Barack Obama Quotes about Destiny

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

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

Powerful, Destiny, Politics

First President-Elect Weekly Transition Address, Broadcast 8 November 2008

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

When people see opportunity, when they have a sense of control of their own destiny, then they're less vulnerable to the propaganda and twisted ideologies that have been attracting young people - particularly being turbocharged through social media.

Barack Obama

Opportunity, Destiny, Media

Interview with Jon Sopel, www.bbc.com. July 24, 2015.

So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time.

Barack Obama

Writing, Destiny, Opportunity

"The Action Americans Need". www.washingtonpost.com. February 5, 2009.

The values that we talked about, the values democracy and free speech and international norms and rule of law, respecting the ability of other countries to determine their own destiny and preserve their sovereignty and territorial integrity. Things are not something that we can set aside.

Barack Obama

Country, Integrity, Destiny

Source: time.com

Hope is the bedrock of this nation. The belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those 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

Hope, Destiny, Men

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. January 3, 2017.

The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

Barack Obama

Strong, Journey, Destiny

Second Presidential State of the Union Address, delivered 25 January 2011, Washington, D.C.

To all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

Barack Obama

Leadership, Destiny, Hands

President-Elect Victory Speech, delivered 4 November 2008, Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois

I commended Angela [Merkel] for her leadership along with President Hollande in working to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. We continued to stand with the people of Ukraine and for the basic principle that nations have a right to determine their own destiny and we discussed the importance of maintaining sanctions until Russia fully complies with the Minsk Agreement.

Barack Obama

Destiny, Russia, Ukraine

Source: time.com

The government of Libya announced the death of Moammar Gadhafi. This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, who now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny in a new and democratic Libya. The Gadhafi regime ruled the Libyan people with an iron fist. The enormous potential of the Libyan people was held back and terror was used as a political weapon. The last major regime strongholds have fallen. The new government is consolidating the control over the country. And one of the world's longest-serving dictators is no more.

Barack Obama

Country, Opportunity, Destiny

Source: www.pbs.org

A person’s zip code shouldn’t decide their destiny.

Barack Obama

Destiny, Zips, Code

Across the globe there are girls who will one day lead nations, if only we afford them the chance to choose their own destinies.

Barack Obama

Girl, Destiny, One Day

"Malala to Obama: Drone strikes 'fueling terrorism'", www.cnn.com. October 12, 2013.

There are places and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided...Selma is such a place.

Barack Obama

Destiny, America, Moments

Twitter post from Mar 07, 2015

The American people and the Israeli peoples share a faith in the future and believe that democracies can shape their own destinies and that opportunities should be available to all. Throughout its own extraordinary history, Israel has given life to that promise.

Barack Obama

Believe, Opportunity, Destiny

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home that's no excuse ... Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

Barack Obama

Home, Writing, Destiny

Barack Obama's back-to-school speech at Wakefield High School Arlington, Virginia, www.theguardian.com. September 8, 2009.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation. Yes we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights. Yes we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness. Yes we can.

Barack Obama

Night, Destiny, Yes We Can

Barack Obama, (2008). “Change We Can Believe In”, p.222, Canongate Books