The President of the United States of America is one of the world’s most powerful and influential leaders. There is no doubt that many of the 44 Presidents in the United States’ almost 240 years of existence, have had the toughest job in the world, leading in times of great peril including a civil war, world wars and economic disaster. Success has varied from one President to the next, as each faced a host of challenges as they lead their nation and people.
Leadership is essential to any individual who has hopes to refine and change an organization, group, or country they are a part of. In honor of Presidents’ Day and our past and present leaders, here are 10 of our favorite leadership quotes to come out of the Oval Office:
1. Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone then in bad company
– George Washington, 1st POTUS 1789-1797
2. In a matter of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock
– Thomas Jefferson, 3rd POTUS 1801-1809
3. If your actions inspire others to dream more, do more, and become more, you are a leader
– John Quincy Adams, 6th POTUS 1825-1829
4. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power
– Abraham Lincoln, 16th POTUS 1861-1865
5. The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself
– Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd POTUS 1933-1945
6. It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit
– Harry S. Truman, 33rd POTUS 1945-1953
7. Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it
– Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th POTUS 1953-1961
8. Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth
– John F. Kennedy, 35th POTUS 1961-1963
9. Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it’s the time when they most need to think
– Bill Clinton, 42nd POTUS, 1993-2001
10. 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, 44th POTUS, 2009-Present