Richard Brinsley Sheridan Quotes

You know, you pick and choose your battles.

My style is to be a diplomat, not a bomb thrower.

Never get angry. Never make a threat. Reason with people.

I differ in my ideas from most of our people on the subject of retaliation. Sometimes I know it to be necessary, but it should not be resorted to at all times, and in our case policy dictates that it should be avoided whenever possible.

Always remember that your calmness under fire is your best defense in any argument or discussion.

I'm not a fighter. If there's something going on that I really feel strongly about, I'll certainly stand up but I pick my battles.

I think I have a very nice demeanor, but at the same time, when pushed, I will freak out. I have a backbone, but I don't feel like I'm terrible about it.

Sometimes you need conflict in order to come up with a solution. Through weakness, oftentimes, you can't make the right sort of settlement, so I'm aggressive, but I also get things done, and in the end, everybody likes me.

You have to pick your battles on set.

My position does not give me the liberty to exclude anything, but my mood tells me there will not be violence.

Obama seems like he tries to talk everyone into what he believes - and that's part of why we elected him, because he's a calm, reasonable guy - but behind that, there has to be some fight. You have to be able to take a few punches and throw a few punches.

As a property developer, I learned a long time ago to choose your battles wisely and that, unfortunately, compromise is a given.

As a person who is not confrontational by disposition I tend to see that the quality of being confrontational is a positive attribute.

Negotiate with those who wish to talk - and take action against those who create mischief.

Every time that we've ever fought, we fought to keep from bein' destroyed. We've never started a war.

I never raise my voice!

I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either for us or for them, and I'm certainly the only well-known Arab who writes these things - and who writes exactly the same things in the Arab press that I say here.

You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time.

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

One should not evoke violence by acting fearful.

One thing I've learned - and I've said this to Republicans and Democrats - is, bees cannot sting and make honey at the same time. They have to make a choice. Either they are going to be a stinger or a honey-maker, and I contend that honey is a symbol of legislation and, the nuclear language used by members is the stinger, and you can't do both.

While exceptional employees don't seek conflict, they don't run away from it either. They're able to maintain their composure while presenting their positions calmly and logically. They're able to withstand personal attacks in pursuit of the greater goal and never use that tactic themselves.

I try not to deal with people's hostility, though I must if they have something I need from them, as the professors did at Columbia or my landlord did.

… let us do nothing through passion and ill temper. Even though the Southern people will not so much as listen to us, let us calmly consider their demands, and yield to them if, in our deliberate view of our duty, we possibly can.

The art of politics is learning to walk with your back to the wall, your elbows high, and a smile on your face.