--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man is a failure who goes through life…" description: "\"A man is a failure who goes through life earning nothing but money.\" — Charles A. Beard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/charles-a-beard-25369_earning_a-man-is-a-failure-who-goes-through-life_684685.png" --- # A man is a failure who goes through life earning nothing… ![“A man is a failure who goes through life earning nothing but money.” quote by Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/charles-a-beard-25369_earning_a-man-is-a-failure-who-goes-through-life_684685.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/charles-a-beard-25369_earning_a-man-is-a-failure-who-goes-through-life_684685.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/charles-a-beard-25369_earning_a-man-is-a-failure-who-goes-through-life_684685.png) > “A man is a failure who goes through life earning nothing but money.” [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A life focused solely on wealth neglects broader purpose and fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Money‑only life lacks meaning. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond profit. Themes values purpose wealth Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - philanthropy - personal development - financial decisions Key Concepts materialism existentialism career focus Questions to Reflect On - What non‑financial goals give your life meaning? - How can you balance earnings with purpose? A Different Perspective Money alone cannot guarantee happiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [The goal of life is not the earning of money, but the service of God.p.114](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-goal-of-life-is-not-the-earning-of-money-but-the-service-of-god-p/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is about more than earning a living, and if you're not in the habit of thinking about it, you can end up middle-aged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/life-is-about-more-than-earning-a-living-and-if-you-re-not-in-the/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [“Life is not about how much you are earning, life is about how you are living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sujit-meher/life-is-not-about-how-much-you-are-earning-life-is-about-how-you-are/) Sujit Meher > [When I started to make more or less serious money - for those times - then, of course, I wanted to show everyone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-abramovich/when-i-started-to-make-more-or-less-serious-money-for-those-times/) [Roman Abramovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-abramovich/) > [Failure never goes to my heart, and success never goes to my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raashi-khanna/failure-never-goes-to-my-heart-and-success-never-goes-to-my-head/) [Raashi Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raashi-khanna/) > [If you were to plot my success or failure, it goes, it very seldom stays on a high plateau.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-beck/if-you-were-to-plot-my-success-or-failure-it-goes-it-very-seldom/) [Jeff Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-beck/) > [When preaching is done right, it can change lives. When it's done badly, my failure goes beyond the merely human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/when-preaching-is-done-right-it-can-change-lives-when-it-s-done-badly/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [The best time of your life are those when you say YES I am fine , & you know that someone would look into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-time-of-your-life-are-those-when-you-say-yes-i-am-fine-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The first consideration for all, throughout life, is the earning of a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ihara-saikaku/the-first-consideration-for-all-throughout-life-is-the-earning-of-a/) [Ihara Saikaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ihara-saikaku/) > [in the past, having a life while earning a living didn't seem like too much to ask. Today, even this basic goal has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/in-the-past-having-a-life-while-earning-a-living-didn-t-seem-like-too/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [“Mirabelle is not affected by a man's failure to approach her, as her own self-deprecating attitude never allows the idea that he would in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/mirabelle-is-not-affected-by-a-man-s-failure-to-approach-her-as-her/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one's better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/often-the-difference-between-a-successful-man-and-a-failure-is-not/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [An artist, a man, a failure, must proceed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/an-artist-a-man-a-failure-must-proceed/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [A man is not a failure when he is defeated. He fails when he give up and quit trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/a-man-is-not-a-failure-when-he-is-defeated-he-fails-when-he-give-up/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“As a man, I was a failure. A pathetic teacher lusting after Catholic school girls in short skirts. As a monster, I'm superb. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/as-a-man-i-was-a-failure-a-pathetic-teacher-lusting-after-catholic/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) ## More by Charles A. Beard > [Jeffersonian Democracy simply meant the possession of the federal government by the agrarian masses led by an aristocracy of slave-owning masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/jeffersonian-democracy-simply-meant-the-possession-of-the-federal/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [Killing time is not murder, it is suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/killing-time-is-not-murder-it-is-suicide/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [“The national government belongs to the whole American people,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-national-government-belongs-to-the-whole-american-people/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [All the lessons of history in four sentences: 1) Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power; 2) The mills of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/all-the-lessons-of-history-in-four-sentences-1-whom-the-gods-would/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [“THE COLONIAL PERIOD”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-colonial-period/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [Technological civilization... rests fundamentally on power-driven machinery which transcends the physical limits of its human directors, multiplying indefinitely the capacity for the production of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/technological-civilization-rests-fundamentally-on-power-driven/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [“French-Canadian, the Alaskan, the Latin-American, the German, the Italian, the Anglo-American, and the American Indian, squaw and warrior. In the place of honor in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/french-canadian-the-alaskan-the-latin-american-the-german-the-italian/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [The borrowers of America and all the world turn to New York…It is to the quotations on the New York Stock Exchange that men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-borrowers-of-america-and-all-the-world-turn-to-new-york-it-is-to/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [The bee fertilizes the flower it robs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-bee-fertilizes-the-flower-it-robs/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [“The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-mills-of-god-grind-slowly-but-they-grind-exceedingly-fine/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [The two great tests of character are wealth and poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-two-great-tests-of-character-are-wealth-and-poverty/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-mills-of-god-grind-slowly-but-they-grind-exceedingly-small/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [“In a little while it was taken up in the streets and along the countryside. All through the North and in some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/in-a-little-while-it-was-taken-up-in-the-streets-and-along-the/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [Let us put aside resolutely that great fright, tenderly and without malice, daring to be wrong in something important rather than right in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/let-us-put-aside-resolutely-that-great-fright-tenderly-and-without/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [“The negro population grew by leaps and bounds, until on the eve of the Revolution it amounted to more than half a million. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-negro-population-grew-by-leaps-and-bounds-until-on-the-eve-of-the/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) [Explore all 23 Charles A. Beard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) ## More Earning quotes > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I was focused on The Hunger Games movie with my director, with the studio, and with the cast and crew. We all just focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-jacobson/i-was-focused-on-the-hunger-games-movie-with-my-director-with-the/) [Nina Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-jacobson/) > [I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/i-never-knew-an-early-rising-hard-working-prudent-man-careful-of-his/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Paul Revere earned his living as a silversmith. But what do we remember him for? His volunteer work. All activism is volunteering in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-ellis/paul-revere-earned-his-living-as-a-silversmith-but-what-do-we/) Susan J. Ellis > [If you don't like the idea that most of the money spent on lottery tickets supports government programs, you should know that most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-don-t-like-the-idea-that-most-of-the-money-spent-on-lottery/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Writing a book is a brilliant thing because once you've finished it, you've done it, and there's the potential for it to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/writing-a-book-is-a-brilliant-thing-because-once-you-ve-finished-it/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [These Americans are among the working poor with full-time jobs earning $5.15 an hour. Millions fall into this boat, even more when you consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcy-kaptur/these-americans-are-among-the-working-poor-with-full-time-jobs/) [Marcy Kaptur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcy-kaptur/) > [If we would have anything of benefit, we must earn it, and earning it become shrewd, inventive, ingenious, active, enterprising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/if-we-would-have-anything-of-benefit-we-must-earn-it-and-earning-it/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [After years of research, I discovered 25 differences in the work-life choices of men and women. All 25 lead to men earning more money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/after-years-of-research-i-discovered-25-differences-in-the-work-life/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [Recipients of transfers set a bad example for others, including their children, other relatives, and friends, who see that one can receive goods, services,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-set-a-bad-example-for-others-including-their/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Annual earnings in the fast-food industry are well below the income needed for self-sufficiency, and fast-food industry jobs are also much less likely than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rolf/annual-earnings-in-the-fast-food-industry-are-well-below-the-income/) [David Rolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rolf/) > [Accounting consequences do not influence our operating or capital-allocation decisions. When acquisition costs are similar, we much prefer to purchase $2 of earnings that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/accounting-consequences-do-not-influence-our-operating-or-capital/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“Invest in self-improvement, be it for learning, be it for earning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/invest-in-self-improvement-be-it-for-learning-be-it-for-earning/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [In the quiet hours when we are alone and there is nobody to tell us what fine fellows we are, we come sometimes upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne/in-the-quiet-hours-when-we-are-alone-and-there-is-nobody-to-tell-us/) [A. A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne/) > [The company must be profitable. Preferably it will have increased its earnings for the past five years and there will have been no deficits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cundill/the-company-must-be-profitable-preferably-it-will-have-increased-its/) [Peter Cundill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cundill/) Browse all 655 Earning quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man is a failure who goes through life earning nothing but money.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles A. 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