Quotes from Nelson Mandela

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

I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.

Nothing is black or white.

We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.

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.

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.

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

Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.

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

I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope.

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

Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs.

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.

Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great?

Quitting is leading too.

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite... Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.

I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY DESTINY.

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.

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

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

Tread softly, Brathe peacefully, Laugh hysterically.

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

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

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