Nelson Mandela

“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.”

“I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.”

“One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.”

“You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”

“Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great?”

“It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.”

“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

“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.”

“We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

“One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.”

“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”

“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.”

“Quitting is leading too.”

“Nothing is black or white.”

“Appearances matter — and remember to smile.”

“Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.”

“Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”

“Lead from the front — but don t leave your base behind.”

“Courage is not the absence of fear — it s inspiring others to move beyond it.”

“When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.”

“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.”

“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

“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.”

“It always seems impossible until it's done.”

“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.”

“Where you stand depends on where you sit.”

“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you 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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”