88 Nelson Mandela Quotes and Sayings
Looking for Inspirational quotes by Nelson Mandela? Here are famous Nelson Mandela Quotes and Sayings about education, life, freedom, and peace.
Nelson Mandela Quotes
- “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.” – Nelson Mandela
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
- “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
- “One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Nelson Mandela
- “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.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” – Nelson Mandela
- “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
Quotes by Nelson Mandela
- “You can start changing our world for the better daily, no matter how small the action.” – Nelson Mandela
- “One of the most difficult things is not to change society — but to change yourself.” – Nelson Mandela
- “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.” – Nelson Mandela
- “One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” – Nelson Mandela
- “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Fools multiply when wise men are silent.” – Nelson Mandela
- “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” – Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela Inspiring Short Quotes
- “Let your greatness blossom.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Tread softly, breathe peacefully, laugh hysterically.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Where you stand depends on where you sit.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Quitting is leading too.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Appearances matter — and remember to smile.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” – Nelson Mandela
- “While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Nothing is black or white.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I am the captain of my soul.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I never lose. I either win or learn.” – Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela Famous Quotes
- “I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; and I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation.” – Nelson Mandela
- “It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.” – Nelson Mandela
- “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” – Nelson Mandela
- “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.” – Nelson Mandela
- “People respond in accordance to how you treat them.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.” – Nelson Mandela
- “There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to helping others without expecting anything in return.” – Nelson Mandela
- “We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” – Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela Quotes
- “Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more.” – Nelson Mandela
- “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” – Nelson Mandela
- “As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” – Nelson Mandela
- “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Many people in this country have paid the price before me and many will pay the price after me.” – Nelson Mandela
- “It is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.” – Nelson Mandela
- “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” – Nelson Mandela
Best Nelson Mandela Quotes
- “Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.” – Nelson Mandela
- “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
- “A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.” – Nelson Mandela
- “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.” – Nelson Mandela
- “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.” – Nelson Mandela
- “When people are determined they can overcome anything.” – Nelson Mandela
- “When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.” – Nelson Mandela
- “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” – Nelson Mandela
Inspirational Nelson Mandela Quotes
- “It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly.” – Nelson Mandela
- “In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.” – Nelson Mandela
- “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” – Nelson Mandela
- “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. 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.” – Nelson Mandela
- “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.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.” – Nelson Mandela
- “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” – Nelson Mandela
Motivational Nelson Mandela Quotes
- “As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.” – Nelson Mandela
- “As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.” – Nelson Mandela
- “It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.” – Nelson Mandela
- “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” – Nelson Mandela
- “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” – Nelson Mandela
- “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela
- “You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.” – Nelson Mandela
- “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” – Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela Quotes
- “Men have different capacities and react differently to stress. But the stronger ones raised up the weaker ones, and both became stronger in the process.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
- “There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill.” – Nelson Mandela
- “We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.” – Nelson Mandela
- “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great?” – Nelson Mandela
