Colin Powell Quotes

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

All children need a laptop. Not a computer, but a human laptop. Moms, Dads, Grannies and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles – someone to hold them, read to them, teach them. Loved ones who will embrace them and pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred previous generations. Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their expectations of them, their hopes, and their dreams.

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.

Trust is the glue that holds an org together & the lubricant that moves it forward.

We have to start thinking of America as a family. We have to stop screeching screeching at each other, stop hurting each other, and instead start caring for, sacrificing for and sharing with each other … We cannot move forward if cynics and critics swoop down and pick apart anything that goes wrong, to a point where we lose sight of what is right, decent and uniquely good about America.

War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.

Get mad, then get over it.

Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard. Learn from the pros, observe them, seek them out as mentors and partners. But remember that even the pros may have leveled out in terms of their learning and skills. Sometimes even the pros can become complacent and lazy.

If everybody trusts one another, then the person who didn’t prevail will faithfully execute the decision as if it was their idea.

As I’ve thought about gay marriage, I don’t see any reason not to say that [couples] should be able to get married.

The media only report stupid or careless answers, not stupid or unfair questions.

Leadership is solving problems.