Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela QUOTES

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"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."
"I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward."
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership."
"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."
"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days."
"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires."
"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."
"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
"Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will."
"I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying."
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
"There is no black or white, only the human race."
"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation."
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
"I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people."

Nelson Mandela Quotes on Leadership

"A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger."
"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership."
"Lead from the back, and let others believe they are in front."
"Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people."
"A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind."
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
"I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people."
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
"Lead your life so you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."
"The first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself."
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
"We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right."
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
"It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another."
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."
"There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
"One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen."
"A winner is a dreamer who never gives up."
"Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."
"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."
"I detest racialism because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man."
"To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity."

Nelson Mandela Quotes About Life

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."
"Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."
"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
"I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying."
"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership."
"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
"Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will."
"It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones."
"I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death."
"Do not let your past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become."
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?"
"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."
"When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw."