Need leadership advice? Who better to consult than our nation’s presidents (and the great women who shared The White House with them!) Inspiration for today is often found in the words of those who came before us.
Consider these words on leadership:
John Quincy Adams (1825-1829): “If your actions inspire
others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Rosalynn Carter, First Lady (1977-1981): “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989): “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.”
…On vision, dreams, and success:
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865): “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.”
Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909): “We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.”
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929): “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb … Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, (1933-1945): “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”
Barbara Bush, First Lady, (1989-1993): “Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people.”
…On Life:
Consider Thomas Jefferson’s (1801-1809) : “When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.”
Warren G. Harding’s (1921-1923) words ring true today: “America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity…”
Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady (1933-1945): “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Barack Obama (2009-2017): “We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.”
Do you have a favorite presidential quote on leadership? Please share it with us! Happy 4th of July!