I think that a president needs to have a variety of views presented. But also, there has to be a team effort, because otherwise, I think it creates a dissonance and difficulty.

I never knew whether to pity or congratulate a man on coming to his senses.

The die is cast.

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans – born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.

I think Clinton, after getting into office and into Washington, was shocked at being bludgeoned. So he spent time trying to be all things to all people – one way guaranteed not to be successful or respected in a lion’s den. You can’t just play around with all those big cats – you’ve got to take somebody on.

For those of you who do not know Him, choosing your eternal home is the most important decision you will ever make.

I’m not trying to get myself up a notch on the ladder by shoving somebody else down on the ladder, whether it’s a candidate or the president of the United States or anybody else. I just don’t believe that’s the way one oughta campaign, I’ve never done that.

I often say of George Washington that he was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power.

There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.

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.

All my life, whenever it comes time to make a decision, I make it and forget about it.

I base a lot of decisions on my gut, and going with an independent label was a good one.

When I was running training, we would fire a couple of leaders from every SEAL team because they couldn’t lead. And 99.9% of the time, it wasn’t a question of their ability – it was a question of their ability to listen.

When things haven’t gone well for you, call in a secretary or a staff man and chew him out. You will sleep better and they will appreciate the attention.

In other words, don’t expect to always be great. Disappointments, failures and setbacks are a normal part of the lifecycle of a unit or a company and what the leader has to do is constantly be up and say ‚we have a problem, let’s go and get it‘.

If I hadn’t been President of the United States, I probably would have ended up a piano player in a bawdy house.

Don’t swap horses in crossing a stream.

One civilization after another has been wrecked upon the attempt to secure sufficient leadership from a single group or class.

I just think you ought to talk straight with your people.

The business aspect is one of the most important things about having a music career, because every choice you make in a management meeting affects your life a year-and-a-half from now.

If we must not act save on a certainty, we ought not to act on religion, for it is not certain. But how many things we do on an uncertainty, sea voyages, battles!

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

It doesn’t take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause.

We want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it’s not just my way or the highway.

I definitely connected to the fact that life gets out of control and you end up doing things and wishing you were doing other things instead.

When the players go home, I can’t tell them what to do, so you need to create an atmosphere of trust. I don’t want to think, ‚What are they doing now? Do I need to call them?‘

A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.

Even if the politics needed doesn’t exist today, we still need to use our voices to make sure that the people in power are focused on the right things. Because this is a democracy, and in a democracy, people are the ones who run the country.

Confidence is always a good thing to have going into the weekend. Especially where it’s quite difficult to put the lap together.

Eight years involved with the nuclear industry have taught me that when nothing can possible go wrong and every avenue has been covered, then is the time to buy a house on the next continent.

Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.

Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith.

To all the positions, I just bring the determination to win. Me being an unselfish player, I think that can carry on to my teammates. When you have one of the best players on the court being unselfish, I think that transfers to the other players.

You’re president, if you conclude my judgment is not the right judgment, I abide by that, but I want an opportunity to have an input.

I think, team first. It allows me to succeed, it allows my team to succeed.

I don’t like to see a president who is just out campaigning all year long or for the last four years. I’d like to see somebody who’s going in the office. In fact, I’d like to not see them because that way you’d be sure that they’d be working.

I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone – and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward.

A man is usually more careful of his money than he is of his principles.

Don’t wait for the last judgment – it takes place every day.

I won’t accept anything less than the best a player’s capable of doing… and he has the right to expect the best that I can do for him and the team!

I can’t deny that the thought of being governor, the thought of being president, is alluring. And beyond that, it would be an opportunity to make a real impact on people’s lives on a global scale. But there are a lot of other things I want to do first.

Thomas Jefferson once said, ‚We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.‘ And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.

He that struggles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.

How can a president not be an actor?

I think a number of the leaders are, whether you like it or not, in the hip-hop generation. And when they understand enough, they’ll do wonders. I count on them.

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

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

The time comes upon every public man when it is best for him to keep his lips closed.

I’d like to do a completely off-the-wall collaboration. I would like one of my songs to be the hook to a rap song. That would be so much fun!

I break ground. I trailblaze.

I just usually go with my own taste. If I like something, and it happens to be against the law, well, then I might have a problem.

My dear sisters, whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions, your insights, and your inspiration. We need you to speak up and speak out in ward and stake councils.

I have a good team. It’s good to have a good team.

I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.

I have short goals – to get better every day, to help my teammates every day – but my only ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship. It’s all that matters. I dream about it. I dream about it all the time, how it would look, how it would feel. It would be so amazing.

You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself.

The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands.

No country can act wisely simultaneously in every part of the globe at every moment of time.

I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.