Kirk Douglas: Grow Up Abject Poverty
on Sunday, December 9, 2018Kirk Douglas Money Quote saying I tell my sons they didn’t have my advantages growing up. I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up. Kirk Douglas said:
“I tell my sons they didn’t have my advantages growing up. I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up.” — Kirk Douglas
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In this quote, legendary actor Kirk Douglas seems to be reflecting on the different opportunities and challenges he faced growing up compared to his own sons. Some key points:
- Douglas notes that as a child, he came from “abject poverty”, meaning extreme and severe lack of resources or wealth.
- He tells his sons that they “didn’t have my advantages growing up”, suggesting the hardships of poverty provided certain advantages in motivating him to succeed.
- Douglas implies that when one starts with essentially nothing as he did, their only possible direction for social and financial mobility is “up” towards prosperity rather than risk of decline.
- This contrasts with his sons who grew up with more comforts and stability, without the fire of poverty driving them.
Overall, the quote conveys Douglas’ perspective that overcoming a background of dire poverty gave him a certain advantage and impetus that his privileged sons lacked – the knowledge that any achievements would represent rising above his beginnings through grit and determination rather than maintaining a family legacy. For Douglas, poverty bred ambition.