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Nelson Mandela

(1918-2013) South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, imprisoned for 27 years, President of South Africa (1994-1999)

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A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

– Nelson Mandela

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After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

– Nelson Mandela

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Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

– Nelson Mandela

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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

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I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. 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 the opposite.

– Nelson Mandela

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I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

– Nelson Mandela

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I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.

– Nelson Mandela

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I learned that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it.

– Nelson Mandela

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I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

– Nelson Mandela

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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

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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

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It always seems impossible until it's done.

– Nelson Mandela

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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

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May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

– Nelson Mandela

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Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.

– Nelson Mandela

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Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.

– Nelson Mandela

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The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

– Nelson Mandela

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There is nothing like returing to a place that remains uncganged to find how you yourself have altered.

– Nelson Mandela

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There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

– Nelson Mandela

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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

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When a boat come upon a winding river, slow down and the river becomes straight.

– Nelson Mandela

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“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”

– Nelson Mandela

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“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... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”

– Nelson Mandela

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“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”

– Nelson Mandela

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“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”

– Nelson Mandela

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“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

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Quotes from the news wire:

In Africa, music is not the art of combining sounds, it's not just for dancing and jumping, it's also a way one can raise awareness with joy.

– Nelson Mandela

Found on Reuters 4 years ago

My grandfather, during his presidential years, he wore a watch, a Philippe Patek watch, and I've made that watch available because he gave me that watch and I think because he was such a committed person and always on time, even when he traveled abroad his watch remained on South African time which we found hilarious as a family, but that watch is also here on display.

– Nelson Mandela

Found on Reuters 5 years ago

The Blitzboks are really looking forward to this weekend. You only get one opportunity to play in front of your home crowd, 50,000 people supporting you and then 50 million people at home.

– Nelson Mandela

Found on CNN 6 years ago

This document has many things that most parties cannot agree with.

– Nelson Mandela

Found on Reuters 9 years ago

By combining our name with that of Cecil John Rhodes in this initiative is to signal a closing of the circle and a coming together of two strands in our history.

– Nelson Mandela

Found on FOX News 9 years ago

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