--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was a tall, energetic, self-made man…" description: "\"“He was a tall, energetic, self-made man who had taught himself accountancy and banking through correspondence courses and had risen to his present pos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/kuan-yew-lee-178136_merit_he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-wh_1905173.jpg" --- # He was a tall, energetic, self-made man who had taught… ![“He was a tall, energetic, self-made man who had taught himself accountancy and banking through correspondence courses and had risen to his present position in the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation on his own merits, having neither relatives to give him a push nor money to buy promotion.” quote by Kuan Yew Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/kuan-yew-lee-178136_merit_he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-wh_1905173.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/kuan-yew-lee-178136_merit_he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-wh_1905173.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/kuan-yew-lee-178136_merit_he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-wh_1905173.jpg) > ““He was a tall, energetic, self-made man who had taught himself accountancy and banking through correspondence courses and had risen to his present position in the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation on his own merits, having neither relatives to give him a push nor money to buy promotion.”” Kuan Yew Lee ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑made success through hard work and learning, without family aid or money, shows merit can rise alone. **In simple terms:** Hard work and learning lead to success. Key Takeaway Cultivate skills, rely on merit. Themes Merit Self‑reliance Education Career Entrepreneurship Mood inspirational proud realistic Type Merit:1 Money:0 Position:0 Relative:0 Self made:1 Self Man:0 Man Taught:0 Tall Energetic:0 Chinese Banking:0 Taught Accountancy:0 When to use this quote - Job interviews - Mentorship programs - Self‑study - Networking Key Concepts Social mobility Personal development Finance Leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can you develop merit in your field? - What support systems help self‑made individuals? A Different Perspective Merit alone may be limited by systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Self made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-made/) ## Related quotes > [The Chinese banking system is built on quicksand and that's the one thing a lot of people don't realize. Everybody seems to think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/the-chinese-banking-system-is-built-on-quicksand-and-that-s-the-one/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [We have the kind of self-made-man myth, which says that super-successful people did it themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/we-have-the-kind-of-self-made-man-myth-which-says-that-super/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I'm a self-made man. Who else would help?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-levant/i-m-a-self-made-man-who-else-would-help/) [Oscar Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-levant/) > [I'm a self-made man since I left college at the age of 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-kundra/i-m-a-self-made-man-since-i-left-college-at-the-age-of-18/) [Raj Kundra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-kundra/) > [Everyone is a self-made man. Only the successful admit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/everyone-is-a-self-made-man-only-the-successful-admit-it/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I don't believe in the myth of the "self made man". Nobody gets through alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/i-don-t-believe-in-the-myth-of-the-self-made-man-nobody-gets-through/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [Long-term success is never achieved on our own. The phrase 'a self-made man' is a myth all along the way we need support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadore-sharp/long-term-success-is-never-achieved-on-our-own-the-phrase-a-self-made/) [Isadore Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadore-sharp/) > [I once met a man who was a billionaire, and I said to him: 'Are you a self-made man?' - and he turned around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-mckay/i-once-met-a-man-who-was-a-billionaire-and-i-said-to-him-are-you-a/) [Christian McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-mckay/) > [The American cultural ideal of the self-made man, of everyone standing on his own feet, is as tragic a picture as the initiative –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-lewin/the-american-cultural-ideal-of-the-self-made-man-of-everyone-standing/) [Kurt Lewin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-lewin/) > [A self-made man may prefer a self-made name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/a-self-made-man-may-prefer-a-self-made-name/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [The self-made man that some people believe is a myth? 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No matter what I do with my life, I can never match his accomplishments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-ecclestone/my-father-started-with-nothing-and-is-a-self-made-man-no-matter-what/) [Tamara Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-ecclestone/) > [When did it something of shame or ridicule to be a self-made man in America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/when-did-it-something-of-shame-or-ridicule-to-be-a-self-made-man-in/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [There is no such thing as a "self-made" man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-matthew-adams/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-self-made-man-we-are-made-up-of-thousands/) [George Matthew Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-matthew-adams/) ## More Merit quotes > [The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-iranian-people-have-a-proud-past-they-merit-a-great-future/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I could give you some names of Workshop participants who are as good as many who are being published but haven't had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/i-could-give-you-some-names-of-workshop-participants-who-are-as-good/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. 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To many people, being nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the-2/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-story-of-the-jews-in-the-bible-is-replete-with-incidents-of-their/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) Browse all 1,373 Merit quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was a tall, energetic, self-made man who had taught himself accountancy and banking through correspondence courses and had risen to his present position in the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation on his own merits, having neither relatives to give him a push nor money to buy promotion.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kuan Yew Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kuan-yew-lee/he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-who-had-taught-himself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Merit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kuan-yew-lee/he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-who-had-taught-himself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/kuan-yew-lee-178136_merit_he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-wh_1905173.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/kuan-yew-lee-178136_merit_he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-wh_1905173.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/kuan-yew-lee-178136_merit_he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-wh_1905173.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was a tall, energetic, self-made man who had taught himself accountancy and banking through…” — Kuan Yew Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kuan Yew Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kuan-yew-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He was a tall, energetic, self-made...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kuan-yew-lee/he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-who-had-taught-himself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kuan-yew-lee/he-was-a-tall-energetic-self-made-man-who-had-taught-himself/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```