My wife was the first art collector in the family, and I didn't become interested until around 1973. The first important artwork we bought was a Van Gogh drawing of two peasant houses in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Eli Broad More Quotes by Eli Broad More Quotes From Eli Broad Charity is just writing checks and not being engaged. Philanthropy, to me, is being engaged, not only with your resources but getting people and yourself really involved and doing things that haven't been done before. Eli Broad writing giving people Civilizations are not remembered by their business people, their bankers or lawyers. They're remembered by the arts. Eli Broad civilization people art Contemporary art challenges us.. it broadens our horizons. It asks us to think beyond the limits of conventional wisdom. Eli Broad challenges art thinking If someone can't give me a good reason why you can't do something, I find a way to do it. Eli Broad reason-why giving way To me, money is a means to do good. I reached a point in my life where I had enjoyed tremendous business success that afforded my family everything we could possibly want. My wife and I then decided that we could use our wealth to make a difference. So we created the Broad Foundations to do four things: to improve urban public education, to support innovative scientific and medical research, to foster art appreciation for audiences worldwide and to support civic initiatives in Los Angeles. Eli Broad money appreciation art Ideas, more than money, are really the currency for success. Eli Broad currency ideas I have always believed that every great city in history needs a vibrant center. Eli Broad great-cities cities needs Artists rarely do the same thing over and over again. Art is about the new, doing things in a new way. Eli Broad artist way art Art evokes emotion. It doesn't have to be a thing of beauty. Eli Broad evoke emotion art Research – and using what you learn from it to analyze every situation – is what separates being unreasonable from being irrational. Eli Broad irrational situation research The best move you can make in negotiation is to think of an incentive the other person hasn't even thought of - and then meet it. Eli Broad incentives moving thinking Who you spend your life with-much more so than how you choose to spend it-is the most important decision you can make. Do it right. That's the best advice I can give you. Eli Broad decision advice giving While I am proud of a number of accomplishments, there are real costs to being unreasonable. Long hours. Too little time with family. A near incapacity for, as they say, stopping and smelling the roses. Eli Broad hard-work real success There is no substitute for knowledge. To this day, I read three newspapers a day. It is impossible to read a paper without being exposed to ideas. And ideas - more than money - are the real currency for success. Eli Broad money real wisdom If you have poor management that's not doing the right job, you end up with unions filling the void and... page after page of work rules and thicker and thicker contracts. Eli Broad poor-management unions jobs People always say congratulations. When you're a successful bidder it means you're willing to spend more money than anyone else. I'm not sure if that's congratulations or condolences. Eli Broad congratulations condolences positive If people want to criticize me because it sells papers, that's fine. I just don't like it when it's inaccurate. Eli Broad paper want people For businesses to be successful, they need to constantly ask the question: how can we provide value to our customers? At the end of the day, that is what matters. Eli Broad the-end-of-the-day what-matters successful Someone once told me I'm a sore winner, and they're right. I rarely take more than a moment to enjoy a success before I'm moving on and looking for the next challenge. Eli Broad challenges life moving No one ever made a million bucks by being cautious or timid or reasonable. Eli Broad cautious bucks made