“As I have often said, governments don’t produce economic growth, people do.”

“I'm not where I need to be, but thank God i'm not where I used to be.”

“They, they, they. That was the problem with people like Joyce. They talked about the richness of their multicultural heritage and it sounded real good, until you noticed that they avoided black people. It wasn't a matter of conscious choice, necessarily, just a matter of gravitational pull, the way integration always worked, a one-way street. The minority assimilated into the dominant culture, not the other way around. Only white culture could be neutral and objective. Only white culture could be nonracial, willing to adopt the occasional exotic into its ranks. Only white culture had individuals. And we, the half-breeds and the college-degreed, take a survey of the situation and think to ourselves, Why should we get lumped in with the losers if we don't want to? We become only so grateful to lose ourselves in the crowd, America's happy, faceless marketplace; and we're never so outraged as when a cabbie drives past us or the woman in the elevator clutches her purse, not so much because we're bothered by the fact that such indignities are what less fortunate coloreds have to put up with every single day of their lives-- although that's what we tell ourselves-- but because we're wearing a Brooks Brothers suit and speak impeccable English and yet have somehow been mistaken for an ordinary nigger. Don't know who I am? I'm an individual!”

“God has a plan and the devil has a plan, and you will have to decide which plan you are going to fit into.”

“It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of His presence.”

“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

“If you lead a team, start asking questions and really listening. Start valuing the contributions of your teammates ahead of your own. And remember that when the best idea wins, so does the entire team.”

“Hardship can humble you, but it cannot break you unless you let it. Your instinct for survival will see you through if you’re attuned to its frequency. Instinct will find a temporary stopgap without ever taking its sights off your larger goals. There’s no greater way to hone your instincts than to overcome adversity. Successful leaders know that instincts transform adversity into opportunity.”

“I’ve learned that if you want people to be impressed, you can talk about your successes; but if you want people to identify with you, it’s better to talk about your failures.”

“Totalitarianism always starts with restrictions on the rights of others. We must avoid this at all costs. George Washington even said, “If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

“Every human being who reaches the age of understanding of the purpose of money, wishes for it. Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.” 

“As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it.”

“A drop of honey gathers more flies than a gallon of gall.”

“And you will have greater credibility with your leader if you admit your shortcomings and refrain from making excuses.”

“Es interesante que cuando Jesús quiso animar a sus seguidores a expandir su visión, les recordó que no “se echa vino nuevo en odres viejos”.2 Jesús estaba diciendo que no puedes tener una vida abundante con actitudes restringidas. Esa”