Inspirational Leaders Quotes

What we need are mental and spiritual giants who are aflame with a purpose . . . We're a race ready for crusade, for we've recognized that we're a race on this continent that can work out its own salvation.

Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy shared more than just being leaders during critical times and the misfortune of lives cut short. They shared a power of will to drive the nation, sometimes single-handedly, toward a destination that few but they realized was attainable.

We all obviously need others to look up to, and be inspirational to us. Ford did a great job as far as putting the presidency back where it belonged, getting the trust back after Nixon. And President Reagan has been one of the most influential presidents.

I believe there are Steve Jobses all around us. Really, what is happening is that they're being edited out of importance.

I believe that leaders should inspire you to be more like them.

Greg Davis, Ron Randleman, David Bailiff, Paul Rhoads, Urban Meyer. I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of them as influences.

I've always found inspiration in icons that were really of purpose in their craft or calling. From Bob Marley to Maya Angelou to Malcolm X, inspiration came from seeing how committed they were to their vision and determining it themselves.

It is essential for politicians to make a connection with us, as Franklin Roosevelt did, as Teddy Roosevelt did, as John F. Kennedy did, as Ronald Reagan did.

I keep thinking that history runs in cycles, and that some day certain large issues will come before the country again. There will be leaders that inspire young people. I don't think it means that it's over forever, but I'm getting pretty impatient. I'm hoping it comes soon, so that my young people can know that experience that we knew in the '60s, and that the World War II generation knew during the '40s.

Leaders are people we as followers want to regard with awe as the fullest flowering of our own possibilities.

I've found that South Africa has produced good leaders. These are people who realize that when there is danger, they should be in the forefront and when there is victory to be celebrated, they should be in the background, allowing their colleagues and the ordinary civilians - the man in the street - to rejoice and to celebrate that victory.

Throughout my life, there are four people I've met who were truly original people. The other three were Groucho Marx, Jim Morrison, and Pablo Picasso.

Imagine if Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison or Albert Einstein were all alive 10, 20, 30 years before we know them to be alive; it would have advanced the world that much sooner.

Inspirational leaders need to have a winning mentality in order to inspire respect. It is hard to trust in the leadership of someone who is half-hearted about their purpose, or only sporadic in focus or enthusiasm.

It is such a treat to see two of my most favourite creative people in one frame - Rajamouli sir and Amitabh sir. They are so inspiring.

We need role models who are going to break the mold.

The leaders that the world admires seem almost all to be people who haven't had things quite so smooth or easy in their lives.

Many men of genius must arise before a particular man of genius can appear.

I think Americans expect optimism in their leadership. The most popular and effective leaders, whether it was Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan or Jack Kennedy, brought to it a sense of optimism and possibility.

That's what people are who have that impact on us. They are ahead of their time. They can't help it. They get put into a small, frail body, and they are given a light that is much too bright for that cavity.

Hence, let us place there, carved high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were. Then breathe a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and rain alone shall wear them away.

Whenever I am asked who I admire most among the leaders I have met, I have no hesitation in naming Nelson Mandela.

Truly transformative leaders inspire deep commitment among many and have continued impact long after they are gone.

Elizabeth I was my favourite monarch though, what an inspiration, she did great things for women.

People often ask me: Who has influenced you the most? Your father? Mahatma Gandhi? Yes, my choices were fundamentally influenced by them, by the spirit of equality they infused in me - my obsession for justice comes from my father, who in turn got it from Mahatma Gandhi.