Consulting the Archives...
Generating fresh insights specifically for this topic.
This may take a moment.
Generating fresh insights specifically for this topic.
This may take a moment.
John D Rockefeller approached Time Management from first principles, cutting through assumptions to reveal fundamental truths. This archive captures that thinking, giving you access to frameworks you can build on. Every quote is sourced and contextualized, allowing you to understand their reasoning. Use this when you need to think clearly about Time Management without inheriting broken mental models.
"A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship."
"I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure."
"I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty."
"I have never been a man of words; I have always been a man of action."
"Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing."
"I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people's efforts than 100% of my own."
"I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand."
"It is very important to remember what other people tell you, not so much what you tell them."
"The most important thing for a young man is to establish a credit—a reputation, character."
"The common denominator of success is a work ethic."
"I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living."
"Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."
"I would rather hire a man with enthusiasm than a man who knows everything."
"I dropped the worry on the way— And God was good to me every day."
"Our cup will truly run over only after we have sealed the character cracks."
"A man has no right to occupy another man's time unnecessarily."
"Success comes from keeping the ears open and the mouth closed."
Source: Book: John D. Rockefeller: The Wealthiest Man in American History
"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance."
"Giving is the secret to a healthy life. Not necessarily money, but your time, your love, your services."
"He who works all day has no time to make money."
"Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people."
"Every day is a new opportunity to do better."
"Singleness of purpose is one of the chief essentials for success in life, no matter what may be one's aim."
"Save when you can and not when you have to."
"I never placed my head upon the pillow at night without reminding myself that my success might be only temporary."
"The person who starts simply with the idea of getting rich won't succeed; you must have a larger ambition."
"I didn't want to be a common man. It was my right to be uncommon if I could."
"Punctuality is the soul of business."
"I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity."
"Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It's to see my dividends coming in."
"The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun."
"I have ways of making money that you know nothing of."
"I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law."
"I had no ambition to make a fortune. Mere money-making has never been my goal, I had an ambition to build."
"I was early taught to work as well as play, My life has been one long, happy holiday."
Seeing how John D Rockefeller approaches Time Management helps you apply the idea with more precision.
Pick one quote to guide a decision today, then return for deeper perspective.
Search More
Jump to another topic, author, or pillar without leaving the archive.
"Use this collection whenever you need John D Rockefeller's lens on Time Management."