People think that what a business does is make money. But money is just the intermediate stage -- just a shorthand -- for whatever people want. What most business really do is make wealth. They do something people want.
Paul Graham
Source: Hackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, Pages: 91
So you think that money is the root of all evil? Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?
Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a cause – and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives. Where would you spend it?
"Money is a thoughtform. It is a symbol of energy and as such it has no real, intrinsic value. It is neither good nor bad, positive nor negative. It is impartial."
unknown
Source: The Trick to Money Is Having Some!, Pages: 1
Money is one form of power. But what is more powerful is financial education. Money comes and goes, but if you have the education about how money works, you gain power over it and can begin building wealth. The reason positive thinking alone does not work is because most people went to school and never learned how money works, so they spend their lives working for money.
Robert Kiyosaki
Source: Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
I adopted a begging posture that suggested genteel poverty combined with a certain affable nonchalance. People found this irresistible. They lavished money on me. Within days I exceeded ten dollars an hour. I began to save money and even, following Blue’s lead, tithed to the less fortunate. I became less pessimistic, thought less about how cruel the streets can be. I actually considered begging a legitimate career possibility.
Sol Luckman
Source: Beginner's Luke: Book I of the Beginner's Luke Series, Pages: 77..78
It takes money to make money, even begging. Humans are herd animals. If a stranger’s bleeding to death beside the road, most people won’t stop to offer a Band-Aid. But get the ball rolling with a couple Good Samaritans, and before you know it you’ve got more eager philanthropists than you know what to do with.
Sol Luckman
Source: Beginner's Luke: Book I of the Beginner's Luke Series, Pages: 76..77