inspiring greatness Quotes

We all can't be famous but we can all be great and we become great when we serve others

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

What do we teach our children? . . . We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique . . . You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything.

Art gives man a reminder that he is not just a consumer but a creator as well. It awakens in him the urge to struggle and perform great deeds; it fills him with the craving to pass on the Promethean fire to generations to come.

If you give people a chance, they shine.

It's amazing what people will do when you see the best in them, when you honor them, when you respect them. It not only strengthens the relationship, but it will help that other person rise higher.

Perhaps the greatest definition I think of character and quality is people who when they're truly great rather than making you feel that tall they make you feel that tall, that they're greatness as it were improves you.

People aren't things to be molded; they are lives to be unfolded. And that's what true leaders do. They unfold the lives of others and help them reach their God-given potential.

It is not for a care-free existence I am fighting, but for the possibility of devoting myself to the task which I believe and know has been laid upon me by God -- the work which seems to me more important and needful in Norway than any other, that of arousing the nation and leading it to think great thoughts.

The purpose of an organization is to enable ordinary humans beings to do extraordinary things.

The highest calling of leadership is to unlock the potential of others.

We have to believe that every person counts, counts as a creative force that can move mountains.

When you hand good people possibility, they do great things.

What can ennoble sots, or slaves, or cowards? Alas! not all the blood, of all the Howards.

A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness

Behind every great achievement is a dreamer of great dreams.

Teach them the quiet words of kindness, to live beyond themselves. Urge them toward excellence, drive them toward gentleness, pull them deep into yourself, pull them upward toward manhood, but softly like an angel arranging clouds. Let your spirit move through them softly.

Any man's greatness is a tribute to the nobility of all mankind, so when we celebrate the genius of [Leo] Tolstoy, we say, "Look! One of our boys made it! Look what we're capable of!"

There is no life which does not possess its own importance, no life which may not be touched by greatness at any time -- Yes, be touched by greatness and have a hand in it. (from The Mirror of Her Dreams)

What every college must do is hold up before the young the spectacle of greatness.

I want each one of my children to be a hundred times greater than I could ever be. Everyone of you must be a giant- must, that is my word. Obedience, readiness, and love for the cause- if you have these three, nothing can hold you back.

The definition of leadership is that you have to find great people and ask them to do extraordinary things. I've been doing that my whole life.

Oh, wondrous power! how little understood, Entrusted to the mother's mind alone, To fashion genius, form the soul for good, Inspire a West, or train a Washington.