Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.

Peale contrasts material lack with inner lack. “Empty pockets” suggests poverty or temporary financial hardship, which he argues is not, by itself, a decisive barrier to progress. What truly “holds” a person back is an “empty head” (absence of ideas, skills, education, or initiative) and an “empty heart” (lack of courage, hope, moral purpose, or compassion). In keeping with Peale’s positive-thinking ethos, the line reframes success as primarily dependent on mindset and character rather than starting capital. It also implies that resourcefulness and conviction can convert scarcity into momentum, whereas cynicism, ignorance, or spiritual/emotional depletion can paralyze even the materially comfortable.