Barack Obama Quotes

I'm not concerned with noise because I'm playing the long game.

Patience, he thought. So much of this was patience - waiting, and thinking and doing things right. So much of all this, so much of all living was patience and thinking.

I've always thought of him [Barack Obama] and from conversations know him to be a guy who takes the long view, who doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low and seizes the opportunities when they're there and knows how to ride the wave. I ascribe that to Hawaii. He's a body surfer, so he knows how to get on the wave. He knows just the right time.

I think all presidents should take the long view of history.

I am a person who looks long-term, and I recognize the path we need to take. There will be moments when people are unhappy and disgruntled with some decision-making. Nonetheless, what matters most is to reach the destination. And my job as President is to see clearly where I want to go and be steadfast in my resolve to realize that vision

Everywhere you turn you see Americans sacrifice their long-term interests for a short-term reward.

If we think long term, we can accomplish things that we couldn't otherwise accomplish.

See the long view: By all means "plant the corn, milk the cows, and feed the horses" but always keep the eventual "harvest" in mind.

A short term view will lead to a partial and perhaps twisted view of the whole picture. A crucial element may be missing. We may not be running the entire race. A friend of mine described a colleague as great at running the "ninety-five yard dash." That is a distinction I can do without. Lacking the last five yards makes the first ninety-five pointless. In fact, serious runners thing of it as a 110 yard dash so that no one will best them in the last few yards. You've got to think beyond the whole.

I think long-term, not short-term.

The one characteristic more essential than any other is foresight... It should be the growing nation with a future which takes the long look ahead.

I know I made plenty of mistakes in my tenure. But one of the things that you learn is to be very careful and to protect yourself down the road a little bit, which is to say you've got to think ahead and think where is the story going to go? What are all the possible outcomes? And how do I protect the president from unexpected twists and turns in the road?

There is one form of hope which is never unwise, and which certainly does not diminish with the increase of knowledge. In that form it changes its name, and we call it patience.

To Thetis, Long overdue, I know, but every often the things we most desire come only after much patience and struggle. That is a human truth, I think. Even Peleus knew that. -Seth

Your passion must be tempered with patience. Maybe long-suffering patience would be a better word.

I'll give you one day at a time, Claire. But remember, I'm thousands of days ahead already.

For God's love, take things patiently, have sense, Think! We are prisoners and shall always be. Fortune has given us this adversity, Some wicked planetary dispensation, Some Saturn's trick or evil constellation Has given us this, and Heaven, though we had sworn The contrary, so stood when we were born. We must endure it, that's the long and short.

I am not thoughtless but am prepared for anything and as a result can wait patiently for whatever the future holds in store, and I'll be able to endure it.

The Congress is not willing to think about the long term. They act like activist shareholders, to use that phrase again. They're not thinking about what can we do that will make us richer, safer, and stronger next year, and the year after, and five and 10 years out.

I think the biggest single thing that causes difficulty in the business world is the short-term view. We become obsessed with it. But it forces bad decisions.

I'm a patient person. I think that's one thing that I feel comfortable I can deal with - the downfall and the errors, as long as I see progress and people trying.

Talent is long patience.

I want it to be able to hold up in 30 years' time. So, I'm really thinking about everything.

Business is a marathon, and most of society thinks it's a sprint.

Patience is a good palfrey, and will carry us a long day.