The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch.

Every President wants to do right.

A president either is constantly on top of events or, if he hesitates, events will soon be on top of him. I never felt that I could let up for a moment.

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

Leadership is hard. It’s a skill. It’s a technique.

The 21st century is going to be the American century. Because we lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. That is the history of the journey of America.

Now from a distance, I look back on what the Corps taught me: to think like men of action, and to act like men of thought!

I want to use my position of leadership to help move along at a faster pace what I believe and know the Obama administration wants to do around the urgency of climate change.

I think that growing up in a crowded continent like Europe with an awful lot of competing claims, ideas… cultures… and systems of thought, we have, perforce, developed a more sophisticated notion of what the word ‚freedom‘ means than I see much evidence of in America.

If an individual wants to be a leader and isn’t controversial, that means he never stood for anything.

Resistance is feasible even for those who are not heroes by nature, and it is an obligation, I believe, for those who fear the consequences and detest the reality of the attempt to impose American hegemony.

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.

I will keep America moving forward, always forward, for a better America, for an endless enduring dream and a thousand Points of Light. This is my mission, and I will complete it.

The true history of my administration will be written 50 years from now, and you and I will not be around to see it.

Sadly, the truth is, there aren’t many people who can be put in high positions who won’t start thinking highly of themselves.

Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.

It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.

Being prime minister is a lonely job… you cannot lead from the crowd.

In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.

Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.

I still make sure to go, at least once every year, to a country where things cannot be taken for granted, and where there is either too much law and order or too little.

The time has come for all evangelists to practice full financial disclosure. The world is watching how we walk and how we talk. We must have the highest standards of morality, ethics and integrity if we are to continue to have influence.

Since the team understands that the leader is de facto in charge, in that respect, a leader has nothing to prove. But in another respect, a leader has everything to prove: Every member of the team must develop the trust and confidence that their leader will exercise good judgment, remain calm, and make the right decisions when it matters most.

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

Great tragedy has come to us, and we are meeting it with the best that is in our country, with courage and concern for others because this is America. This is who we are.

A President needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it.

You don’t lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.

Never mistake motion for action.

As soon as questions of will or decision or reason or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss.

Most businesses think that product is the most important thing, but without great leadership, mission and a team that deliver results at a high level, even the best product won’t make a company successful.

When anger rises, think of the consequences.

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.

A wet spot on the floor kind of put a scare in myself, so you never know inside those lines what might happen.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

To see the right and not to do it is cowardice.

In America there’s no way I can make the kind of movie I like to make.

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.

No man is good enough to govern another man without the other’s consent.

A tragedy is a representation of an action that is whole and complete and of a certain magnitude. A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end.

The effects of climate change are real and must be acted on.

A director makes 100 decisions an hour. Students ask me how you know how to make the right decision, and I say to them, ‚If you don’t know how to make the right decision, you’re not a director.‘

Bad food is made without pride, by cooks who have no pride, and no love. Bad food is made by chefs who are indifferent, or who are trying to be everything to everybody, who are trying to please everyone… Bad food is fake food… food that shows fear and lack of confidence in people’s ability to discern or to make decisions about their lives.

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.

We always live in an uncertain world. What is certain is that the United States will go forward over time.

I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.

Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.

It’s a very confusing era that we’re in.

In any decision for action, when you have to make up your mind what to do, there is always a ‚should‘ involved, and this cannot be worked out from, ‚If I do this, what will happen?‘ alone.

People and organizations don’t grow much without delegation and completed staff work because they are confined to the capacities of the boss and reflect both personal strengths and weaknesses.

There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.

Before we acquire great power we must acquire wisdom to use it well.

I don’t want a brat on my team.

All my authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

You know, people talk about this being an uncertain time. You know, all time is uncertain. I mean, it was uncertain back in – in 2007, we just didn’t know it was uncertain. It was – uncertain on September 10th, 2001. It was uncertain on October 18th, 1987, you just didn’t know it.

I want a president who will teach our children that everyone in this country matters, a president who truly believes in the vision that our Founders put forth all those years ago that we are all created equal, each a beloved part of the great American story.

My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision.

In this quest to seek and find God in all things, there is still an area of uncertainty. There must be. If a person says that he met God with total certainty and is not touched by a margin of uncertainty, then this is not good.