A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.

I don’t care whether you’re driving a hybrid or an SUV. If you’re headed for a cliff, you have to change direction. That’s what the American people called for in November, and that’s what we intend to deliver.

I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.

I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.

He who has great power should use it lightly.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.

In my line of work, the enemy gets a vote.

History reminds us that dictators and despots arise during times of severe economic crisis.

A good leader doesn’t get stuck behind a desk.

Every family should have the right to spend their money, after tax, as they wish, and not as the government dictates. Let us extend choice, extend the will to choose and the chance to choose.

Shame may restrain what law does not prohibit.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.

Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.

The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.

Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions – Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.

The thing is, if you control the Senate meetings, you control the gavel. And the gavel is a very important instrument… an instrument of power. An instrument that establishes the agenda.

Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.

In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.

When the President does it, that means that it’s not illegal.

It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.

If you only do things where you know the answer in advance, your company goes away.

I felt we must separate political responsibility. The Dalai Lama should not carry that burden. So that is my selfish reason – to protect the old Dalai Lama tradition. It is safer without political involvement.

There’s no difference between one’s killing and making decisions that will send others to kill. It’s exactly the same thing, or even worse.

Peace comes when you talk to the guy you most hate. And that’s where the courage of a leader comes, because when you sit down with your enemy, you as a leader must already have very considerable confidence from your own constituency.

There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.

I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time.

People invest in businesses that they believe have the leadership, mission and team to grow and operate profitably.

This soul, or life within us, by no means agrees with the life outside us. If one has the courage to ask her what she thinks, she is always saying the very opposite to what other people say.

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.

Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.

Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.

An individual step in character training is to put responsibility on the individual.

People want to listen to a message, word from Jah. This could be passed through me or anybody. I am not a leader. Messenger. The words of the songs, not the person, is what attracts people.

I said on the equality side of it, that it is essential to a woman’s equality with man that she be the decision-maker, that her choice be controlling.

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.

Founding a company is hard. Most of it isn’t smooth. You’ll have to make very hard decisions. You have to fire a few people. Therefore, if you don’t believe in your mission, giving up is easy. The majority of founders give up. But the best founders don’t give up.

I think a number of the leaders are, whether you like it or not, in the hip-hop generation. And when they understand enough, they’ll do wonders. I count on them.

Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.

When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn’t set out to build a business empire… For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that’s going to make a real difference to other people’s lives.

In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.

Don’t blame the marketing department. The buck stops with the chief executive.

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.

This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.

Whatever you have, you must either use or lose.

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.

And now, of course this is another thing I didn’t count on, that now as the governor of the state of California, I am selling California worldwide. You see that? Selling.

A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential.

A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.

I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as ‚us‘ and ‚them‘ – he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above… he knows that we all love our country… and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas… he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.

The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully.

Most people don’t like change. They revolt against it unless they can clearly see the advantage it brings. For that reason, when good leaders prepare to take action or make changes, they take people through a process to get them ready for it.

A man is usually more careful of his money than he is of his principles.

In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

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

Good executives never put off until tomorrow what they can get someone else to do today.

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

International summits and organisations like WTO take decisions, which will bind us, and if we are not present in such summits, we may be hurt by the decisions taken.

Especially when you’re at a high level in an organization, criticism can be devastating to an employee. I prefer to praise employees for what they’re doing right, and it tends to lead to them doing more of the same. Not always, but it’s the way I choose to bet.

Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.