Nelson Mandela on Excellence Quotes

"Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts."

"Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished."

"One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others."

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

"It is in your hands, to make a better world for all who live in it."

"We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right."

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."

"I am the captain of my soul."

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony."

"Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front."

"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears."

"Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind."

"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."

"Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world."

"Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."

"A winner is a dreamer who never gives up."

"There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."

"Difficulties break some men but make others."

"Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do."

"Sometimes, it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation."

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others."

"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

"The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

"A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones."

"I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying."

"Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will."

"Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings."

"It always seems impossible until it's done."

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."

"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice."

"Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people."

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."