Colin Powell > Quotes

“The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.
Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An
important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative
thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will
change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you
to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to
crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that
don't increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this:
Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems
with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who
never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has
a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the
bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone
who's not going anywhere.

With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be careful
where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the
person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with
wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you
will learn how to soar to great heights.
"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the
kind of friends he chooses."

The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you
closely associate - for the good and the bad.

Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends.
Yes...do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they will
always be your family no matter what. Just know that they are human first
and though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else and
will fit somewhere in the criteria above.

"In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us. In Adversity We Know Our friends."

"Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them."
"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

“Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.”
― Colin Powell, On Leadership

“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.”
― Colin Powell

“The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
― Colin Powell

“Get mad, then get over it. ”
― Colin Powell

“There are no secrets to success: don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence.”
― Colin Powell

“The freedom to do your best means nothing unless you are willing to do your best.”
― Colin Powell

“Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity.”
― Colin Powell

“Perpetual Optimism is a Force Multiplier.”
― Colin Powell

“Well, the correct answer is he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?”
― Colin Powell

“You don't know what you can get away with until you try.”
― Colin Powell

“Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.”
― Colin Powell

“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.-Colin Powell”
― Colin Powell

“The day you are not solving problems or are not up to your butt in problems is probably a day you are no longer leading. If your desk is clean and no one is bringing you problems, you should be very worried. It means that people don't think you can solve them or don't want to hear about them. Or, far worse, it means they don't think you care.”
― Colin Powell, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through the argument debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”
― Colin Powell

“Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves.”
― Colin Powell

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hardwork, and learning from failure-”
― Colin Powell

“Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so just because you might not like what you find.”
― Colin Powell

“If you get the dirty end of the stick, sharpen it and turn it into a useful tool.”
― Colin Powell, My American Journey

“The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.”
― Colin Powell

“The ties that bind us are stronger than the occasional stresses that separate us.”
― Colin Powell, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

“There are no secrets to success. It's the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.”
― Colin Powell

“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

“No matter how significant or life-changing your greatest hit or miss might be, neither even begins to define who you are. Each of us is a product of all our experiences and all our interactions with other people. To cite calculus, we are the area under the curve.”
― Colin Powell, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

“ON BUSY BASTARDS: A busy bastard can’t stop finding things to do. He never rests and as a result, his staff never rests. He’s always making work that expands to fill whatever time is available. The point I make in my book is: Be busy, work hard, but don’t become so busy that you cut out other things in life, like family and recreation and hobbies. And never be so busy that you’re not giving your staff and your followers enough time to do the same thing.”
― Colin Powell, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.”
― Colin Powell

“It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.”
― Colin Powell

“I'm not perfect but I'll be the creator of perfection.”
― Colin Powell

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
― Colin Powell, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
― Colin Powell, Colin Powell: An American Hero Speaks Out