Quotes by Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who spent 27 years as a political prisoner in South Africa before becoming President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalized racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

Quotes:

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.

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

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

The greatest glory in living is not in falling, but in rising every time we fall.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.

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.

And if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.

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

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

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.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to helping others without expecting anything in return.

What counts is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you have altered.

Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.

We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just, and lasting peace.

I never lose. I either win or learn.

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

It is what we make out of what we have given, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

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

If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important, and you do that by being genuine and humble.

Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.

When people are determined they can overcome anything.

Forget the past.

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

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.

People respond in accordance to how you treat them.

To deny people their human rights is to deny their very humanity.

Give a child love, laughter and peace.

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.