William J. H. Boetcker Quotations

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

Never mind what others do; do better than yourself, beat your own record from day to day, and you are a success.

Your success depends mainly upon what you think of yourself and whether you believe in yourself.

The individual activity of one man with backbone will do more than a thousand men with a mere wishbone.

The more you learn what to do with yourself, and the more you do for others, the more you will learn to enjoy the abundant life.

The difficulties and struggles of today are but the price we must pay for the accomplishments and victories of tomorrow.

That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.

True religion... is giving and finding one's happiness by bringing happiness into the lives of others.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.

Better to be a strong man with a weak point, than to be a weak man without a strong point. A diamond with a flaw is more valuable that a brick without a flaw.

What a different world this would be if people would listen to those who know more and not merely try to get something from those who have more.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

If your business keeps you so busy that you have no time for anything else, there must be something wrong either with you or with your business.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot raise a man up by calling him down.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

We will never have real safety and security for wage earners unless we provide for safety and security for the wage payers and wage savers.

You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.

And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

If you want to know how rich you really are, find out what would be left of you tomorrow if you should lose every dollar you own tonight.

You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.

You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.

If you want to earn more - learn more.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income,

The more men, generally speaking, will do for a Dollar when they make it, the more that Dollar will do for them when they spend it.

Your greatness is measured by your kindness.

Many modern (so-called) Reformers are just as dangerous as the physician who makes a wrong diagnosis of a disease. They see the trouble from without and prescribe external remedies, while the cause of the trouble is within and needs internal treatment.

Think in the name of Almighty God. We must first have a worldwide awakening of the public conscience, a spiritual revival, a moral regeneration, before there can be permanent peace and real economic recovery. To this end we do not need new laws, but a new spirit; we do not need a change of government, but a change of the human heart. There can be no peace, there will be no recovery without it. Therefore, with a change of heart, let's all make a new start.

If the majority of people of a country, no matter how great its natural resources, organize and conspire to get more out and put less in, to do less and get more, how long will, how long can it last?

Are you appalled at existing conditions? Don't waste your energy trying to change conditions from without! Change the Human Heart from within.

When away from home always be like the kind of man you would care to take into your own home.

Men must be honest with themselves before they can be honest with others. A man who is not honest with himself presents a hopeless case.

A man who tries to make the workmen believe that their employers are their natural enemies is indeed the worst enemy of workmen. For the employees of yesterday are the employers of today, and the employees of today can and will partly be the employers of tomorrow.

What the carburetor, sparkplug and self-starter are to an automobile, initiative, private enterprise and executive ability are to industry as a whole, including the wage earner, wage payer, wage spender and wage saver, i.e., the investor. If the sparkplug and self-starter get out of commission, the car will come to a standstill.

What a pleasure life would be to live if everybody would try to do only half of what he expects others to do.

It is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right.

The man who is worthy of being a leader of men will never complain about the stupidity of his helpers, the ingratitude of mankind nor the inappreciation of the public. These are all a part of the great game of life. To meet them and overcome them and not to go down before them in disgust, discouragement or defeat-that is the final proof of power

Men will get no more out of life than they put into it.

True religion is not a mere doctrine, something that can be taught, but is a way of life. A life in community with God. It must be experienced to be appreciated. A life of service. A living by giving and finding one's own happiness by bringing happiness into the lives of others.

You cannot help the small men, by tearing down the big men.

No man can make good during working hours who does the wrong thing outside of working hours.

Before you can write a check, you must first make out a deposit slip; before you can draw money out of a bank, you must put money into a bank; before you are entitled to a living, you must give the world a life; if you want to make a first-class living, learn to give the world a first-class life.

It is not what people do when they work, but what they do when they don't work that causes all their troubles.

A man without religion or spiritual vision is like a captain who finds himself in the midst of an uncharted sea, without compass, rudder and steering wheel. He never knows where he is, which way he is going and where he is going to land.

Confidence is the foundation for all business relations. The degree of confidence a man has in others, and the degree of confidence others have in him, determines a man's standing in the commercial and industrial world.

When men are so busy making money that they have no time for anything else, then the day is not far off when they will have no money for anything else.

Seven national crimes: 1. I don't think. 2. I don't know. 3. I don't care. 4. I am too busy. 5. I leave well enough alone. 6. I have no time to read and find out. 7. I am not interested.

No man will succeed unless he is ready to face and overcome difficulties and prepared to assume responsibilities.

If you wish to succeed in managing and controlling others - learn to manage and control yourself.

Nations begin to dig their own graves when men talk more of human rights and less of human duties.

Most men believe that it would benefit them if they could get a little from those who have more. How much more would it benefit them if they would learn a little from those who know more.

Beware of ignorance when in motion; look out for inexperience when in action, and beware of the majority when mentally poisoned with misinformation, for collective ignorance does not become wisdom.

For the self-development of men and women it is absolutely necessary that they should be alone with themselves at least one hour each day-to get the blessings of solitude.

Freedom of press and freedom of speech: What a blessing for a country while in the hands of honest, patriotic men; what a curse if in the hands of designing demagogues.

Never mind what the 'people' think of you! They may overestimate or underestimate you! Until they discover your real worth, your success depends mainly upon what you think of yourself and whether you believe in yourself. You can succeed if nobody else believes it; but you will never succeed if you don't believe in yourself.

A man is judged by the company he keeps, and a company is judged by the men it keeps, and the people of Democratic nations are judged by the type and caliber of officers they elect.

Every so often we hear people clamor for a change. Let's change the Constitution, change the form of Government, change everything for better or worse except to change the only thing that needs changing first: The human heart and our standard of success and human values.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending

You can succeed if nobody else believes it, but you will never succeed if you don't believe in yourself.