Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise.

Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity.

Government can provide opportunity. But opportunity means nothing unless people are prepared to seize it.

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.

We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible.

My celebrity status allows me an opportunity, allows me a pulpit to preach and reach out to the people. Not even always preaching but just leading, motivating them by being a leader.

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.

There are millions of Americans outside Washington who are tired of stale political arguments and are moving this country forward. They believe, and I believe, that here in America, our success should depend not on accident of birth, but the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams.

I’m proud to be part of the Dr. Pepper Scholarship Giveaway. It’s a great program that gives me the chance to brighten the day for some lucky college students with free tuition.

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.

Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.

Democracy is not static. It is a living force. Every new idea, every new invention offers opportunity for both good and evil.

America is another name for opportunity.

Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.

You can’t knock on opportunity’s door and not be ready.

No one that encounters prosperity does not also encounter danger.

Every right implies a responsibility; Every opportunity, an obligation, Every possession, a duty.

‚Soul Plane‘ put me in a position to succeed. I’m glad I had the opportunity to be the lead man.

We should never lose an occasion. Opportunity is more powerful even than conquerors and prophets.

Every wall is a door.

The highly functional infrastructure that surrounds us, particularly in the West, is a gift from our ancestors: the comparatively uncorrupt political and economic systems, the technology, the wealth, the lifespan, the freedom, the luxury, and the opportunity.

It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in that Declaration of Independence.

Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.

America is the land of the second chance – and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.

The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year.

I still consider it a summer job, though. So, I try to maintain that summer job as long as I can. But it’s exciting to be able to have the opportunity to do things I always dreamed of as a kid.

I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.

Whenever a youth is ascertained to possess talents meriting an education which his parents cannot afford, he should be carried forward at the public expense.

The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire.

Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven’t courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.

The great thing about America is that you can come from the worst circumstances and become something remarkable.

I wish every American had an opportunity to sit down, to go to a base, to meet with families, to meet with service members, to sit down with our veterans – because we would think differently about our challenges as individuals.

Marriage is popular because it combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity.

The United States is definitely ahead in culture of innovation. If someone wants to accomplish great things, there is no better place than the U.S.

I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

It pays to know the enemy – not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.

People who have been hardworking, tax paying, those people ought to be given an opportunity to be on a track that leads towards citizenship, and if that happened, then they wouldn’t be prey to the employers who say, ‚We want you because we know that you work for a salary we could not lawfully pay anyone else.‘

A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it.

I was approached about having my own network many, many years ago. There were some people who wanted to start up a network, and I didn’t want to get that involved in the business aspect of it.

Why, if someone is good in one field can they not be accepted or given the slightest opportunity to express and be creative in other fields?

I remember when my mother, Shyamala Harris, bought our first home. I was thirteen. She was so proud, and my sister and I were so excited. Millions of Americans know that feeling of walking through the front door of their own home for the first time – the feeling of reaching for opportunity and finding it.

The right man is the one who seizes the moment.

I’ve been fortunate. I don’t pick scripts. Scripts pick me.

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 American dream belongs to all of us.

Arafat’s departure has created an awesome opportunity.

There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.

First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy? Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change? Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Cruelty, like every other vice, requires no motive outside of itself; it only requires opportunity.

If you get an opportunity to work with David Simon, anybody with good taste would.

There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.

Most of us believe, or should believe, that every child can learn, given the opportunity, but try substitute teaching just once and you will see firsthand the socioeconomic issues that distract our kids from taking advantage of that opportunity.

We must open the doors of opportunity. But we must also equip our people to walk through those doors.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.

I was a good football player, and I had a chance to play with some great players.

My father will anticipate everything. He will leave you and me no chance to do a great and brilliant deed.

If a great opportunity opens itself up, I would love to be involved… or star in a movie.

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.