50 Colin Powell quotes
Colin Luther Powell was a politician, a four-star general, and the first African-American Secretary of State. He was born on 5 April, 1937 in New York, United States. Powell graduated from City College of New York with a Bachelor of Science in Geology in 1958. He joined the army soon after graduating and was deployed to Vietnam from 1962 to 1963. He was deployed to Vietnam once again in 1968 and received a Soldier’s Medal for his bravery after surviving a helicopter crash. He served in the Army for 35 years. Colin Powell received his MBA in 1971, and a year later served a White House Fellowship. Colin Powell died on Oct. 18, 2021 due to complications from COVID-19. The former secretary of state was 84 years old. Here is the collection of Colin Powell quotes to know him better.
Colin Powell Quotes
- “You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.” – Colin Powell
- “It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.” – Colin Powell
- “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters.” – Colin Powell
- “There are no secrets to success. Don’t waste time looking for them. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
- “Bad news isn’t wine. It doesn’t improve with age.” – Colin Powell
- “It ain’t where you start in life, it’s where you end up, and what you did along the way.” – Colin Powell
- “Fear and failure are always present. Accept them as part of life and learn how to manage these realities.” – Colin Powell
- “Be scared, but keep going. Being scared is usually transient. It will pass.” – Colin Powell
- “Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.” – Colin Powell
- “Never get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.” – Colin Powell
Colin Powell Quotes on Leadership
- “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.” – Colin Powell
- “Dig up all the information you can, then go with your instincts.” – Colin Powell
- “I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.” – Colin Powell
- “The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.” – Colin Powell
- “Never believe the first thing you hear.” – Colin Powell
- “Get mad, then get over it.” – Colin Powell
- “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.” – Colin Powell
- “Never neglect small details, even to the point of being a pest. Moments of stress, confusion, and fatigue are exactly when mistakes happen. And when everyone else’s mind is dulled or distracted, the leaders must be doubly vigilant. Always check ‘small things’.” – Colin Powell
- “There is no end to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” – Colin Powell
- “If you take the pay, earn it. Always do your very best. Even when no one else is looking, you always are. Don’t disappoint yourself.” – Colin Powell
Quotes by Colin Powell
- “The freedom to be your best means nothing unless you are willing to do your best.” – Colin Powell
- “All work is honorable. Always do your best because someone is watching.” – Colin Powell
- “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” – Colin Powell
- “Always show more kindness than seems necessary because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.” – Colin Powell
- “You don’t step on enthusiasm.” – Colin Powell
- “The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.” – Colin Powell
- “Control enthusiasm in the face of victories, large or small.” – Colin Powell
- “Wanting to be someone isn’t enough; dreaming about it isn’t enough; thinking about it isn’t enough. You’ve got to study for it, work for it, fight for it with all your heart and soul, because nobody is going to hand it to you.” – Colin Powell
- “Trust is the glue that holds people together and is the lubricant that keeps an organization moving forward.” – Colin Powell
- “The chief condition on which, life, health and vigor depend on, is action.” – Colin Powell
Colin Powell Quotes
- “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” – Colin Powell
- “Don’t bother people for help without first trying to solve the problem yourself.” – Colin Powell
- “Each of us is a product of all our experiences and all our interactions with other people.” – Colin Powell
- “Wouldn’t it be great if we could look forward to a whole world in which no child will be left behind?” – Colin Powell
- “I have always tried to keep my confidence and optimism up, no matter how difficult the situation.” – Colin Powell
- “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” – Colin Powell
- “Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.” – Colin Powell
- “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.” – Colin Powell
- “What could be more important than equipg the next generation with the character and competence they need to become successful.” – Colin Powell
- “If you get the dirty end of the stick, sharpen it and turn it into a useful tool.” – Colin Powell
Famous Colin Powell Quotes
- “I’m not perfect, but I’ll be the creator of perfection.” – Colin Powell
- “Today I can declare my hope and declare it from the bottom of my heart that we will eventually see the time when that number of nuclear weapons is down to zero and the world is a much better place.” – Colin Powell
- “War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.” – Colin Powell
- “Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it, spend time with your families.” – Colin Powell
- “The ties that bind us are stronger than the occasional stresses that separate us.” – Colin Powell
- “Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.” – Colin Powell
- “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life giving speeches.” – Colin Powell
- “You can’t just have slogans, you can’t just have catchy phrases. You have to have an agenda.” – Colin Powell
- “Giving back involves a certain amount of giving up.” – Colin Powell
- “We can seldom get our children to do what we tell them, but they almost never fail to imitate us.” – Colin Powell
