Nelson Mandela

"We are not makers of history. We are made by history."

"Being peaceful means not using violence to solve problems, but using dialogue and understanding."

"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."

"The prison's highest wall cannot stop the power of knowledge and ideas."

"We should not judge people by their peak of excellence, but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started."

"Creativity requires risk. It requires you to be brave enough to try."

"Our human compassion binds us the one to the other—not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learned how to turn suffering into accomplishment."

"The day may come when I have to face my Creator and account for every action in my life."

"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way."

"There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university, in reality or in imagination."

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

"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."

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

"No one is born hating another person. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love."

"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."

"A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow."

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

"I learned that working toward freedom, I would be more courageous and stronger than if I were simply fighting against oppression."

"Keep your eyes on the prize."

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

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you."

"Difficulties break some men but make others. No ax is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."

"It is my duty as a leader to ensure that my people are educated and well-informed."

"An educated person is empowered. Education is the great tool for development."

"No one can deprive you of your self-respect if you do not allow them to."

"The greatest threat to our world is not the power of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"I stand here not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people."

"Ordinary people achieve extraordinary things when they work together with purpose."

"The time is always right to do what is right, even when the cost is high."

"You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist."