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"There is no easy walk to freedom..."
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Published Thursday, December 05, 2013 @ 7:25 PM EST
Dec 05 2013

Nelson Mandela, the former South African president and anti-apartheid icon, died December 5, 2013 following a series of lung infections. He was 95 years old. Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) party in the 1940s and led protests against the ruling apartheid regime, which restricted the basic rights of South Africa’s nonwhite population and barred their participation in government. His resistance to such oppressive policies earned him nearly three decades in prison, during which he became an international symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. Upon his release in 1990, Mandela helped negotiate an end to the apartheid system, and four years later he won election as the the first black president of South Africa. He retired from politics in 1999, but remained a global advocate for peace and social justice. (Click here for full article)

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A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

Any man that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.

Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

It always seems impossible until it's done.

Lead from the back- and let others believe they are in front.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.

One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.

One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.

Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.

Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.

Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward.

Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.

We must ensure that color, race and gender become only a God-given gift to each one of us and not an indelible mark or attribute that accords a special status to any.

We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world. Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all.

When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.

You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.

I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope.

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.


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Quotes of the day: Walt Disney
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Published Thursday, December 05, 2013 @ 2:32 AM EST
Dec 05 2013

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (December 5, 1901 - December 15, 1966) and his brother Roy co-founded Walt Disney Productions, which became one of the best-known motion-picture production companies in the world. Disney was an innovative animator and created the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. He won 22 Academy Awards during his lifetime, and was the founder of theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World. (Click here for full biography.com article)

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A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there.

All our dreams can come true- if we have the courage to pursue them.

All you've got to do is own up to your ignorance honestly, and you'll find people who are eager to fill your head with information.

Childishness? I think it's the equivalent of never losing your sense of humor.

Do a good job. You don't have to worry about the money; it will take care of itself. Just do your best work- then try to trump it.

Faith I have, in myself, in humanity, in the worthwhileness of the pursuits in entertainment for the masses. But wide awake, not blind faith, moves me.

Fantasy, if it's really convincing, can't become dated, for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time.

For every laugh, there should be a tear.

Girls bored me- they still do. I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I've ever known.

I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral.

I don't believe in playing down to children, either in life or in motion pictures. I didn't treat my own youngsters like fragile flowers, and I think no parent should.

I had a brother who I really envied because he was a mailman. But he's the one that had all the fun. He had himself a trailer, and he used to go out and go fishing, and he didn't worry about payrolls and stories and picture grosses or anything. And he was the happy one. I always said, 'He's the smart Disney.'

I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is no answer to delinquency. Preaching won't keep youngsters out of trouble, but keeping their minds occupied will.

It's a mistake not to give people a chance to learn to depend on themselves while they are young.

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.

Laughter is America's most important export.

Leadership means that a group, large or small, is willing to entrust authority to a person who has shown judgment, wisdom, personal appeal, and proven competence.

Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows. Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil, and that is what our pictures attempt to do.

Never get bored or cynical. Yesterday is a thing of the past.

Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we see everywhere today is only temporary. Tomorrow will be better for as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life.

The special secret it seems to me is summarized in four C's. They are Curiosity, Courage, Confidence and Constancy. And the greatest of all is Confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

The worst of us is not without innocence, although buried deeply it might be.

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main... and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.

To the youngsters of today, I say believe in the future, the world is getting better; there still is plenty of opportunity. Why, would you believe it, when I was a kid I thought it was already too late for me to make good at anything.

We're not trying to entertain the critics... I'll take my chances with the public.

When we do fantasy, we must not lose sight of reality.

Why worry? If you've done the very best you can, worrying won't make it better.

You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.


Categories: Quotes of the day, Walt Disney


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