nelson mandela quotes

As I look back on past blog posts, I recognize that this blog serves as much as a chronological record as it does anything else.  As we celebrate the life and mark the death of a great leader a few weeks ago...Nelson Mandela...I cannot miss sharing some of the more famous quotes from his life and leadership.

  “There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.”
― Nelson Mandela, Conversations With Myself

 “Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any person can have.”
― Nelson Mandela

“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.”
― Nelson Mandela

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

 “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.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

 “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.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “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.”
― Nelson Mandela

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “The greatest glory in living
lies not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.”
― Nelson Mandela

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

 “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.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “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.”
― Nelson Mandela

“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.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “ As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “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.”
― Nelson Mandela

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

 “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.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

 “Appearances matter — and remember to smile.”
― Nelson Mandela

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

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

 “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up”
― Nelson Mandela

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

“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.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

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

 “It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”
― Nelson Mandela

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

 “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.”
― Nelson Mandela

 “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears”
― Nelson Mandela

 “Resentment is a method of self harm.”

 “It will forever remain an accusation and a challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took as long as it has, before all of us stood up to say enough is enough.”
― Nelson Mandela, Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom