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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.

Colin Powell

The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will follow.
COLIN POWELL

Follow Forever Important Learning Personal Soldier
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.
COLIN POWELL

Deal Experience Failure Learning Life Yourself
Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.
COLIN POWELL

People Responsibility
Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.
COLIN POWELL

Advantage Afraid Challenge
Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.
COLIN POWELL

Born Errors Experience Leadership Learning
One of the fondest expressions around is that we can’t be the world’s policeman. But guess who gets called when suddenly someone needs a cop.
COLIN POWELL

Expression Need Policemen World
All values are important, everyone who has ever touched my life in some way was a mentor for good or bad. Life is a blend, and a person is a blend of all the influences that have touched their lives.
COLIN POWELL

Important Influence Life Live Touch Value
We are not trapped in what the science of management says we can do. We are capable of doing what the art of leadership says is possible.
COLIN POWELL

Art Leadership Management Possible Science
Always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.
COLIN POWELL

Kindness Necessary Need Yourself
You should never be so involved with your position/job that when the position is gone your entire self image is gone with it.
COLIN POWELL

Image Job Position Yourself
Treat people kindly. When you are kind to somebody and I don’t mean necessarily “buddy-buddy”, just show kindness and consideration. Show that people are worthy and you respect them and you are glad they’re with you.
COLIN POWELL

Happiness Kindness Necessary People Treat Worth Yourself
But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you’ve got to compromise. You’ve got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.
COLIN POWELL

Arrival Compromise Constitution Country Start Writing Yourself
Leaders honor their core values, but they are flexible in how they execute them.
COLIN POWELL

Core Execution Leadership Value Yourself
The chief condition on which, life, health and vigor depend on, is action. It is by action that an organism develops its faculties, increases its energy, and attains the fulfillment of its destiny.
COLIN POWELL

Action Condition Destiny Energy Fulfillment Health Organism
Get mad, then get over it.
COLIN POWELL

Let Go Mad One Liner
Pissing people off doesn’t mean you’re doing the right things, but doing the right things will almost inevitably piss people off.
COLIN POWELL

People Perspective Right Yourself
The greatest gifts my parents gave to me were their unconditional love and a set of values.
COLIN POWELL

Gift Greatness Love Myself Parents Value
A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
COLIN POWELL

Determination Dreams Hard Work Magic Reality Sweat
First you train the followers to accomplish the mission. Second, you resource them: Make sure that they have the tools to do the job. Third, you reward them: You give them medals or bonuses.
COLIN POWELL

Accomplishment Follow Job Medal Reward Tools Training Yourself
Preferring members of any one group for no reason other than race or ethnic origin is discrimination for its own sake. This the Constitution forbids.
COLIN POWELL

Constitution Discrimination Origin Reason
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
COLIN POWELL

Failure Hard Work Inspirational Learning Preparation Result Secret Success
Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.
COLIN POWELL

Hard Work People Play Serious Work
Give me the right people and I don’t much care what organization you give me. Good things will happen. Give me the wrong people and it doesn’t matter what you do with the organization. Bad things will happen.
COLIN POWELL

Care Goodness Organization People Right Yourself
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.
COLIN POWELL

Day Leadership Problem Soldier Yourself
Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved.
COLIN POWELL

Failure People Success
If you get the dirty end of the stick, sharpen it and turn it into a useful tool.
COLIN POWELL

Dirty End Tools Yourself
Trust is the essence of Leadership.
COLIN POWELL

Essence Leadership Trust

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.

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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.

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