Quote

Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did.

Nelson Mandela

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Nelson Mandela
Age: 95 †
Born: 1918
Born: July 18
Died: 2013
Died: December 5
Autobiographer
Former President Of South Africa
Lawyer
Political Activist
Political Prisoner
Politician
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Mandela
Prisoner 46664
Madiba
Training
Applied
Taught
Cross
Ability
Crosses
Natural
Lack
Compensate
Running
Valuable
Aptitude
Everything
Competition
Intrinsic
Country
Lessons
Counted
Discipline
Diligence

More quotes by Nelson Mandela

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We slaughter one another in our words and attitudes. We slaughter one another in the stereotypes and mistrust that linger in our heads, and the words of hate we spew from our lips.
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To a freedom fighter hope is what a lifebelt is to a swimmer - a guarantee that one will keep afloat and free from danger.
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In my younger days, I was arrogant - jail helped me to get rid of it. I did nothing but make enemies because of my arrogance.
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The collapse of good conscience and the absence of accountability and public scrutiny have led to crimes against humanity and violations of international law.
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The Good News borne by our risen Messiah who chose not one race, who chose not one country, who chose not one language, who chose not one tribe, who chose all of humankind!
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The calm and tolerant atmosphere that prevailed during the elections depicts the type of South Africa we can build. It set the tone for the future. We might have our differences, but we are one people with a common destiny in our rich variety of culture, race and tradition.
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There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
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Freedom can never be taken for granted. Each generation must safeguard it and extend it. Your parents and elders sacrificed much so that you should have freedom without suffering what they did. Use this precious right to ensure that the darkness of the past never returns.
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Educating all of our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances of building better lives.
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I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
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Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.
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It is not our diversity which divides us it is not our ethnicity, or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.
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I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.
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Good men and women can be mobilized to ensure that South Africa is united and that the spirit of reconciliation is strengthened and that progress in this country takes place as fast as it can.
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Let us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it, because [that is] the only way to make it appear like a normal illness
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It generally appears outlandish until its carried out.
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It is a grave error for any leader to be oversensitive in the face of criticism
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I am confident that nobody... will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I am still in good health, with my family, my friends and also with myself.
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In many respects, people on the outside suffered more than those of us in jail. In prison, we ate three times a day, we had clothing, we had free medical services, and we could sleep for 12 hours.
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We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know: That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people.
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