I don’t really plan. I’m almost intuitive about things.

I bought a gun and chose drugs instead.

Time is compressed like the fist I close on my knee… I hold inside it the clues and solutions and the power for what I must do now.

We spend so much time sublimatin‘, thinkin‘ about, ‚What am I going to have for lunch, dinner?‘

Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.

There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance.

Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable.

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.

You can’t be in politics unless you can walk in a room and know in a minute who’s for you and who’s against you.

Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.

I wonder how many decisions we make every day. I believe it’s probably hundreds. We decide whether or not to get out of bed, what we’ll eat, what we’ll do, what we’ll think about, what we’ll say… and on and on.

No one can give you better advice than yourself.

We should work with the principle that a work that can be done at a lower level should never be escalated to a higher level.

We only consult the ear because the heart is wanting.

Whatever you have, you must either use or lose.

On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, ‚Is it safe?‘ Expediency asks the question, ‚Is it politic?‘ And Vanity comes along and asks the question, ‚Is it popular?‘ But Conscience asks the question, ‚Is it right?‘

Leadership is a choice, not a position.

A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.

If an idea isn’t exciting, you shouldn’t do it.

Forethought we may have, undoubtedly, but not foresight.

Leaders are responsible not for running public opinion polls but for the consequences of their actions.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan to sell a company.

It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

A people free to choose will always choose peace.

Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 percent of all your happiness or misery.

It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea.

Put your leaders in stressful scenarios. Make them figure out solutions under pressure. See if you can make them frustrated, angry, and flustered, and then demand decisive leadership from them. They will be challenged at first, but they will get better over time.

I bought a company in the mid-’90s called Dexter Shoe and paid $400 million for it. And it went to zero. And I gave about $400 million worth of Berkshire stock, which is probably now worth $400 billion. But I’ve made lots of dumb decisions. That’s part of the game.

As soon as questions of will or decision or reason or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss.

A woman knows by intuition, or instinct, what is best for herself.

You do the policy, I’ll do the politics.

The only real valuable thing is intuition.

We will burn that bridge when we come to it.

I shall never be a heretic; I may err in dispute, but I do not wish to decide anything finally; on the other hand, I am not bound by the opinions of men.

I don’t want to express my opinion about actual politics, because if I do, I have to be responsible for my decision.

A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.

There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.

I’m very aware and very conscious of the path I chose in life, and very aware of the path I didn’t choose.

Do not ask for what you will wish you had not got.

The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.

Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas.

I’ve noticed a terrible thing, which is I will agree to anything if it’s far enough in the future.

Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

Begin with the end in mind.

Being prime minister is a lonely job… you cannot lead from the crowd.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.

If someone you know makes a bad decision or uses bad judgment, it doesn’t mean you have to allow that to alter your attitude. Why should you allow anyone else’s bad decisions to send you into a tailspin of misery?

Sin, also for those who don’t have faith, exists when one goes against one’s conscience. To listen to and obey it means, in fact, to decide in face of what is perceived as good or evil. And on this decision pivots the goodness or malice of our action.

If I had chosen the populist course, it would have been a breach of the trust placed in me by the people.

We don’t believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans.

As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.

The effect of liberty to individuals is that they may do what they please: we ought to see what it will please them to do, before we risk congratulations.

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

It is the heart always that sees, before the head can see.

When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.

I can tell you this: If I’m ever in a position to call the shots, I’m not going to rush to send somebody else’s kids into a war.

I always wanted to do things right and represent myself as somebody that took the art serious and someone that took the business serious also, so I had time to weigh the options and figure it out and do my best to create the situation that was ideal.

The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.

People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.

Finality is not the language of politics.