Quotes on Positive Thinking
One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.
I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope.
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.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
Appearances matter…remember to smile.
Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.
Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.
– letter to President Barack Obama
There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill.
A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
It always seems impossible until it’s done.
Love comes more naturally to the human heart than the opposite.
Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.
Quotes on Prison Life
As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.
In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it’s lowest ones.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
Only free men can negotiate,prisoners can’t enter into contracts.
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.
Quotes on Politics
When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.
A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle, and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor. At a point, one can only fight fire with fire.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.
For a revolution is not just a question of pulling a trigger; it’s purpose is to create a fair just society.
Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any person can have.
In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly.
– from Conversations With Myself
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. 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.
Quotes on Leadership
Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great?
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.
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.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
Lead from the front — but don’t leave your base behind.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.
Quitting is leading too.
Quotes on Education
Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.
A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.
Quotes on Freedom
There is no such thing as part freedom.
Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
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.
Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.
Money wont create success, the freedom to make it will.
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.
We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in any society, a life free from violence and fear.
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. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.
Quotes on Racism
I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. 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.
– from Long Walk to Freedom
Quotes on Poverty
Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.