ART OF MONEY GETTING: Golden Rules for Building Wealth & Achieving Success – P.T. Barnum

About this episode

This episode explores P.T. Barnum's timeless principles for building wealth and achieving success as outlined in his 1880 work, The Art of Money Getting.

THE ART OF MONEY GETTING: Golden Rules for Building Wealth and Achieving Success – P.T. Barnum (1880). This Secrets of Success Podcast episode dives into one of the most practical and enduring guides to wealth-building ever written: P.T. Barnum's The Art of Money Getting: or, Golden Rules for Making Money (published in 1880). The legendary showman—famous for his circus empire, American Museum spectacles, and larger-than-life persona—was also a shrewd businessman who amassed (and sometimes lost) fortunes through entertainment, real estate, and savvy investments. Far from flashy get-rich-quick schemes, this concise book distills Barnum's hard-won lessons into 20 straightforward "golden rules" for achieving financial independence and lasting prosperity. Barnum wrote this as a motivational lecture-turned-pamphlet, emphasizing that true success stems from industry, integrity, perseverance, and common sense—not luck, inheritance, or deception. He argues that money-getting is honorable and essential to civilization's progress: commerce funds education, art, science, and philanthropy. In an era of rapid industrialization and opportunity in America, Barnum's advice targeted young people…

People in this episode

Host: SECRETS OF SUCCESS & WEALTH

Topics covered

• wealth building
• financial independence
• entrepreneurship
• money management
• self-improvement

Keywords

• P.T. Barnum
• wealth
• success
• money getting
• financial advice
• golden rules
• entrepreneurship

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