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Russel Conwell Acres of Diamonds
According to Russell Conwell's speech "Acres of Diamonds," wealth is accessible to you no matter who or where you are. The term acres of diamonds doesn't literally refer to acres of diamonds, but is a metaphor used to express the belief that opportunities are endless if you just use your resources. You should also be reasonably ambitious to attain your goals. A man's ambition to attain wealth helps to make him a good man. Opportunities surround us in our everyday lives. It's just a matter of being honest, trustworthy, and hard working. Conwell says "Now then, I say again that the opportunity to get rich, to attain unto great wealth, is here in Philadelphia now, within the reach of almost every man and woman who hears me speak tonight, and I mean just what I say." Conwell feels that if he shares his point of view and experiences, everyone has the opportunity to attain unto great wealth.
During Conwell's speech, he shares many stories to try to prove his position. An old guide once told Conwell the story of a Persian man by the name of Ali Hafed, whose story he saves for his particular friends. An old priest tells Hafed the value of a diamond and that diamonds can be found in the river that runs through white sand between two high mountains. The Persian sells his farm, leaves his family in the care of a neighbor, and travels the world in search of the diamonds. In the end, Hafed faces death in a strange land all in search of the diamonds that had been in his own back yard the entire time. The man who bought Hafeds farm was the one who profited from them in the end. The moral of this story is that anyone has the opportunity to become wealthy if they use their resources.
Conwell then retold the story he told to the guide, a similar story of a man from California who had a love for gold. He heard that there had been gold found in the South and to the South he went. Like Hafed, this man sold his ranch and the man who bought that ranch made about one hundred twenty dollars in gold every fifteen minutes, sleeping or awake. Once again, anyone has the opportunity to become wealthy if they just use their resources.
Conwell told the story of a young man in his theological school who tried to tell him that the holy bible itself states that money is the "root of all evil." The bible did in fact state t...
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...ot a poor person in the United States who was not made poor by his own shortcomings, or by the shortcomings of someone else."
As Conwell addresses the issue - is the opportunity to get rich here in Philadelphia, an older gentleman says "I kept a store here for twenty years, and never made over a thousand dollars in the whole twenty years." If that store owner had only asked the people what they needed, he could have supplied them with their needs and had a profit for himself. Like wise, if young Conwell would have only listened to his fathers customers needs, he could have supplied them with jackknives they needed and helped his father gain more profit. The opportunities for more profit were presented, but the resources were not put to use.
According to Russell Conwells speech, "Acres of Diamonds", the opportunity to become weathy is always present. Conwell believed that to make money honestly was to preach the gospel and to be poor was wrong. Acres of diamonds is the perfect metaphor for the endless oppotunities within you reach if you are wise and work with the resources you are given. No matter who you or where you are, you have the ability to attain great weath.
Solomon, Norman. "New House Rules: Christianity, Economics, and Planetary Living."Subverting Greed: Religious Perspectives on the Global Economy. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002. 96-117. Print.
“The Lesson” and “Horatio Alger” illustrate that success is not as easy as the myth claims it to be, but rather challenging. Dalton believes that race is such a key factor that it is affecting the system because it is looked down upon. It is dangerous because some people do not like the fact that they have opportunities. “Horatio Alger”, for example, shows that the path of success is easy for anyone to grasp and fails to unveil the real struggles that is being encountered which Dalton is trying to state because, he says, “Black folk certainly know what it is like to be favored, disfavored, scrutinized, and ignored all on the basis of our race. Sometimes we are judged on a different scale altogether” (273). Dalton is trying to state that black people know what it’s like to be judged and because of this it creates a road block because African Americans believe that they need to be treated differently and they cannot be as great as us. In addition, race has become a huge problem that people tend to cause huge tensions and the way “Horatio Alger’s” essay states that everyone is equal would not be true. On the other hand, Sylvia seems to be under the paradox that Dalton has stated about race. Sylvia throughout the story goes on a field trip to a toy store where she sees items that cost a lot of money from the glass window, but when she enters the store an
The rags-to-riches story is always a classical and inspirational tale that tries to touch our hearts. These stories seeks to arouse the warm, intrinsic emotions that all humans get when they proudly achieve a long-term goal. Andrew Carnegie’s life is the exception. Andrew Carnegie was an industrialist who guided the expansion of the American steel industry in the 1800s. During this period, the United States was a demanding country for steel to use in the rail roads. Andrew Carnegie was not a hero but a heartless capitalist because he sabotaged his competitors in the steel industry, applied his belief that “(competition) insures the survival of the fittest in every department” into social standards, and, maintained his employees in unfair working
The stronger will do anything in their power to make a profit, leaving the weak with nothing. Kuyper says, “…the more powerful exploited the weaker by means of a weapon against which there was no defense” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 26). Additionally, he states that “…the idolization of money killed the nobility in the human heart” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 31). Kuyper talks about how Jesus felt bad for the rich and sided with the poor (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 32). Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Earthly materials mean nothing because the real treasure awaits in
In the article, "A Nation of Grinders," Brooks uses sagacious allusions as well as a pedagogic tone to accentuate the fact that the societal perception of success as being comprised of monetary accumulation is flawed and that success or joy is ultimately bred by assiduity. By constantly referencing a multitude of prominent historical figures the author is able to effectively generate common ground with his audience as well as make analogies that they find relatable through the usage ...
Carnegie was a self-made man with a rags to riches story and an outlook larger than life. He sought out to encourage the wealthy to return the money back to the community. In his “Gospel of Wealth,” he exemplifies the futility of leaving the mon...
Walter gained a willingness to do whatever it took to abandon poverty, and he developed a vision of opening his own business. "Walter...far from rejecting the system which is oppressing him wholeheartedly embraces it. He rejects the cause of social commitment and places his faith in the power of money." (Gunton 186) Attaining wealth became Walter's greatest concern, and he was willin...
Novelists such as Willa Cather and F. Scott Fitzgerald used themes of desire of wealth as a fundamental element to motivate their characters. In their novels, the theme is reflected by the rich Americans who primal desire is to obtain more and more wealth. These characters are so infatuated with and blinded by money that they no longer regard the more noble qualities of life. In each of their works, these authors present intricate, self-conscious characters that desire wealth in order to attain their dreams. In reality, wealth cannot buy people, ideas or even time.
The heart of the whole notion of wealth lies in the setting of the novel, the east and west eggs of New York City. The west egg was a clustering of the "Nouveau riche" or the newly acquired rich, and the east egg was where the people who inherited their riches resided. The eggs divided the people rich in two with the poor being limited to the middle, the "valley of ashes". Even the way the narrator, Nick Carraway, describes the two communities' gives off a feeling of superiority. Nick describes the east as " the less fashionable of the two, through this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them" (...
Wealth is an article by Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish American, showed his views on their social class during the Gilded Age, the late 19th century, discussing the “rich and poor.” Carnegie in fact was one of the wealthiest men because of his major success in the steel industry.
A wealthy person, with the desire to do well with their fortune, could benefit society in a number of ways. Carnegie has verbally laid a blueprint for the wealthy to build from. His message is simple: Work hard and you will have results; educate yourself, live a meaningful life, and bestow upon others the magnificent jewels life has to offer. He stresses the importance of doing charity during one’s lifetime, and states “…the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth, which was his to administer during life, will pass away ‘unwept, unhonored, and unsung’…” (401). He is saying a wealthy person, with millions at their disposal, should spend their money on the betterment of society, during their lifetime, because it will benefit us all as a race.
... that these powerful businessmen ruined the attractive ideology that America had envisioned for itself, these men paradoxically created jobs for thousands of families and laid the foundation for the economy of America. By paving the ways for inventive, modern day companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft, the emerging American economy has expanded beyond its geographical boundaries. Other countries have sought to emulate the dominant businesses in America in an attempt to obtain wealth and an increased quality of life for their countries and their workers. The American Dream is a combination of many varied dreams, and it is not limited nor defined by one’s wealth. So, listen up all you aspiring businessmen and businesswomen: Rockefeller and Carnegie have set a standard in showing you a way to create businesses and philosophical practices that will help us all.
Upon reading more closely, the story is revealed to present a tragic journey of a man who has lost his sanity but seeks solace in the materialistic comforts of his old life. The story succeeds in making a number of statements about human nature: that wealth is the most powerful measure of social status and anyone without it will face ostracization; that denial of one 's mistakes and unfortunate circumstances only leads to more pain; that even the most optimistic people can hold dark secrets and emotional turmoil inside them. All of these themes compel the reader to ponder their real-life implications long after the story is
...ese, the person doesn’t have to work for anything for they were already born into riches therefore their lives up until they are old will continue to be filled with riches. A prime example of Paris Hilton. Paris Hilton is an American heiress due to her great grandfather being the founder of the Hilton Hotels, which are now a bombing corporation. Being born into such a wealthy family, she found it apropos to take up the opportunity to become anything she wanted such as television personality, businesswoman, fashion designer, model, actress, producer, DJ, author and singer. Not everyone is given the opportunity to become successful heiresses such as Paris Hilton. That is what make the idea of “hard work equals success” very dependent upon natural born talent and opportunity which in turn makes this aspect of the American Dream more realistic rather than romantic.
a poor person can mean that you do not have enough food to eat for