March 28 ~  With All Your Might Humbug: Art of P. T. Barnum

"Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily done." ~ P.T. Barnum

P.T. Barnum The "Greatest Show on Earth" was born on this day in 1881, as P.T. Barnum and James A. Baily merged their two circuses. At its heyday, the circus had over 1,200 employees and needed 100 double-length railroad cars to transport the show from town to town.

One of the world's most famous entrepreneurs Phineas T. Barnum (1810-1891) was born in Bethel, Connecticut and had little formal education. His father died when young Phineas was 14 and the boy relied of his sharp wits to support himself.

"Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he coined, the first spin master of hype.

Creator of The Greatest Show on Earth, in 1836 he introduced the world's oldest woman, Joice Heth. His American Museum in New York City featured 500,000 oddities and albinos, jugglers, and other curiosities and stunts. Barnum's Charles S. Stratton, a.k.a. Tom Thumb, toured the world a met Queen Victoria.

"The public loves to be fooled," he believed, transforming Dr. Samuel Johnson's quote on advertising, "promise, large promise" into promotional genius. (Barnum's 10 Basic Principles to Success)

Barnum caught the public's imagination with posters, parades, and flamboyant publicity. The word "jumbo" in advertising is all Barnum. "You must gather a crowd," he said about success. Known for endless energy and vitality, he was 60 when his three-ring circus debuted.

A banker, politician, journalist, and land developer, at one time he was the second richest man in America. His autobiography was one of the most widely read books in the 19th century.

"We cannot all see alike," he said, "but we can all do good."

You can do anything you set your mind to do.