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People tend to measure themselves by external accomplishments, but jail allows a person to focus on internal ones such as honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, generosity and an absence of variety. You learn to look into yourself.

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
Person
Absence
External
Look
Honesty
Jail
Looks
Tend
Accomplishment
People
Humility
Generosity
Ones
Allows
Accomplishments
Focus
Variety
Internals
Learn
Simplicity
Internal
Persons
Measure
Sincerity

More quotes by Nelson Mandela

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We must also know that even before liberation in 1994 there [in South Africa] were people with resources who tried to share with those who were deprived.
Nelson Mandela
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If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
Nelson Mandela
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When I went to jail, I was a trained lawyer. And when the wardens received letters of demands or summonses, they didn't have the resources to go to an attorney to help them. I would help them settle their cases, so they became attached to me and the other prisoners.
Nelson Mandela
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Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.
Nelson Mandela
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On the The AIDS Epidemic: This is a war. It has killed more people than has been the case in all previous wars and in all previous natural disasters ... We must not continue to be debating, to be arguing, when people are dying.
Nelson Mandela
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If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.
Nelson Mandela
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Why is it that in this courtroom I face a white magistrate, am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly? Can anyone honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced?
Nelson Mandela
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The death sentence is a barbaric act . . . It is a reflection of the animal instinct still in human beings.
Nelson Mandela
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I was able to change my life by knowing that if somebody does something good for you, you have to respond.
Nelson Mandela
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I want to sleep for eternity with a broad smile on my face. I want those who remain behind to say this man has done his duty.
Nelson Mandela
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To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.
Nelson Mandela
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A political movement must keep in touch with reality and the prevailing conditions. Long speeches, the shaking of fists, the banging of tables, and strongly worded resolutions out of touch with the objective conditions do not bring about mass action and can do a great deal of harm to the organization and the struggle we serve.
Nelson Mandela
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One of the sad realities today is that very few people, especially young people, read books. Unless we can find imaginative ways of addressing this reality, future generations are in danger of losing their history.
Nelson Mandela
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A winner is a dreamer who never gives up
Nelson Mandela
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I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Nelson Mandela
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It is music and dancing that make me at peace with the world.
Nelson Mandela
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The titanic effort that has brought liberation to South Africa, and ensured the total liberation of Africa, constitutes an act of redemption for the black people of the world.
Nelson Mandela
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I understand that the legal position is under review in South Africa and that there will soon be a broader set of organizations to which donors can give and claim tax deductions.
Nelson Mandela
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It is my deepest conviction that the children should be seen and heard as our most treasured assets.
Nelson Mandela
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There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated, even when you humiliate him rightly.
Nelson Mandela