Gary Rossington Quotes

My mother's not a political person. She just doesn't want me to be mean... sometimes I have to be mean. It's like a parent or a teacher. Sometimes for the good of everybody you have to be a little bit strong, a little bit confrontational.

It's not everybody that can handle firing Denzel Washington or coming to blows and saying, 'This is what's happening because I said so.' Usually, it's the reverse.

I haven't took no punishment. There's nothing cool about taking punishment.

It means that through knowledge have come responsibility and hope, and through both, action.

A policeman, as you discover, has to put up with a hell of a lot of abuse. A man in any other line of work would nail a guy who laid that kind of abuse on him. I know I would.

Leadership is about vision and responsibility, not power.

To be honest, the fact that people trust you gives you a lot of power over people. Having another person's trust is more powerful than all other management techniques put together.

My parents told me, 'Skating is a privilege, not a right, and school always comes first.'

They are amazing kids so we let them make decisions but also have discipline.

If I'm a leader, I have a mission.

Real education enhances the dignity of a human being and increases his or her self-respect. If only the real sense of education could be realized by each individual and carried forward in every field of human activity, the world will be so much a better place to live in.

There is small risk a general will be regarded with contempt by those he leads, if, whatever he may have to preach, he shows himself best able to perform.

Why not whip the teacher when the pupil misbehaves?

I am learning how to delegate and how to empower people.

I didn't think the teachers had the right to tell me what to do. I would just disobey, talk in the classroom, get very bad grades.

I wonder truly at your insolence, that, whereas by God's favor and mine, you have occupied the rank and office of the wise, you have neglected the studies and labors of the wise. Either, therefore, at once give up the discharge of the temporal duties which you hold, or endeavor more zealously to study the lessons of wisdom. Such are my commands.

To me, in life, if there's, like, a rule, and I think it's ridiculous, then of course I'll circumvent that but also point out how ridiculous the rule is. Other than that, if I go to a concert, and my seat is Row G, Seat 12, I'm sitting in Row G, Seat 12. I don't care if I'm with five other friends, I'm supposed to be in Seat 12, that's my seat.

When you're in a leadership role, you can never please all of the people all of the time. There's also a lot of responsibility that goes along with it that others may not realize.

Leadership is about vision and responsibility, not power. And I try to model that in all of my interactions.

The way I knew I was right about something was the kids got angry. That's very important: you touch that anger.

Whenever someone says something bad about you, just confront them on it and just be a man and own up to it. If you said something you shouldn t have said, and it's important to somebody you need to talk to, you need to go talk to them. Be a man. Step up.

I'm going to be direct with the players. If they don't like it, then I'm sorry.

We are professionals, we have to set the example and not provoke anyone.

Part of being a leader means knowing who you can go after and who you should pat on the butt.

And I thought the whole point of my education was that violence IS the answer.