“We must give up the silly idea of folding our hands and waiting on God to do everything for us. If God had intended for that, then he would not have given us a mind. Whatever you want in life, you must make up your mind to do it for yourself.”

The greatest possession of a man is character.

Look to Africa, for there a king will be crowned.

It is only the belief and the confidence we have in a God why man is able to understand his own social institutions, and move and live like a rational human being.

I am not opposed to the white race as charged by my enemies. I have no time to hate anyone. All my time is devoted to the up-building and development of the Negro Race.

History is the landmark by which we are directed into the true course of life.

To see your enemy and know him is a part of the complete education of man.

If the Negro is not careful he will drink in all the poison of modern civilization and die from the effects of it.

Intelligence rules the world, ignorance carries the burden.

Look for me in the whirlwind or the storm.

The whole world is run on bluff. No race, no nation, no man has any divine right to take advantage of others. Why allow the other fellow to bluff you?

Take advantage of every opportunity; where there is none, make it for yourself, and let history record that as we toiled laboriously and courageously, we worked to live gloriously.

At no time within the last five hundred years can one point to a single instance of the Negro as a race of haters.

You must not mistake lip service and noise for bravery and service.

If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.

The history of a movement, the history of a nation, the history of a race is the guide-post of that movement’s destiny, that nation’s destiny, that race’s destiny.

I have no desire to take all black people back to Africa; there are blacks who are no good here and will likewise be no good there.

Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.

We’re trapped in a world that’s troubled with pain. As long as a man has the strength to dream, he can redeem his soul and fly.

You’ve got to believe in the possibilities. You’ve got to believe that tomorrow can be better than today. And here’s the big one. Believe in yourself.

Money doesn’t make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.

You’ve got to follow that dream, wherever that dream may lead.

Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone to tell you who you are.

Power means happiness; power means hard work and sacrifice.

Do what you really want to do. Don’t play their game! Don’t do what they want. Find your own way.