Ability is greater than money because it can be neither lost nor stolen.

If you study the lives of very successful people, you will find that they rarely climb to the top of their business or profession and stay there.  They often climb to the top and fall to the bottom several times during their careers, but hey know that the one thing that got them where they are – their ability – is always there to help them reach the top again.  Your ability is the one thing that you own exclusively.  No one can ever take it from you.

-Napolean Hill