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

In those days he was wiser than he is now; he used to frequently take my advice.

Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.

Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you haven’t committed.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

‚Tis education forms the common mind; just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.

All my life I’ve been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old.

It is the nature of all greatness not to be exact.

Keep silence for the most part, and speak only when you must, and then briefly.

Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.

It’s time to stop thinking of the Republican Party as an exclusive club where your ideological card is checked at the door, and start thinking about how we can attract more solution-based leaders like Nathan Fletcher and Anthony Adams.

I think that a man should not live beyond the age when he begins to deteriorate, when the flame that lighted the brightest moment of his life has weakened.

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.

That is never too often repeated, which is never sufficiently learned.

I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.

Knowledge is true opinion.

I’m too busy acting like I’m not Naive. I’ve seen it all, I was here first.

The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits.

I break ground. I trailblaze.

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

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.

Don’t blame the marketing department. The buck stops with the chief executive.

No face which we can give to a matter will stead us so well at last as the truth. This alone wears well.

Men may change their climate, but they cannot change their nature. A man that goes out a fool cannot ride or sail himself into common sense.

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.

The revolution has always been in the hands of the young. The young always inherit the revolution.

I am not the first Buddha who came upon Earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time, another Buddha will arise in the world – a Holy One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals.

If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values – that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.

When you are president, being able to clearly articulate detailed plans to help the people of this country is a good thing. Knowing what you’re doing is a good thing. And let me tell you, Hillary Clinton absolutely knows what she’s doing.

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.

A man can’t be too careful in the choice of his enemies.

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

Before I became a chief minister, I never thought that one day I’d be the chief minister.

People have discovered that they can fool the devil; but they can’t fool the neighbors.

Our schools and colleges are turning out people who cannot feel fulfilled unless they are telling other people what to do.

For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.

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.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

So, for example, a country was into recession right after I was sworn in, a dot-com bust had taken place. Then the attacks of September the 11th, and then of course the great financial meltdown in the -the fundamental question facing any presidency is how do you deal with the hand you’re dealt?

Clearly older women and especially older women who have led an active life or elder women who successfully maneuver through their own family life have so much to teach us about sharing, patience, and wisdom.

Wisdom oft times consists of knowing what to do next.

Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything.

Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.

As commanders and staff officers, we are coaches and sentries for our units: how can we coach anything if we don’t know a hell of a lot more than just the TTPs?

Everything that’s created comes out of silence. Your thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence. Your words come out of this void. Your very essence emerged from emptiness. All creativity requires some stillness.

Wisdom allows nothing to be good that will not be so forever; no man to be happy but he that needs no other happiness than what he has within himself; no man to be great or powerful that is not master of himself.

To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes. And so what I think is really important is sustainability.

Bad news isn’t wine. It doesn’t improve with age.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

I’ve seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are.

It seems the older you get, the more life comes into focus.

You know, you can only lead them from behind.

I’m more than comfortable just sitting back and scoring 21, 22 points or whatever and getting 10, 11 assists whatever the case might be. More than comfortable with that. It’s just a matter of the pieces that you have around you and what you can do to elevate everybody else.

Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don’t know.

Ask an older person you respect to tell you his or her greatest regret.

To reform a world, to reform a nation, no wise man will undertake; and all but foolish men know, that the only solid, though a far slower reformation, is what each begins and perfects on himself.

If you ask the CEO of some major corporation what he does, he will say, in all honesty, that he is slaving 20 hours a day to provide his customers with the best goods or services he can and creating the best possible working conditions for his employees.

It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and to prefer things in measure to things in excess.

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don’t allow our bodies to heal, and we don’t allow our minds and hearts to heal.