Colin Powell

"Real strength comes from the ability to understand and acknowledge your own vulnerability."

"We have moved into a new era where we have to think about all these things together."

"I'm a Republican, but I believe in taking care of people in need."

"The greatest decision I ever made was that I would go through life as a rock to support my family."

"I didn't do it for fame. I did it for the common good."

"Tell me how you treat people who can't do anything for you and I'll tell you how you treat all people."

"Time is precious and we should spend it with people who matter most to us."

"The world of political leaders today is not the world of tomorrow, but the world of tomorrow flows from the decisions we make today."

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does."

"Excellence is not a skill. It's an attitude."

"Sometimes you have to take half a loaf when a whole loaf is not possible."

"I've seen many things in my life that I thought were impossible, but I was wrong."

"Getting along with others is critical to success in life."

"The day you stop striving to become better is the day you start becoming worse."

"We need to understand that the United States is not at war with Islam."

"Sometimes the best things in life are discovered by accident."

"I always tell the truth, because that way I don't have to remember what I said."

"Youth is wasted on the young, and wisdom often arrives when you're too old to use it."

"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little things."

"The most important thing is to do the right thing, regardless of the personal cost."

"Great leaders inspire people to have confidence in their leader; leaders inspire people to have confidence in themselves."

"Responsibility has a way of clarifying thought."

"Don't just accept the world as it is. Ask yourself how it should be and work toward that vision."

"I learned that you have to be able to laugh at yourself when you've made a mistake."

"Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master."

"History shows that when you give people hope, they will move mountains."

"Success is not about achieving wealth or fame; it's about becoming the person you want to be."

"The surest way to lose support is to constantly shift your position and contradict yourself."

"I believe that the greatest strength of America has always been its diversity."

"Never forget that in the end we are all accountable for our actions."