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Barack Obama Quotes

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We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of

We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.

Barack Obama
What Matters, People, Earth
Speech at the 'Together We Thrive: Tucson and America' Memorial, delivered 12 January 2011, McKale Memorial Center, University of Arizona, Tucson

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

Barack Obama
Inspirational, Motivational, Change
Barack Obama (2008). “An American Story: The Speeches of Barack Obama : a Primer”, Independent Publishing Group

You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.

Barack Obama
Teach, Define You

Keep exploring. Keep dreaming. Keep asking why. Don’t settle for what you already know. Never stop believing in the power of your ideas, your imagination, your hard work to change the world.

Barack Obama
Dream, Believe, Hard Work
"Obama To Young Scientists: ‘Keep Asking Why’" by Sara Bondioli, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 23, 2015.

When times get tough, we don't give up. We get up.

Barack Obama
Giving Up, Don't Give Up, Tough
Remarks by the President on the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. January 15, 2014.

Change is never easy, but always possible.

Barack Obama
Easy
Barack Obama (2009). “Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House”

When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk.

Barack Obama
Ignorance, Ignorant, Want
Joint Press Conference with President Obama and Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. April 27, 2014.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new.

Barack Obama
Education, Learning, School
President Barack Obama's speech to American students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, www.whsv.com. September 7, 2009.

If somebody is different from you, that's not something you criticize, that's something that you appreciate.

Barack Obama
Appreciate, Different, Criticize
Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.

Barack Obama
Mean, Nails, Doe
"Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

What is important is that we make sure to work together, that we understand our strength comes from unity and not division.

Barack Obama
Unity, Working Together, Important
Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

Our destiny is not written for us, but by us.

Barack Obama
Powerful, Destiny, Politics
First President-Elect Weekly Transition Address, Broadcast 8 November 2008

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.

Barack Obama
Inspirational, Inspiring, Hope

Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it. Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by the men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.

Barack Obama
Fighting, Destiny, Men
Iowa Caucus Victory Speech, delivered 3 January 2008, Des Moines, Iowa

We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it.

Barack Obama
Future, Presidential, Shapes
Speech to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care Reform, delivered 9 September 2009

Greatness is never free; it must be earned.

Barack Obama
Greatness

Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.

Barack Obama
Character, Empathy, Quality

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Barack Obama
Responsibility, Opportunity, Offers
Obama's Speech to Students at Cairo University in Cairo, www.cbsnews.com. June 4, 2009.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up.

Barack Obama
Ends, Where You Are, Determine
Obama's Speech to Students at Cairo University in Cairo, www.cbsnews.com. June 4, 2009.

Every life must be given the chance to realize its full potential - that every life matters.

Barack Obama
Full Potential, Matter, Chance
Source: www.nbcnews.com

You can't always come up with the optimal solution, but you can usually come up with a better solution.

Barack Obama
Come Up, Optimal, Solutions

When our interests and values are at stake, we have a responsibility to act.

Barack Obama
Powerful, Responsibility, Stakes
"Obama's Speech On Libya: 'A Responsibility To Act'". Barack Obama's speech at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., www.npr.org. March 28, 2011.

Don’t ever let anybody tell you that your efforts don’t matter or that your voice doesn’t count. Don’t ever believe that you can’t make a difference. You have.

Barack Obama
Believe, Voice, Differences

The thing I know for sure is that at the end of my life, what I'm going to remember is the love I felt for my family and my friends, and whatever good I did for other people.

Barack Obama
People, Remember, My Family
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Don't just buy a new video game, make one. Don't just download the latest app, help design it. Don't just play on your phone, program it.

Barack Obama
Phones, Games, Play
"Computers Are The Future, But Does Everyone Need To Code?". "All Tech Considered" with Kelly Mcevers, www.npr.org. January 25, 2014.