The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven’t had that fear.

The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.

The colonel replied that he didn’t care how my men had got the job done. He was happy that it had been accomplished. He said that, obviously, no matter how much or how little I knew technically, I was able to get the best out of people I worked with.

When it comes to the qualifications that we should demand of our president, to start with, we need someone who will take the job seriously.

The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it: so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it.

I think that there is never an indispensable leader, you know? I think that there is a time with dignity that one needs to leave.

The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.

If you want to occupy the C-suite or the top one-tenth of 1% in any organization, you have to be obsessively devoted to your career at the expense of everything else. And women look at that, and they think, ‚No.‘

You’ve all seen over the last eight years what President Obama means to this country. He is the embodiment of honor, resolve, and character – one of the finest presidents we have ever had.

Hillary doesn’t play. She has more experience and exposure to the presidency than any candidate in our lifetime – yes, more than Barack, more than Bill. So she is absolutely ready to be Commander-in-Chief on day one. And, yes, she happens to be a woman.

If you’re going to change things, you have to be with the people who hold the levers.

The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

I want a president with a record of public service, someone whose life’s work shows our children that we don’t chase fame and fortune for ourselves: we fight to give everyone a chance to succeed.

A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential.

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.

A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman.

At places like Davos, people like to tell success stories. But their financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag. And on climate change, we have to acknowledge we have failed.

Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.

I’m the president of the United States. I’m not the emperor of the United States.

We must think and act like a nation of a billion people and not like that of a million people. Dream, dream, dream!

The proper study of Man is anything but Man; and the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.

But let me tell you, this gender thing is history. You’re looking at a guy who sat down with Margaret Thatcher across the table and talked about serious issues.

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.

In fact, my courage and my bravery at a young age was the thing I was bullied for, a kind of ‚Who do you think you are?‘

Fear has its use but cowardice has none.

In every walk of life, you must have leaders. An education in the spiritual world, in the labor field, in the agricultural field, we must have leaders.

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

One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is ‚to be prepared‘.

I just think overall there’s not as many female ministers than there are male ministers.

No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause.

A good leader doesn’t get stuck behind a desk.

The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.

Fear is not a lasting teacher of duty.

The great thieves lead away the little thief.

If people lose faith in their government, the result is the same whether or not the loss of confidence is justified.

I’ve been so blessed to play for the greatest coach at a time when our organization has done incredible things. I’ve played with the best teammates. Playing for Mr. Kraft and what his influence on the team has been.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.

When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‚We did it ourselves.‘

The Creator has not thought proper to mark those in the forehead who are of stuff to make good generals. We are first, therefore, to seek them blindfold, and then let them learn the trade at the expense of great losses.

Leaders who are kind of insecure or egocentric, they basically sabotage themselves.

Always do everything you ask of those you command.

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.

At the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.

I had rather be first in a village than second at Rome.

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.

If God is just, I tremble for my country.

But I do not believe that the world would be entirely different if there were more women leaders. Maybe if everybody in leadership was a woman, you might not get into the conflicts in the first place. But if you watch the women who have made it to the top, they haven’t exactly been non-aggressive – including me.

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

When I took over as president, I studied the Constitution, and the more I studied it, the more I realised that it does not prevent the president of India from giving the nation a vision. So when I went and presented this vision in Parliament and in legislative assemblies; everyone welcomed it, irrespective of party affiliations.

Without failure there is no achievement.

I break ground. I trailblaze.

Fear is stupid. So are regrets.

The wisest have the most authority.

A lot has happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war, and it’s been tested by recession and all manner of challenges – I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your president, to tell you I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before.

As president, you can get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people. But at the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values and your vision and the life experiences that make you who you are.

Every President wants to do right.