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

Man, so long as he remains free, has no more constant and agonizing anxiety than find as quickly as possible someone to worship.

We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay – and rise!

It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it.

On the court, I want to try and get to the free-throw line a little more. And as a point guard, you can always get better at your decision-making and limiting your mistakes.

Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.

The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.

Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.

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

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.

The more a person seeks security, the more that person gives up control over their life.

I have too many clothes, I have too many options.

One of the very important characteristics of a student is to question. Let the students ask questions.

In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.

You can’t have a value structure without a hierarchy. They’re the same thing because a value structure means one thing takes precedence over another.

Concentrate your energies, your thoughts and your capital. The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You’re trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren’t very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

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.

The world, we are told, was made especially for man – a presumption not supported by all the facts. A numerous class of men are painfully astonished whenever they find anything, living or dead, in all God’s universe, which they cannot eat or render in some way what they call useful to themselves.

The buck stops here!

As I have done in every election since I started voting so many years ago, I always like to take my time and examine the two candidates, see not only the two candidates but the policies they will bring in, the people they will bring in, who they might appoint to the Supreme Court, and look at the whole range of issues before making a decision.

I’ve just tried to grow up in the most natural and gradual process that I possibly can and make choices I feel are right for me and my fans.

I suppose that’s one of the ironies of life doing the wrong thing at the right moment.

A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.

Learn to say ‚no‘ to the good so you can say ‚yes‘ to the best.

No matter what your mission is, have some notion in your head. Forget the model, whether it’s government or nonprofit or profit. Ask yourself the more important question: Is my mission improving the world? Are you sure about it? Seek to disconfirm that all the time. And if you can, change your mission.

Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one.

My biographers… would like to have my time at the court almost complete before they finish the book. We decided… to flip the order.

In matters of truth the fact that you don’t want to publish something is, nine times out of ten, a proof that you ought to publish it.

Let’s just be smart this time. I’m looking for smart.

I don’t believe in signing anything and everything that comes my way. I leave it to my agency to help narrow them down for me, but I do research it myself before signing. The image of the brand and its ambassadors go hand in hand.

I was offered a job on Wall Street by my uncle. But I wanted to get out. Make-it-on-my-own kinda thing.

I’ll be judged on the body of work and not the popularity of any one decision.

There are horrible people who, instead of solving a problem, tangle it up and make it harder to solve for anyone who wants to deal with it. Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.

It appears to be a law that you cannot have a deep sympathy with both man and nature.

Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.

I am growing handsome very fast indeed! I expect I shall be the belle of Amherst when I reach my 17th year. I don’t doubt that I shall have perfect crowds of admirers at that age. Then how I shall delight to make them await my bidding, and with what delight shall I witness their suspense while I make my final decision.

Thinking isn’t agreeing or disagreeing. That’s voting.

The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking. You’re encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to keep people who aren’t that smart, who aren’t that creative.

Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.

Only those who want everything done for them are bored.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage, or of principle.

Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong – these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history.

Independence is a heady draught, and if you drink it in your youth, it can have the same effect on the brain as young wine does. It does not matter that its taste is not always appealing. It is addictive and with each drink you want more.

Anything for the quick life, as the man said when he took the situation at the lighthouse.

It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics.

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

I’ve turned down shows offering large amounts of money.

The die is cast.

We need someone with superb judgement in their own right because, yes, a president can hire the best advisors on Earth, but I guarantee you this: Five advisors will give five different opinions. And it is the president – and the president alone – who always makes the final call.

Your life must be a progression towards ownership – first mentally of your independence, and then physically of your work, owning what you produce.

Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.

The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil.

Have you ever watched a crab on the shore crawling backward in search of the Atlantic Ocean, and missing? That’s the way the mind of man operates.

I’m substantially concerned about the policy directions of the space agency. We have a situation in the U.S. where the White House and Congress are at odds over what the future direction should be. They’re sort of playing a game and NASA is the shuttlecock that they’re hitting back and forth.

I don’t want to spend money the club doesn’t have; I don’t want to hold a player that doesn’t want to stay.

When I get logical, and I don’t trust my instincts – that’s when I get in trouble.

In politics… never retreat, never retract… never admit a mistake.

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

Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.