“What could be more important than equipping the next generation with the character and competence they need to become successful”

Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life’s cycle and it’s from failure that you gain life experience.

I have never seen a good organization where the standards weren’t high.

Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.

Respect for leaders by followers can’t be mandated; it must be earned. It has to be given to leaders by their followers.

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.

Pissing people off doesn’t mean you’re doing the right things, but doing the right things will almost inevitably piss people off.

Always be looking for that which you do well and that which you love doing, and when you find those two things together — man, you got it.

My responsibility, our responsibility as lucky Americans, is to try to give back to this country as much as it has given us, as we continue our American journey together.

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.

None of us can change our yesterdays but all of us can change our tomorrows.

Always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.

Always do your best. Somebody is watching you.

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved.

Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is all about people-motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people-centered.

Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.

Nonviolence will empower and equip us to bring generations to the table and fuse our knowledge, gifts, and zeal together.

Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and for future generations.

The younger generation is supposed to rage against the machine, not for it. They’re supposed to question authority, not question those who question authority.

It’s very easy to leave when things go wrong, but to stick around and to basically give life to a town because of everything that it gave you generation after generation after generation, that to me is what defines a true American.

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.

There’s no democratic state that’s not compromised to the very core by its part in generating human misery.

I believe the history of American music is just as important as anything political because it’s changed generations of people.