Jimmy Carter quotes: lessons from Mr. 39.
“We cannot ignore our gift of the future.”
“We tend to think that money and fame and the adulation of others will make us happy – but we come to realize that those things are not foundations for real success.”
“We cannot know the mystery of the future.”
“Go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.”
“I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God’s standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love.”
“We must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our course.”
“It’s not necessary to fear the prospect of failure but to be determined not to fail.”
“Failure is a reality; we all fail at times, and it’s painful when we do. But it’s better to fail while striving for something wonderful, challenging, adventurous, and uncertain than to say, ‘I don’t want to try because I may not succeed completely.'”
“You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can.”
“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.”
“We’ve got to stop crying and start sweating; stop talking and start walking; stop cursing and start praying.”
“Testing oneself is best when done alone.”
“We cannot resort to simplistic or extreme solutions which substitute myths for common sense.”
“To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others.”
“Always tell the truth, and take an interest in serving the people around you as much as possible. You always get back much more than you give.”
“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.”
“America has always been a country of innovation and dynamism, entrepreneurship.”
“What are the things that you can’t see that are important? I would say justice, truth, humility, service, compassion, love – they’re the guiding lights of life.”
“The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices.”
“Because grandparents are usually free to love and guide and befriend the young without having to take daily responsibility for them, they can often reach out past pride and fear of failure and close the space between generations.”
“The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.”
“A joyous occasion is never quite as wonderful as when it becomes a memory.”
“My mother’s influence to take on new challenges and do what I though was right even though sometimes the consequences politically speaking were not good – my mother was vivacious, she was full of life, she got up every morning looking forward to the day, trying to figure out what she could do that was innovative and unprecedented and maybe controversial.”
“Earlier in my life I thought the things that mattered were the things that you could see, like your car, your house, your wealth, your property, your office. But as I’ve grown older I’ve become convinced that the things that matter most are the things that you can’t see – the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are.”
“When I reflect upon my blessings during my very nice lifetime, I am inspired to make sure that I spend the balance of the days of my existence in a productive way.”
“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have, to try to make a difference.”
“Always I’m working on some book. That’s the way I make a living. I’ve just finished my 20th book this past year and I’m working on my 21st book about the Middle East right now that I’ll finish this year. And I get up early in the morning and when I get tired of the computer and tired of doing research, I walk 20 steps out to my wood shop and I either build furniture or paint paintings. I’m an artist too.”
“I’m a peanut farmer at heart – still grow peanuts on my farm in Georgia.”
“Despite the challenges that we face, based on my past experience and the past achievements of my country and the world, I still have faith in the ability of human beings to survive and to overcome the transient problems that face us all.”
“On balance, my life has been a constant stream of blessings rather than disappointments and failures and tragedies.”
“I owe my deepest thanks to you, the American people, because you gave me this extraordinary opportunity to serve.”
“I’ve had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence. I have been blessed with good health, and I have been blessed with adequate vigor and a good mind. I would say that, except for my physical limitations, I don’t see any real differences in my older years than I did earlier.”
“I’d like to be remembered as someone who was a champion of peace and human rights.”
“I enjoyed being President.”
Related: Donald Trump quotes.
