John F. Kennedy Quotes

When I was younger, I thought about retiring.

In the spring of 1994 I decided not to seek reelection to the Senate. I had made the decision 12 years earlier, Christmas Day of 1982, just after I had been first elected to a full term, that I would do the best I could for a limited time.

I'm honored to have served for 18 years as Arizona's 10th Senator - and for four terms in the House of Representatives before that.

Retiring is a strange word. I'm 27 years old. I've still got stuff to do.

I never believed that my service in the U.S. Congress should become a permanent career.

I've accomplished everything a person can accomplish on a basketball court, but I never thought about the future when I was younger. I never made plans for the next stage in my life.

After a great deal of thought and discussions with my family, I have decided not to seek re-election in 2014. Politics shouldn't be a career, and I never intended to make it one.

It used to be 65 when you went into retirement. Before that, when you got into your 50s, you were getting older.

The retirement timing is always a tricky thing for a dancer. I think it's different for everyone. How you say goodbye to the thing you have really focused on that much is a tough one. I've always intended to leave in good shape, to exit on a high note.

My work in the House of Representatives, at this time in my life, is completed. It is time to return home.

The end of every President's second term is always a bit disappointing, isn't it?

I intend to withdraw after my second term. General Washington set the example. I will follow.

The need for this amendment grows directly out of the unfortunate experience we had in this country in 1940 and again in 1944 when a President (FDR) who had entrenched himself in power by use of patronage and the public purse refused to vacate the office at the conclusion of 2 terms, but used the great powers of the Presidency to perpetuate himself in office.

I would rather have a full term in the Senate—a place in which I would feel more consciously able to discharge the duties required, and where there is more chance to make a reputation, and less danger of losing it than four years of the presidency.

The 22nd Amendment limiting a president to two terms is an act of retroactive vindictiveness rather than judicious thinking about the institutions of the republic.

I am very proud of my public record and the many accomplishments of my office. It has been a tremendous honor to represent the 6th District of Texas for over three decades, but now it is time to step aside and let there be a new voice.

If you say you plan to retire in two or three years, you've already retired.

All my friends were retiring, and it got to the point where I was like, 'Hey, how come I'm not retiring?'

I never envisioned retiring out of the Congress.

I always thought I'd write when I retired - when I turned 65.

I think retirement is a little bit like death. I want to always be incredibly engaged and challenged, but in climbing, you do have to be realistic that your body won't be able to keep up forever.

You're starting to see a lot of fighters, like, 'We want more money so we can be able to retire eventually,' instead of, we get to 30 years old, and we're like, 'Alright, I think Costco has openings.'

When I finally quit for the second time in the summer of 2013, I had accepted that this really was the end, and, having got over that, the move into retirement was a lot easier.

We owe our public servants, from school teachers to state employees, a sustainable and well-funded retirement that they can count on.

The thing that forced me to think about my retirement was that I had played my cricket with honour and distinction, and I did not want to put myself in a position where I was considered a liability or unwanted by the selectors.