Nelson Mandela

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

"A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special."

"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."

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

"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."

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

"I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death."

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

"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended."

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

"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."

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

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

"Courage is not the absence of fear — it s inspiring others to move beyond it."

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is out light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world and there is nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that others won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some, it is in everyone. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others. "

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."

"Where you stand depends on where you sit."

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. 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 for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

"Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer."

"Appearances matter — and remember to smile."

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

"(...) when a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw."

"When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat."

"As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility."

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

"It always seems impossible until its done."

"Quitting is leading too."

"Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me."

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."

"I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise."

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

"Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport."

"Nothing is black or white."

"It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones."

"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom."

"Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves."

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

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

"I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself. "

Nelson Mandela