Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There’s nothing to do but to stand there and take it.

A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.

It was such a leap in my career when ‚Truman Show‘ came along. It’s always been a long process for me insofar as recognition goes, but that’s OK because you appreciate it when it comes.

It is better to risk starving to death then surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what’s left?

The way of the Creative works through change and transformation, so that each thing receives its true nature and destiny and comes into permanent accord with the Great Harmony: this is what furthers and what perseveres.

The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.

I don’t want to tell President Obama how to make a speech. He’s a much better speech maker than I am. But I think always to tell the truth in a sometimes blatant way, even though it might be temporarily unpopular, is the best approach.

We all face storms in life. Some are more difficult than others, but we all go through trials and tribulation. That’s why we have the gift of faith.

It constitutes a superhuman effort to lead any people in times of crisis. Without them, the changes would be impossible.

One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves.

It is any day better to stand erect with a broken and bandaged head then to crawl on one’s belly, in order to be able to save one’s head.

My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.

Things do not always happen the way I would like them to happen, and I had better get used to that.

By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.

When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

This election is about who’s going to be the next President of the United States!

Remembering what you’ve been through and how that has strengthened your mindset can lift you out of a negative brain loop and help you bypass those weak, one-second impulses to give in. Even if you’re feeling low and beat down by life right now, I guarantee you can think of a time or two when you overcame odds and tasted success.

It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more. I was way over the limit but still able to find even more.

In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build with whatever materials are at hand. The inevitable must be accepted and turned to advantage.

We were poor. But my mom never accepted that. She worked hard to become a residential contractor – got her master’s with honors at the University of New Orleans. I used to go to every class with her. Her father was my paternal figure.

Adversity has ever been considered the state in which a man most easily becomes acquainted with himself.

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

The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.

I can never be safe; I always try and go against the grain. As soon as I accomplish one thing, I just set a higher goal. That’s how I’ve gotten to where I am.

There is probably a perverse pride in my administration… that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular. And I think anybody who’s occupied this office has to remember that success is determined by an intersection in policy and politics and that you can’t be neglecting of marketing and P.R. and public opinion.

Our friends at the Republican convention were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn’t have much to say about how they’d make it right. They want your vote, but they don’t want you to know their plan.

I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the President. I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn’t return. I’ve shared the pain of families who’ve lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs.

The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.

Control is the source of strategic power.

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like.

If thou art a man, admire those who attempt great things, even though they fail.

I can make more generals, but horses cost money.

I stayed focused, and I never surrendered, and now I’ve been blessed. now I take care of my mother, my father, and my entire whole family.

Most of my young years were spent under the boots of the military.

People have to go through trials and tribulations to get where they at. Do your thing – continue to rock it – because obviously, God wants you here.

Man is not made for defeat.

Any experience that touches you, in any particular way, is good. It can be a horrible experience.

An ass may bray a good while before he shakes the stars down.

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

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.

The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.

We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.

America’s promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. We bear our burdens. That’s one of the reasons why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago when I took office.

There is no doubt that life is given us, not to be enjoyed, but to be overcome; to be got over.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.

If people take anything from my music, it should be motivation to know that anything is possible as long as you keep working at it and don’t back down.

He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.

In pop music, the public usually see the results – the hit records, the Grammy Awards performances, the concert tours – but not all the work that goes into getting into the spotlight. And not everyone realizes that, even if you have a lot of talent, chances are you won’t make it.

If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.

Each generation faces different issues and challenges, but our standard must always be measured by God’s word.

Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place – that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have perseverance to realise the great life.

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.

You can’t die with an unfinished book.

Sadly, the truth is, there aren’t many people who can be put in high positions who won’t start thinking highly of themselves.

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

My dream is to continue filming until my body tells me to stop.

I pity the fool who just gives up.