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Known as the world's greatest showman, Phineas Taylor Barnum is one of the most colorful and well known entrepreneurs of early America. A newspaperman, politician and promoter, he is best remembered for his entertaining hoaxes, like the Fejee Mermaid, the 161 Year Old Woman or General Tom Thumb, and for founding the circus that eventually became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey.

Contrary to popular belief, Barnum did not coin the phrase "There’s a sucker born every minute." Instead, he avowed that a customer is born every minute. He made and lost fortunes, captivated the public, presidents and queens, and then wrote Art of Money Getting to share his own golden rules for making money.

Barnum’s recommendations are timeless, maintaining their relevance over a century later. There are still no shortcuts or substitutes to passion and perseverance: “Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now. The old proverb is full of truth and meaning, "Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." Many a man acquires a fortune by doing his business thoroughly, while his neighbor remains poor for life, because he only half does it. Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business.”

Perhaps speaking from his experience as a man who failed as well as succeeded throughout his career, he suggests: “Engage in one kind of business only, and stick to it faithfully until you succeed, or until your experience shows that you should abandon it. A constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can be clinched. When a man's undivided attention is centered on one object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvements of value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a dozen different subjects at once. Many a fortune has slipped through a man's fingers because he was engaged in too many occupations at a time. There is good sense in the old caution against having too many irons in the fire at once. “