Meles Zenawi Quotes

As I got older, I guess I became more mellow and more forgiving and more loving.

I've learned a lot. Being more compassionate.

I have become a person who can focus more on love.

I think I've advanced my views with compassion and tolerance.

I was trying to be very at ease in this arrogant person, and very worldly, but something human came into the part. I hate to say that. I wanted to be totally worldly.

If you want to be loved, be lovable.

Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.

I'm a forgiver. I might not forget, but I forgive. My mother, father and older brother always told me: 'Don't hold grudges. If you do that, you don't lower yourself down to your adversary. Just treat people the way you want to be treated.' I honestly think that's why I was able to survive and have some success.

The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.

I think that the greatest lesson I learned from my father is just having compassion towards people.

But I'm trying to play into this role as much as possible and be a nicer person in real life.

I could be less impatient with people. I sometimes judge by impressions.

I'll tell you what I did need to learn was tolerance, and I think I've been actually given a daily opportunity to practice that, and it's - it's - and I know that that sounds almost like a backhanded slap, and it is in a way because I haven't been successful at it every day.

I've learned never to expect people to be better than they are, but to always have faith that they can be more.

Compromise and tolerance are magic words. It took me 40 years to become philosophical.

I'd like to do more stuff with less sarcasm.

I have no way of knowing how people really feel, but the vast majority of those I meet couldn't be nicer. Every once in a while someone barks at me. My New Year's resolution is not to bark back.

People make mistakes all the time. We learn and grow. If there's patience and love, and you care for people, you can work them through it, and they can find their greatest heights.

My dad's probably one of the kindest people in the world. When I was younger that's not how I was- I was a little spoiled brat.

As you get older, you realize just figuring out how to be nice to the people in your personal sphere is almost more challenging than trying to change the bigger culture.

I have seen myself lose intolerance, narrowness, bigotry, complacence, pride and a whole bushel-basket of other intellectual vices through my contact with Nature and with men. And when you take weeds out of a garden it gives you room to grow flowers. So, every time I lost a little self-satisfaction, or arrogance, I could plant some broadness or love of my own in its place, and after a while the garden of my mind began to bloom and be fragrant and I found myself better equipped for my work and more useful to others as a consequence.

Continuing to listen and grow is important because we get into bad habits in relationships.

As a human being, it's in your nature, when somebody says something about you negatively, to defend yourself and lash back. That's what we all have to learn not to do. You have to forgive a person. And when you forgive a person, you have to forgive yourself.

If someone is misrepresenting my playing career, I try to correct them. If they say something mean about me I'll let them know it hurts my feelings. But I've noticed that the best thing for me is to show love back to them and show positivity and by doing that you gain a fan.

I now see that I never needed to be so mean or cruel.