Quotes by Nelson Mandela

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

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

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

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

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

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

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.

Difficulties break some men but make others.

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.

I am the captain of my soul.

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

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

Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.

Nothing in life is more important than the ability to transform pain into purpose.

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

In my country, we go to prison first and then become President.

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

Quotes by Nelson Mandela part 2

A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.

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.

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

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

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

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.

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.

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

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

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 that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

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 human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.

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.

I was made, by the law, a criminal, not because of what I had done, but because of what I stood for, because of what I thought, because of my conscience.

I detest racialism because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.

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

Tread softly, breathe peacefully, laugh hysterically.

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

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

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

It is not where you started that matters, but where you are heading.

Change begins with the actions of a few brave individuals.

Your greatness is not what you have, it’s what you give.

Have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone.

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.