Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

People like to blame others. I think a person should just look at their own situation, look around them, find out what they wish to do, and seek and go and do that. And that’s it.

The U. S. Constitution doesn’t guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.

If you are a parent, you have probably already realized that your children are always watching what you do. And just as children watch their parents and emulate their behavior, so do employees who are watching their bosses.

We must not sit still and look for miracles; up and doing, and the Lord will be with thee. Prayer and pains, through faith in Christ Jesus, will do anything.

Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.

If you’re going through hell, keep going.

Every noble work is at first impossible.

It’s really hard to guarantee things in life. I guarantee if you get up in the morning and you work out, and you work hard, you will have a better day – 100% guaranteed.

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

What matters in the Sun-tzu universe are not positions of strength and power, but situations in which you have options, full of potential force.

We need to have business leaders who live by deep, strong principles.

Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win – essential to success.

I understand everybody in this country doesn’t agree with the decisions I’ve made. And I made some tough decisions. But people know where I stand.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

People always say that you can’t please everybody. I think that’s a cop-out. Why not attempt it? ‚Cause think of all the people you will please if you try.

Never confuse motion with action.

If you’ve got a plan, it’s not just like a pipe dream. You have a step-by-step list of things to do to get to your goal.

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!

I think it all comes down to motivation. If you really want to do something, you will work hard for it.

Create a ladder of values and priorities in your life, reminding yourself of what really matters to you.

I can express myself.

See, when you drive home today, you’ve got a big windshield on the front of your car. And you’ve got a little bitty rearview mirror. And the reason the windshield is so large and the rearview mirror is so small is because what’s happened in your past is not near as important as what’s in your future.

You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

If we’re going to bring out the best in people, we, too, need to sow seeds of encouragement.

If you’re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals.

Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.

The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents.

You must never be satisfied with losing. You must get angry, terribly angry, about losing. But the mark of the good loser is that he takes his anger out on himself and not his victorious opponents or on his teammates.

Military school was great and especially great for leadership and then I spent two years in Vietnam.

When facing a difficult task, act as though it is impossible to fail. If you are going after Moby Dick, take along the tartar sauce.

A lot has happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war, and it’s been tested by recession and all manner of challenges – I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your president, to tell you I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before.

What interests me in life is curiosity, challenges, the good fight with its victories and defeats.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.

I don’t go to bed at 1 A.M. and wake up at 5 A.M. and say, ‚Let’s see if I can get this done today.‘

Woman begins by resisting a man’s advances and ends by blocking his retreat.

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

The army teaches boys to think like men.

Presidents quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around for the good.

People who pity themselves think, ‚Why would I try to do anything? I’ll just fail.‘

There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.

How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done!

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.

My success rate speaks for itself.

Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes because that’s where the fruit is.

If a small-town boy like me who bagged groceries was able to make his dreams come true, you can too.

Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead – they call us.

Failed plans should not be interpreted as a failed vision. Visions don’t change, they are only refined. Plans rarely stay the same, and are scrapped or adjusted as needed. Be stubborn about the vision, but flexible with your plan.

Everyone has the potential to become an encourager. You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to be a genius. You don’t have to have it all together. All you have to do is care about people and initiate.

If you’re not going to be rewarded for your virtues, and instead you’re going to be punished for them, then what’s your motivation to continue?

Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone.

One’s only rival is one’s own potentialities. One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must therefore be treated like a king.

Better to fight for something than live for nothing.

The 21st century is going to be the American century. Because we lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. That is the history of the journey of America.

I can never say ‚why‘ about anything I do. I suppose I can say ‚how‘ and ‚when‘ and ‚what.‘ But ‚why‘ is impenetrable to me.

Find people who will make you better.

Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.

Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.