Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct.

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.

Science is the captain, and practice the soldiers.

Listen, I think that people want a president who is going to be interested in the things that keep them up at night, the things that are weighing on them, the things that are debilitating and can be addressed.

I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person. It’s a pretty good test.

One must steer, not talk.

I just think it is important that you realize, that you’re the best in the world. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican or whether you’re libertarian or whatever, you are the best. And we should not ever forget that. And when somebody does not do the job, we got to let them go.

I don’t follow all the 48 laws. Like, I’ve never crushed anyone totally.

I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as ‚us‘ and ‚them‘ – he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above… he knows that we all love our country… and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas… he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.

The people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organization and keep it at bay.

All good leaders are connectors. They relate well and make people feel confident about themselves and their leader.

A lot of people don’t enjoy their jobs, and it’s one of the main things we like to complain about.

There were the questions of what kind of First Lady I would be, what issues would I focus on. Those were the questions that were being pounded on me through the campaign. A lot of times, I wondered what in the world Barack was even getting us into.

At the age of 6, a teacher full of ambitions, who taught in the small public school of Biran, convinced my family that I should travel to Santiago de Cuba to accompany my older sister who would enter a highly prestigious convent school. Including me was a skill of that very teacher from the little school in Biran.

The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.

Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver.

I always try to do as much as I can do. I’m never a person that does not enough, because I’d regret not doing enough and think I probably could have done more. I probably go too far and have to reel myself back in, which works in some things, and other things it doesn’t work.

The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.

In my country we go to prison first and then become President.

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‘.

I knew I wasn’t going to be a rocket scientist – let’s not be fools – but I wasn’t going to be a bum.

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.

I want to put a ding in the universe.

A good model of how to ‚work with the enemy‘ internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet.

To me, ideology is corrupt; it’s a parasite on religious structures. To be an ideologue is to have all of the terrible things that are associated with religious certainty and none of the utility. If you’re an ideologue, you believe everything that you think. If you’re religious, there’s a mystery left there.

There are definitely designers that I love, people I love to work with. And who they are as people matters. Are they good people? Do they treat their staff well? Do they treat my staff well? Are they young? Can I give them a boost? But when all of that is equal… is it cute?

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.

Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.

All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.

Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don’t ever apologize for anything.

I am confident that when the facts and policies have been examined, when the record of performances have been reviewed, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will once again be elected to lead our beloved country to a better future.

Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it.

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.

There’s no reason why I can’t be a mogul. When I step into a room and I’m there to have a conversation, if it pertains to business, I want to be respected as a guy who knows what he’s talking about. And that, to me, holds more weight than anything else.

Peace comes when you talk to the guy you most hate. And that’s where the courage of a leader comes, because when you sit down with your enemy, you as a leader must already have very considerable confidence from your own constituency.

I think our politicians could learn a lot from Mandela.

The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves.

Many people, including some conservatives, have been very impressed with how brainy the president and his advisers are. But that is not quite as reassuring as it might seem.

The ideal girl is driven, working on something other than modeling or being a singer.

I didn’t know what a stockbroker was when I was eight, but I would just tell everybody that’s what I was going to be.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

Often, in the real world, it’s not the smart that get ahead but the bold.

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

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.

Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.

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

Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.

Leadership is influence.

I break ground. I trailblaze.

For success of any mission, it is necessary to have creative leadership. Creative leadership is vital for government, non-governmental organisations as well as for industries.

I’m no leader; I’m a little humble follower.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‚If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?‘ But… the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‚If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?‘

I do believe that any successful business starts from the top and works its way down.

We named the book ‚Extreme Ownership‘ because we really found that when we looked at not only at leaders but at teams that were the most successful, we found that the ones that had this attitude of extreme ownership were the ones that did the best, and it’s definitely an attitude that I had.

Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

If you have fear, you are bound by tradition, you follow some leader or guru. When you are bound by tradition, when you are afraid of your husband or your wife, you lose your dignity as an individual human being.

If boyhood and youth are but vanity, must it not be our ambition to become men?

Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.

No one ever teaches well who wants to teach, or governs well who wants to govern.

I went through every emotion with tryna pursue what I’m doing, you know what I mean? And I think what’s gon‘ separate whoever’s gon go for something, that you ain’t gon‘ quit.