Who said “A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.”?

Verified

James A. Garfield. A published source records them saying or writing it.

Source"Elements of Success," Speech at Spencerian Business College, Washington, D.C. (29 July 1869); in President Garfield and Education : Hiram College Memorial (1881) by B. A. Hinsdale, p. 326

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

Source checked · Something wrong? Report a correction

Authors A–Z
“A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.”
— James A. Garfield
Verified"Elements of Success," Speech at Spencerian Business College, Washington, D.C. (29 July 1869); in President Garfield and Education : Hiram College Memorial (1881) by B. A. Hinsdale, p. 326 · evidenceLuck

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: "Elements of Success," Speech at Spencerian Business College, Washington, D.C. (29 July 1869); in President Garfield and Education : Hiram College Memorial (1881) by B. A. Hinsdale, p. 326.

APA

Garfield, J. A. (n.d.). A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/27710-a-pound-of-pluck-is-worth-a-ton/

MLA

Garfield, James A. “A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/27710-a-pound-of-pluck-is-worth-a-ton/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Garfield, James A. “A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/27710-a-pound-of-pluck-is-worth-a-ton/.

Related quotes

“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?”
— Jean Cocteau
VerifiedOn his election to Académie Française (1955) Variant translation: Of course I believe in luck. How else does one explain the successes of one's enemies? · evidenceDetails & citeLuck

More quotes by James A. Garfield

“Things don't turn up in this world until somebody turns them up.”
VerifiedSpeech in the House of Representatives (June 1874), in The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield (1881) by E. E. Brown, p. 437 · evidenceDetails & citeEffort
“I mean to make myself a man, and if I succeed in that, I shall succeed in everything else.”
VerifiedA Dictionary of Thoughts : Being A Cyclopedia Of Laconic Quotations from the Best Authors of the World, Both Ancient and Modern (1908) by Tryon Edwards, p. 327 · evidenceDetails & citeMen
“If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.”
VerifiedLetter to Colonel A. F. Rockwell (13 August 1866) · evidenceDetails & citeAge and Aging
“I have had many troubles, but the worst of them never came.”
Trouble
“If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it.”
Work, Hard
“Poverty is uncomfortable; but 9 times out of 10 the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and be compelled to sink or swim.”
Poverty and The Poor
All 9 James A. Garfield quotes →