Nelson Mandela Quotes for Inspiration and Motivation

“A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”

“A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones..”

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

“Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more.”

“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.”

“As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.”

“Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.”

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

“Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe 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.”

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

“Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”

“Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.”

“Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”

“I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.”

“I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”

“I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.”

“I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles..”

“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”

“It is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.”

“It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.”

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.”

“It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”

“Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer.”

“Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.”

“Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.”

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”

“Men have different capacities and react differently to stress. But the stronger ones raised up the weaker ones, and both became stronger in the process.”

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. 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.”

“Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”

“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation.”

“The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.”

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

“There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill.”

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

“There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.”

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”

“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.”

“Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.”

“We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

“When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.”

“You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”

“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

“I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days.”

“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.”

“Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”

“Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.”

“Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.”

“One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.”

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

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

“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.”

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