I have found out in later years that we were very poor, but the glory of America is that we didn’t know it then.

It’s a funny old world.

Things don’t have to change the world to be important.

There really is no difference between the bully and the victim.

Prejudice of any kind implies that you are identified with the thinking mind. It means you don’t see the other human being anymore, but only your own concept of that human being. To reduce the aliveness of another human being to a concept is already a form of violence.

I’ve watched a lot of people who became famous who completely change and I think it’s because they tend to believe all the hype that’s out there. I don’t think there’s that much hype about me.

You lose your individuality a huge amount when you have no money, and I certainly had that experience.

What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy.

I always was a rich person because money’s not related to happiness.

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.

There are definitely people who disagree with certain creative decisions you make. Pleasing everyone is pretty hard.

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I, therefore, intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt.

I think I hate cynicism more than anything else. It’s the curse of our age, and I want to avoid it at all costs.

It’s important that we invest in America – literally. The terrorists wanted to destroy our economy, and we can’t let our system fall apart. We also have to invest in one another.

There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else.

In my entire life, any time I’ve ever lost something, I’ve gotten something even better going around the next corner. It’s like one door closes and another door opens. As long as I can walk through the produce section in every grocery store in this country and eat the grapes that they’re going to throw away, I know I can be fine.

Sometimes there are no good guys. There are no bad guys. It seems like everybody is in the middle.

Poverty breeds despair. We know this. Despair breeds violence. We know this. In turbulent times, isn’t it cheaper, and smarter, to make friends out of potential enemies than to defend yourself against them later?

It’s difficult to believe that people are still starving in this country because food isn’t available.

The two things in the world we all share in this world are laughter and pain. We’ve all got problems. The levels of those problems vary, but we’ve all got problems. When you can take things that are painful and make them funny, that’s a gift – to you and your audience.

Now, you lose something in your life, or you come into a conflict, and there’s gonna come a time that you’re gonna know: There was a reason for that. And at the end of your life, all the things you thought were periods, they turn out to be commas. There was never a full stop in any of it.

An important priority for me is a business must get their own house in order. Be or become an agent of positive change in your own enterprise and adopt responsible practices to eliminate the risks that often lie at the root of inequality and poverty.

Every great person is always being helped by everybody; for their gift is to get good out of all things and all persons.

When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.

Movies are fun, but they are no cure for cancer.

The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.

There’s no happier person than a truly thankful, content person.

America… just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.

Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.

America has absorbed people from around the world, and there is an Indian in every part of the world. This characterizes both the societies. Indians and Americans have co-existed in their natural temperament.

Whenever a fellow tells me he’s bipartisan, I know he’s going to vote against me.

I think it’s horrible that people have to be told. Don’t smoke! Everybody knows it’s bad for the health. But they have to forbid it.

Most people have the opportunity of a lifetime flash right in front of them, and they fail to see it. A year later, they find out about it, after everyone else got rich.

The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all.

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?

If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see further into the future.

Every day, the people I meet inspire me… every day, they make me proud… every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth.

It is another’s fault if he be ungrateful, but it is mine if I do not give. To find one thankful man, I will oblige a great many that are not so.

I liked his ability to deal with a lot of the negativity that surrounded him. Even though he was in a world that he didn’t want to be in, he still saw the bigger picture.

Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is.

You have to understand that people that are hurting are going to criticize.

Fame doesn’t fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary.

The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.

In America, the professor talks to the mechanic. They are in the same category.

We have communion with Christ in His thoughts, views, and purposes; for His thoughts are our thoughts according to our capacity and sanctity. Believers take the same view of matters as Jesus does; that which pleases Him pleases them, and that which grieves His grieves them also.

Instead of being critical of people in authority over you and envious of their position, be happy you’re not responsible for everything they have to do. Instead of piling on complaints, thank them for what they do. Overwhelm them with encouragement and appreciation!

The higher a man stands, the more the word vulgar becomes unintelligible to him.

Let me tell you what I literally told every world leader I’ve met with, and I’ve met them all: It’s never, never, never been a good bet to bet against America. We have the finest fighting force in the world.

Depression runs in my family on both sides, and I have to be wary.

Every man in his lifetime needs to thank his faults.

The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.

I think all Americans believe in human rights. And health is an often overlooked aspect of basic human rights. And it’s one that’s easily corrected. The reason I say that is that many of the diseases that we treat around the world, I knew when I was a child. My mother was a registered nurse. And they no longer exist in our country.

Almost half of the population of the world lives in rural regions and mostly in a state of poverty. Such inequalities in human development have been one of the primary reasons for unrest and, in some parts of the world, even violence.

All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women.

Awareness of universals is called conceiving, and a universal of which we are aware is called a concept.

God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?

We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse.

Technology is destructive only in the hands of people who do not realize that they are one and the same process as the universe.

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.

For whatever trauma came with service in tough circumstances, we should take what we learned – take our post-traumatic growth – and, like past generations coming home, bring our sharpened strengths to bear, bring our attitude of gratitude to bear.