected that Carnegie did have many rough patches throughout his journey to success. In my life, I frequently get down when bad things happen and tend to let that bring my whole demeanor down.
Nevertheless Carnegie, did not let miniscule things bring him down nor stop him. Strong morals are a great thing to possess. When having strong morals, such as Carnegie did, they push you further than you thought you could go. In the autobiography Carnegie speaks about where he started working and how he continued to move up, take chances, fail, succeed, and fail again. I can now see how if something didn’t work for me I would not always continue to try it until I did could do it. As I grew up I could see that I did begin to change and if I was not the best at it I did work harder at it. Looking now, I can still do better and I can tell that I have not done the best I can at various things in my life.
With morals comes determination and these two go hand-in-hand. To have good morals you need to be determined to stick to them. Determination for Carnegie is what helped him to prevail in the long run. When asked to do something, Carnegie did not hesitate to do it. If he did not do the task justice he would learn how to do it the right way and perform it perfectly the next time. As a teen I have had three different jobs during high school. For each of these jobs I had to go through training in order to learn how to perform the job the best that I can. In a situation like this I see that Carnegie and I both wanted to do justice for the task at hand. I would first try to do the job correctly and if I did mess up I then would ask for help. At the same time I would have stubborn moments when I would not ask for help at all, I would just do the task. I have grown up and learned from my parents, teachers, and coaches, that asking for help is never a bad thing, in fact it is probably the best thing to do. Asking questions is the best way to find out what information you don’t know. I have also noticed that people like it when I ask for help, as a result of bettering myself and in addition, keeps me from botching the objective.
In conclusion, Andrew Carnegie was one of the most self-determined, strong minded, caring, and motivated people in history. He has set standards for all people that wish to be successful and do not want to be “average”. Carnegie has opened my eyes to many different ideas and ways to become the best person that I can be. Success is now a goal of mine and I am driven to create a life that I do not need a vacation from. Carnegie said it best when he made this statement, “ People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” When I think about this quote it reminds me of another extremely successful man, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He said, “ The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.” Both of these great men set themselves apart from the world and did not settle for “average” and neither will I.
In addition to this, The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and His Essay The Gospel of Wealth was one of the first of its kind. The
autobiography was published in 1920, one year after Carnegie passed away. However, this autobiography was one of the earliest memoirs of an American capitalist. Many words and qualities are thought of when describing Andrew Carnegie, but the most important would be how gracious he was. With the money that Carnegie made from being an innovator, philanthropist, industrializer, and much more, he contributed ninety percent of his income to the establishment of libraries. This autobiography shows how Andrew Carnegie wanted the best for humanity and did what he could with his great wealth to better those around him. I believe the ultimate goal of Carnegie was to aid those that wanted to benefit themselves as well.
After reading this book about Andrew Carnegie did a lot for me. After reading the autobiography, I began to feel more motivated and determined to succeed in life. This book, as well as others like it appear to me as if anything is possible. While reading I noticed that Carnegie came from a lot less than myself. This, however, did not stop him from persevering what he wanted. In addition to this I detected that Carnegie did have many rough patches throughout his journey to success. In my life, I frequently get down when bad things happen and tend to let that bring my whole demeanor down.
Nevertheless Carnegie, did not let miniscule things bring him down nor stop him. Strong morals are a great thing to possess. When having strong morals, such as Carnegie did, they push you further than you thought you could go. In the autobiography Carnegie speaks about where he started working and how he continued to move up, take chances, fail, succeed, and fail again. I can now see how if something didn’t work for me I would not always continue to try it until I did could do it. As I grew up I could see that I did begin to change and if I was not the best at it I did work harder at it. Looking now, I can still do better and I can tell that I have not done the best I can at various things in my life.
With morals comes determination and these two go hand-in-hand. To have good morals you need to be determined to stick to them. Determination for Carnegie is what helped him to prevail in the long run. When asked to do something, Carnegie did not hesitate to do it. If he did not do the task justice he would learn how to do it the right way and perform it perfectly the next time. As a teen I have had three different jobs during high school. For each of these jobs I had to go through training in order to learn how to perform the job the best that I can. In a situation like this I see that Carnegie and I both wanted to do justice for the task at hand. I would first try to do the job correctly and if I did mess up I then would ask for help. At the same time I would have stubborn moments when I would not ask for help at all, I would just do the task. I have grown up and learned from my parents, teachers, and coaches, that asking for help is never a bad thing, in fact it is probably the best thing to do. Asking questions is the best way to find out what information you don’t know. I have also noticed that people like it when I ask for help, as a result of bettering myself and in addition, keeps me from botching the objective.
In conclusion, Andrew Carnegie was one of the most self-determined, strong minded, caring, and motivated people in history. He has set standards for all people that wish to be successful and do not want to be “average”. Carnegie has opened my eyes to many different ideas and ways to become the best person that I can be. Success is now a goal of mine and I am driven to create a life that I do not need a vacation from. Carnegie said it best when he made this statement, “ People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” When I think about this quote it reminds me of another extremely successful man, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He said, “ The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.” Both of these great men set themselves apart from the world and did not settle for “average” and neither will I.