When life gets rough, most individuals often seek inspiration from some famous people’s motivational quotations. Even a few looks for Al Capone quotes—the wisdom from the infamous gangster in the Prohibition era. But there is one obvious reason people look up for his quotation: he was like a notorious mobster with a good heart as he helped support the poor while orchestrating some of Chicago’s most cold-blooded crimes. Read on to learn more about Al Capone quotes kindness.
Al Capone was an immigrant who grew up in a slum area of Brooklyn. Capone was expelled at the age of 14 before meeting Johnny Torrio—an infamous mobster who became the reason Al Capone became one. In 1925, Torrio left his gangster life behind, and Capone became the new criminal emperor after taking over Torrio’s empire.
Al Capone was a famous figure in the mafia world even until today. But one thing that makes him different, he had done many good things to the poor despite popularly known as a mafia. He was considered a man full of wisdom that many people today often look for in his famous sayings. But what actually makes his phrases so memorable that they become some kind of mantras?
According to Jonathan Fader, a psychologist in the Union Square Practice, New York, the appeal seems to be a combination of encouraging psychology, good wordplay, and personal level. Those who are motivated by motivational quotations will undoubtedly find those sayings resonant compared to those who never find simple sayings especially significant.
Reading some Al Capone quotes may help you cope with your current situation. However, if you feel unmotivated, it would be better if you perform some of the following things before immersing yourself in many motivational sayings.
- Do ten minutes of exercise to recharge yourself: Find a quiet place, sit down, relax, and close your eyes. Try to ask yourself what your life would be like in five years should you keep on the very same road.
- Allow the glimmering motivation of others to flow into you: This is another excellent way to feel motivated again. So, talk to people about what motivates them to achieve their dreams and keep doing good things.
- Simply begin and let your motivation take over: The two suggestions above may not always work, let alone when you spend your time reading through motivational quotes. The only thing you can do is simply getting started.
Popular Quotes from Al Capone
“Many people in this world live a disadvantaged life. You can lessen their burdens by providing supports either materially or emotionally. Even just giving a box of chocolate can bring a glimpse of light to those in need.”
“I have spent the best years of my life-giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.”
“Ninety percent of the people of Cook County drink and gamble and my offense has been to furnish them with those amusements. Whatever else they may say, my booze has been good and my games have been on the square.”
“Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.”
“Be careful who you call your friends. I’d rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies.”
“In this life all that I have is my word and my balls and I do not break them for nobody.”
“A smile can get you far, but a smile with a gun can get you further.”
“I have built my organization upon fear.”
“It seems like I’m responsible for every crime that takes place in this country.”
“I’m the boss. I’m going to continue to run things. They’ve been putting the roscoe on me for a good many years and I’m still healthy and happy. Don’t let anybody kid you into thinking I can be run out of town. I haven’t run yet and I’m not going to.”
“People who respect nothing dread fear. It is upon fear, therefore, that I have built up my organization. But understand me correctly, please. Those who work with me are afraid of nothing. Those who work for me are kept faithful, not so much because of their pay as because they know what might be done with them if they broke faith.”
“The country wanted booze and I organized it. Why should I be called a public enemy?”
“Once you’re in the racket, you’re always in it. The parasites will trail you, begging for money and favors, and you can never get away from them no matter where you go.”
“I never stuck up a man in my life. Neither did any of my agents ever rob anybody or burglarize any homes while they worked for me. They might have pulled plenty of jobs before they came with me or after they left me, but not while they were in my outfit.”
“The funny part of the whole thing is that a man in this line of business has so much company. I mean his customers. If people did not want beer and wouldn’t drink it, a fellow would be crazy for going around trying to sell it!”
“Hell must be a pretty swell spot, because the guys that invented religion have sure been trying hard to keep everybody else out.”
“I have always been opposed to violence, to shootings. I have fought, yes, but fought for peace. And I believe I can take credit for the peace that now exists in the racket game in Chicago. I believe that the people can thank me for the fact that gang killings here are probably a thing of the past.”
“I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.”
“I’ve lost a million and a half on the horses and dice in the last two years. And the funny part is, I still like ’em, and if someone handed me another million I’d put it right in the nose of some horse that looked good to me.”
“Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class.”
“A crook is a crook, and there’s something healthy about his frankness in the matter. But any guy who pretends he is enforcing the law and steals on his authority is a swell snake. The worst type of these punks is the big politician. You can only get a little of his time because he spends so much time covering up that no one will know that he is a thief. A hard-working crook will and can get those birds by the dozen, but right down in his heart he won’t depend on them-hates the sight of them.”
“Every time a boy falls off a tricycle, every time a black cat has gray kittens, every time someone stubs a toe, every time there’s a murder or a fire or the marines land in Nicaragua, the police and the newspapers holler ‘get Capone.”
“What do you want to do, get yourself killed before you are thirty? You’d better get some sense while a few of us are left alive.”
“Bolshevism is knocking at our gates, we can’t afford to let it in. We must keep America whole and safe and unspoiled. We must keep the worker away from red literature and red ruses; we must see that his mind remains healthy.”
“I got nothing against the honest cop on the beat. You just have them transferred someplace where they can’t do you any harm. But don’t ever talk to me about the honor of police captains or judges. If they couldn’t be bought they wouldn’t have the job.”
“Prohibition has made nothing but trouble.”
“I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want.”
“I am sick and tired of publicity. I want no more of it. It puts me in a bad light. I just want to be forgotten.”
“All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular.”
“Now I know why tigers eat their young.”
“They talk about me not being legitimate. Nobody’s on the legit, you know that and so do they. Nobody’s really-on the legit when it comes down to cases.”
“They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.”
“Some call it bootlegging. Some call it racketeering. I call it a business.”
“It’s pretty tough when a citizen with an unblemished record must be hounded from his home by the very policemen whose salaries are paid, at least in part, from the victim’s pocket. You might say that every policeman in Chicago gets some of his bread and butter from the taxes I pay.”
“Why not treat our business like any other man treats his, as something to work at in the daytime and forget when he goes home at night? There’s plenty of business for everybody. Why kill each other over it?”
“You can do more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word.”
“I would rather be rich affluent and greedy and go to hell when I die, than live in poverty on this earth.”
“All I ever did was sell beer and whiskey to our best people. All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular. Why, the very guys that make my trade good are the ones that yell the loudest about me. Some of the leading judges use the stuff.”
“You’d be surprised if you knew some of the fellows I’ve got to take care of.”
“Capitalism gives all of us a great opportunity if we seize it with both hands and hang on to it.”
“You accomplish more with a smile, a handshake, and a gun than you do with just a smile and a handshake.”
“I’m a kind person, I’m kind to everyone, but if you are unkind to me, then kindness is not what you’ll remember me for.”
If you are performing charitable giving for inopportune individuals around the place you currently reside in, don’t forget to picture some of those best moments. Also, share them on your social media account with some famous Al Capone quotes to inspire them to do the same thing.
Famous Sayings from Al Capone about Life
“I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.”
“I would rather be rich affluent and greedy and go to hell when I die, than live in poverty on this earth.”
“Public service is my motto.”
“This American system of ours, call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you will, gives each and every one of us a great opportunity if we seize it with both hands and make the most of it.”
“When I sell liquor, it’s bootlegging. When my patrons serve it on a silver tray on Lakeshore Drive, it’s hospitality.”
“Bolshevism is knocking at our gates, we can’t afford to let it in…We must keep America whole and safe and unspoiled. We must keep the worker away from red literature and red ruses; we must see that his mind remains healthy.”
“I am going to St. Petersburg, Florida, tomorrow. Let the worthy citizens of Chicago get their liquor the best they can. I’m sick of the job-it’s a thankless one and full of grief. I’ve been spending the best years of my life as a public benefactor.”
“I am sick and tired of publicity. I want no more of it. It puts me in a bad light. I just want to be forgotten.”
“Be careful who you call your friends. I’d rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies.”
“I’m a kind person, I’m kind to everyone, but if you are unkind to me, then kindness is not what you’ll remember me for.”
“In this life all that I have is my word and my balls and I do not break them for nobody.”
Al Capone quotes smile gun is just one of the many popular phrases said by the infamous mafia himself. He might be a mobster, but he was surely not a monster during his life. So, regardless of what you have done, hope the quotes on this page inspire you to start doing good deeds.