The wisdom of J. P. Morgan

"A man always has two reasons for the things he does—
               a good one and the real one."

J. P. Morgan (1837-1913)

John Pierpont Morgan, the flamboyant 19th century banker and financier,  cut a wide swath in American business and in government. His career was controversial, to say the least. Most certainly, he had both good reasons and real reasons for the things he did that manipulated and propped up the U.S. economy and banking system.


It's too tempting to embrace this epigram as a suspicious way of interpreting what "the other guy" does. Think about what you do, day after day….what are your real reasons?

More wisdom:

The wisdom of Linus Pauling

The wisdom of Abraham Lincoln