Colin Powell

“I'm not perfect but I'll be the creator of perfection.”

“Freedom to be your best means nothing unless you are wiling to do your best.”

“The day you are not solving problems or are not up to your butt in problems is probably a day you are no longer leading. If your desk is clean and no one is bringing you problems, you should be very worried. It means that people don't think you can solve them or don't want to hear about them. Or, far worse, it means they don't think you care.”

“No matter how significant or life-changing your greatest hit or miss might be, neither even begins to define who you are. Each of us is a product of all our experiences and all our interactions with other people. To cite calculus, we are the area under the curve.”

“There are no secrets to success. It's the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.”

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

“The ties that bind us are stronger than the occasional stresses that separate us.”

“If you get the dirty end of the stick, sharpen it and turn it into a useful tool.”

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through the argument debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

“Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity.”

“Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.”

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.”

“You don't know what you can get away with until you try.”

“You should never be so involved with your position/job that when the position is gone your entire self image is gone with it.”

“Get mad, then get over it. ”

“I like Holiday Inns”

“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.-Colin Powell”

“The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. Animportant attribute in successful people is their impatience with negativethinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates willchange. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want youto stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you tocrawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those thatdon't increase you will eventually decrease you.Consider this:Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problemswith someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those whonever succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone hasa right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of thebargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyonewho's not going anywhere.With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be carefulwhere you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is theperson who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run withwolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, youwill learn how to soar to great heights."A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by thekind of friends he chooses."The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom youclosely associate - for the good and the bad.Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends.Yes...do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they willalways be your family no matter what. Just know that they are human firstand though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else andwill fit somewhere in the criteria above."In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us. In Adversity We Know Our friends.""Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them.""If you are going to achieve excellence in big things,you develop the habit in little matters.Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.."..”

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hardwork, and learning from failure-”

“It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.”

“The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.”

“Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.”

“The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

“Well, the correct answer is he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?”

“There are no secrets to success: don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence.”

“Perpetual optimism is a force leveler”

“Our strategy in going after this army is very simple. First we are going to cut it off, and then we are going to kill it.”

“Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so just because you might not like what you find.”

“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.”

“The freedom to do your best means nothing unless you are willing to do your best.”

“Perpetual Optimism is a Force Multiplier.”