Quote: Don't believe the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Below is a citation for a quip that is usually misattributed to Mark
Twain. Robert Jones Burdette told the joke during a lecture in 1883,
and he was probably the originator.

[ref] 1883 February 1, Evening Observer, Advice to Young Men, (Report
on a lecture given by Robert J. Burdette), Quote Page 3, Column 2 and
3, (Quote is in column 3), Dunkirk, New York. (NewspaperArchive)[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
Don't believe the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing.
It was here first.
[End excerpt]

Here is a link to the analysis on the QI website.
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/06/06/world-owes/

The "Yale Book of Quotations" has an ascription to Robert Jones
Burdette in 1949. Barry Popik's website has an ascription to Burdette
in 1904 together with other useful citations.

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/the_world_owes_me_a_living/

Garson

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