The time is always right to do right.
– Nelson Mandela
If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don’t ask for observers
from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers.
– Nelson Mandela
I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter. I have made missteps
along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only
finds that there are many more hills to climb. 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
I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man
or a white man.
– Nelson Mandela
It always seems impossible until it’s done.
– Nelson Mandela
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
I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have
cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in
harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to see realised.
But my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
– Nelson Mandela
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the
same.
– 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
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
– Nelson Mandela
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
Young people must take it upon themselves to ensure that they receive the highest
education possible so that they can represent us well in future as future leaders.
– 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
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
– Nelson Mandela
Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will.
– Nelson Mandela
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the
oppression of one by another.
– Nelson Mandela
I have always believed exercise is a key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.
– Nelson Mandela
One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.
– Nelson Mandela
Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.
– Nelson Mandela
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
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
Appearances matter – and remember to smile.
– 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
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
– 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
Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.
– Nelson Mandela
I will not leave South Africa, nor will I surrender. Only through hardship, sacrifice and militant
action can freedom be won. The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until
the end of my days.
– Nelson Mandela
It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should
not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.
– Nelson Mandela
I am the captain of my soul.
– 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
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
– 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
Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at
the fabric of our society and weaken our nation.
– Nelson Mandela
I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.
– Nelson Mandela
You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of
retribution.
– Nelson Mandela
I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.
– 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
Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.
– 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
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
It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.
– Nelson Mandela
A bright future beckons. The onus is on us, through hard work, honesty and integrity, to
reach for the stars.
– 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
In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
– 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
Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.
– Nelson Mandela
A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.
– 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
Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.
– 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
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure.
– Nelson Mandela
Freedom would be meaningless without security in the home and in the streets.
– 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
We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.
– Nelson Mandela
No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a
collective.
– Nelson Mandela
There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its
children.
– 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
We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black
and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable
right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.
– 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
I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say.
Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving
forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I
would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.
– Nelson Mandela
Lead from the back and let others believe they are in front.
– Nelson Mandela
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
– Nelson Mandela
The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.
– Nelson Mandela
There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal trimuph if you
have the iron will and the neccessary skill.
– Nelson Mandela
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.
– Nelson Mandela