In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is

“In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at all difficult for persons in good health to make money.” — P. T. Barnum

Hear now the words of Phineas Taylor Barnum, a man whose life was a spectacle of courage, invention, and unyielding enterprise. His words, though simple, carry the weight of a nation’s youth and the fire of its promise. When he declared that it is not difficult for persons in good health to make money, he spoke not only of commerce and gain, but of the vast energy that lies within every human spirit. In the days when America was still a growing dream—when its fields were broad and its cities new—Barnum saw that opportunity lay everywhere, waiting only for the strong of body and the willing of heart to claim it.

In his age, the land was plenty, and men were few. Forests stood uncut, rivers unbridged, and towns unborn. The soil begged for hands to till it, and the roads cried out for feet to tread them. To such a world, Barnum’s words were both truth and challenge: “Rise up, and make use of what lies before you.” The secret he revealed was this—that fortune favors the active, not the idle. Health, then, was not merely a blessing of the body, but a moral responsibility—for to possess vigor and waste it is to scorn the gifts of life itself.

Consider the tale of Abraham Lincoln, born in poverty, laboring under the open sky of Kentucky and Indiana. He had no inheritance, no noble title—only strong arms, an open mind, and the endurance of one who would not yield. He split rails by day and studied law by night, until the power of his will carved a path to greatness. In Lincoln’s story, the truth of Barnum’s saying is made flesh: where there is land and health and effort, there is destiny. It is not the land alone that enriches a man—it is the spirit that sees the land and says, “I will work it.”

Barnum himself was no stranger to labor or struggle. From a poor boy selling small wares, he rose to become the Prince of Showmen, a creator of wonders that astonished the world. He turned imagination into enterprise, laughter into livelihood. Yet behind his showmanship lay a deeper creed: that industry and health are the twin pillars of success. He believed that anyone with vigor, honesty, and perseverance could rise above want. His faith was in the energy of humanity, in the boundless resource that is human determination.

But let us not mistake his meaning. Barnum did not speak only of coin or commerce; he spoke of the power of self-reliance. The “land” he mentions is not merely the soil of America—it is the field of opportunity, the great open plain of possibility in every life. To say there is “more land than people” is to say there is more potential than laborers, more dreams than dreamers bold enough to seize them. Even today, in this age of machines and screens, the land still stretches before us—though now it is the land of ideas, of knowledge, of creation. The same law abides: those who use their strength with purpose shall find abundance.

Take this, then, as a lesson for all time: good health is not only to be enjoyed, but to be employed. Let no man or woman sit idle while strength remains in their limbs and breath in their chest. To work, to strive, to create—these are the duties of those blessed with life. The idle soul grows sickly, the stagnant spirit decays, but the one who labors with heart and faith finds both wealth and wisdom. As Barnum saw it, the world is rich for those who act, and barren only for those who wait.

So, my children of tomorrow, cherish your health as your greatest capital. Wake with the dawn and walk with purpose. Let your mind be as fertile as the land itself; plant seeds of effort, and the harvest will come. Do not curse the world for its limits—find instead its hidden fields, its silent corners of promise. For even now, as in Barnum’s day, opportunity surrounds us like unclaimed soil, waiting only for the hands of the bold to bring it to life. The law of prosperity is eternal: those who are willing to work, who keep their spirit awake and their body strong, shall never truly be poor.