Jose Antonio Vargas Quotes

I think a man becomes less than a man when he begins to compromise on what he believes is right.

Don't believe that winning is really everything. It's more important to stand for something. If you don't stand for something, what do you win?

For me, leadership is tied to self-knowledge. The examined life has become one of my ideals. To lead a people, you have to know who you are, where you come from, what you believe and why, what you're prepared to fight for or even die for, where you draw your strength, why and how you share yourself, and finally, where you would want to take the nation.

Holding true to what you believe - even in a big city - is so important.

You have to have enough conviction to stand for something. It doesn't matter if it's the opposing party or your own party.

If I've learned any one lesson from life, it's this: If you don't stand for something, you will stand for anything.

Life isn't just about what you can have; it's about what you have to give, what kind of person do you want to be?

Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers.

It's not about the money with me.

It's one thing to fight for what you believe in, another thing to fight for what others believe in.

You're not really ready to live unless you know what you're willing to die for.

Men who have greatness within them don't go into politics.

I do not believe in a political strategy that does not have a moral foundation.

At first, I had this huge desire to play a superhero, that little kid in me. Then I realized it wasn't actually a superhero I wanted to play: it was someone fighting for a cause that's bigger than themselves, which can go into all sorts of things.

If you ain't nothing when you get money and fame, you're just going to be more nothing. If you don't stand for nothing, when you get money and fame, you ain't suddenly fin to stand for nothing! You're just fin to be richer and more famous - standing for nothing!

Don't pretend that you can just be oblivious to politics. You can't. What you never do is break your personal code. Have a code and keep it. You should never compromise what your priorities are.

What we do flows from who we are.

All these boundaries - Africa, Asia, Malaysia, America - are set by men. But you don't have to look at boundaries when you are looking at a man - at the character of a man. The question is: What do you stand for? Are you a follower, or are you a leader?

If I've learned one thing in life, it's: Stand for something or you'll fall for anything.

I stand up for the things I believe in.

To be good, you need to believe in what you're doing.

Know the difference between principles based on right or wrong vs. principles based on personal gain, and consider the basis of your own principles.

My morals are important to me.

In politics, the people I most despise are those who have no values.

I've never worried about payback. People are hungry for leadership that's not afraid of political consequence.