Groups that rose from poverty to prosperity seldom did so by having their own racial or ethnic leaders to follow.

Power is the measure of the degree of control you have over circumstances in your life and the actions of the people around you. It is a skill that is developed by a deep understanding of human nature, of what truly motivates people, and of the manipulations necessary for advancement and protection.

Decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performing men and women. Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.

A good model of how to ‚work with the enemy‘ internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet.

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.

That’s the good thing about being president, I can do whatever I want.

It put our energies to sleep and made visionaries of us – dreamers and indolent… It is good to begin life poor; it is good to begin life rich – these are wholesome; but to begin it prospectively rich! The man who has not experienced it cannot imagine the curse of it.

I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.

In every society some men are born to rule, and some to advise.

You have to be very rich or very poor to live without a trade.

The trouble with Nixon is that he’s a serious politics junkie. He’s totally hooked and like any other junkie, he’s a bummer to have around, especially as President.

A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.

Every man, every woman who has to take up the service of government, must ask themselves two questions: ‚Do I love my people in order to serve them better? Am I humble and do I listen to everybody, to diverse opinions in order to choose the best path?‘ If you don’t ask those questions, your governance will not be good.

The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise that the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not.

Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.

From a young age, I learned to focus on the things I was good at and delegate to others what I was not good at. That’s how Virgin is run. Fantastic people throughout the Virgin Group run our businesses, allowing me to think creatively and strategically.

I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end… I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me.

Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself but poverty itself is romanticized by fools.

Leaders who fail to prune their pride will meet demise. That’s not a guess, it’s a guarantee. With pride, it’s not a matter of ‚if‘ we will fall, but ‚when.‘ There are no exceptions.

How easy it is to govern when one follows a system of consulting the will of the people and one holds as the only norm all the actions which contribute to the well being of the people.

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.

Chavez, who came out of the ranks of the Venezuelan Army, is methodical and tireless. I have observed him over the course of 17 years, since his first visit to Cuba. He is an extremely humanitarian and law-abiding person; he has never taken revenge on anybody.

The best leaders understand the motivations of their team members and know their people – their lives and their families. But a leader must never grow so close to subordinates that one member of the team becomes more important than another, or more important than the mission itself.

If we take the route of the permanent handout, the American character will itself be impoverished.

I have no ambition to govern men; it is a painful and thankless office.

Ever since Israel has been a nation the United States has provided the leadership. Every president down to the ages has done this in a fairly balanced way, including George Bush senior, Gerald Ford, and others including myself and Bill Clinton.

Everything rises and falls on leadership.

I’m responsible for starting a whole new school of pretension.

A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today – and in fact we have forgotten.

He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.

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.

There are people in the world who aren’t necessarily Christians, but they’re just naturally nice people who do a lot for other people. Those people will almost always be prosperous people.

My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty… it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.

Policy makers who have never served in the military continue to use the military to lead social change in this country.

He who has made a fair compact with poverty is rich.

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.

I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.

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

I grew up in an era of pretty severe poverty. My parents weathered the Great Depression, and money was always a very big concern. I was weaned on a shortage mentality and placed in foster homes largely because there simply wasn’t enough money to take care of the most basic of needs.

As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.

I have always been grateful to Colonel Longley. He proved to me that when people in authority take a stand, good can come out of it.

You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle-class life.

When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.

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.

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

A President’s hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.

Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.

We need somebody who’s got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it’s like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it’s like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old – and that’s the criterion by which I’ll be selecting my judges.

He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.

I think I’d be a better president because I was in combat.

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen – inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far.

Some years ago I became president of Columbia University and learned within 24 hours to be ready to speak at the drop of a hat, and I learned something more, the trustees were expected to be ready to speak at the passing of the hat.

All good leaders are connectors. They relate well and make people feel confident about themselves and their leader.

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.

Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.

It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency – that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.

Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.

If you were to ask me to choose between democratic values and wealth, power, prosperity and fame, I will very easily and without any doubt choose democratic values.

One of the things that was really an issue was I did not want to just be a woman secretary of state. I wanted to be a secretary of a state who was a woman, but not just chosen for that particular reason.