Madeleine Albright Quotes

Leaders don't look backwards to condemn what has already been done; they look forward to create a better future.

All the most powerful speeches ever made point to a better future.

A new era of responsibility is here.

Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

The whole point of all of this - why we are here, why the world is here, and why we have the political system and leaders that we do - is to achieve change. This is the purpose of life.

It is, after all, the responsibility of the expert to operate the familiar and that of the leader to transcend it.

The mandate given to me was one of change.

I was brought up in a family of leaders, and I think leadership is a life sentence. I like changing things that will shape the future.

I always say, the greatest cost of leading is the cost of paving the way.

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.

Leadership experts and the public alike extol the virtues of transformational leaders - those who set out bold objectives and take risks to change the world. We tend to downplay 'transactional' leaders, whose goals are more modest, as mere managers.

Leaders are people who ‘walk ahead,’ people genuinely committed to deep changes, in themselves and in their organizations.

My responsibility will be to unite all the women and men ready to take on the tremendous challenges which are waiting for us, and to act.

I have a vision of my country, and I cannot sit and watch things pass by.

Throughout my life, I've always believed that the sole purpose of public service is to improve the lives of the people around us. From the Freeport Town Council to serving as Speaker of the State House, I've kept that sense of purpose close to my heart - consistently and passionately asking myself how we make progress.

You never, ever give up the chance to change things, ever, no matter how hard it is. If you're elected, and have got the opportunity to make a difference, you take it.

We have the opportunity and the responsibility to lead our country to a better and brighter future, and I cannot wait to roll up my sleeves and get back to work.

A friend of mine characterizes leaders simply like this: Leaders don't inflict pain. They bear pain.

Leaders are fascinated by future. You are a leader if and only if, you are restless for change, impatient for progress and deeply dissatisfied with status quo. Because in your head, you can see a better future. The friction between 'what is' and 'what could be' burns you, stirs you up, propels you. This is leadership.

I believe we face the question: if not now, then when? And if we are grasped by this vision, we may also hear the question: If not us, then who? And if the gospel of Jesus is not the key to this task, then what is?

Without the Utopians of other times, men would still live in caves, miserable and naked. It was Utopians who traced the lines of the first City.....Out of generous dreams come beneficial realities. Utopia is the principle of all progress, and the essay into a better future.

Can we somehow muster the courage and steadfastness of purpose that characterized the pioneers of a former generation? Can you and I, in actual fact, be pioneers [today]?

You members of this Conference are to be the architects of the better world. In your hands rests our future.

Victims make excuses. Leaders deliver results.