427 Quotes by Colin Powell

Don’t just show kindness in passing or to be courteous. Show it in depth, show it with passion, and expect nothing in return. Kindness is not just about being nice; it’s about recognizing another human being who deserves care and respect.

Officers have been trying for hundreds of years to outsmart soldiers and have still not learned that it cannot be done. We can always count on the native ingenuity of the American GI to save us from ourselves, and to win wars.

If you take the pay, earn it. Always do your very best. Even when no one else is looking, you always are. Don’t disappoint yourself.

You know you’re a good leader when people follow you out of curiosity.

If a leader doesn’t convey passion and intensity then there will be no passion and intensity within the organization and they’ll start to fall down and get depressed.

Respect for leaders by followers can’t be mandated; it must be earned. It has to be given to leaders by their followers.

You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.

Be careful what you choose. You may get it.

You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.