Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on the 18th of July, 1918 in Mvezo, South Africa. He was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Nelson Mandela was the country’s first black head of state, he was elected after his time in prison for his anti-apartheid work.
His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Widely regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice, he received more than 250 honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Nelson Mandela died on the 5th December, 2013 in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Below, you will find a collection of popular Nelson Mandela quotes and sayings.
100 Nelson Mandela Quotes About Life, Freedom & Leadership
“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“ As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.”― Nelson Mandela Quote
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Having resentment against someone is like drinking poison and thinking it will kill your enemy.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“life has a way of forcing decisions on those who vacillate.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I realized that they could take everything from me except my mind and my heart. They could not take those things. Those things I still had control over. And I decided not to give them away.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Non-violence is a good policy when conditions permit.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Prison is designed to break one’s spirit and destroy one’s resolve. To do this, the authorities attempt to exploit every weakness, demolish every initiative, negate all signs of individuality–all with the idea of stamping out that spark that makes each of us human and each of us who we are.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“If wealth is a magnet, poverty is a kind of repellent.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It reaffirmed my long-held belief that education was the enemy of prejudice. These were men and women of science, and science had no room for racism.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“But I had little knowledge of Marxism, and in political discussions with my communist friends I found myself handicapped by my ignorance of their philosophy. I decided to remedy this.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“The human body has an enormous capacity for adjusting to trying circumstances. I have found that one can bear the unbearable if one can keep one’s spirit strong, even when one’s body is being tested. Strong convictions are the secret of surviving deprivation. Your spirit can be full even when your stomach is empty.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Only mass education, he used to say, would free my people, arguing that an educated man could not be oppressed because he could think for himself.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“To deny people of their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I immediately regretted that last point because I have discovered that in discussions it never helps to take a morally superior tone to one’s opponent.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“She married a man who soon left her; that man became a myth; and then that myth returned home and proved to be just a man after all.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Violence was the only weapon that would destroy apartheid.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Democracy meant all men were to be heard, and a decision was taken together as a people. Majority rule was a foreign notion. A minority was not to be crushed by a majority.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Like the gardener, a leader must take responsibility for what he cultivates; he must mind his work, try to repel enemies, preserve what can be preserved, and eliminate what cannot succeed.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“As a leader, one must sometimes take actions that are unpopular, or whose results will not be known for years to come.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“For a revolution is not just a question of pulling a trigger; its purpose is to create a fair just society” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Courage is not the absence of fear — it s inspiring others to move beyond it.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“A leader. . .is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself… Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”― Nelson Mandela Quote
“You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite… Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.”― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal trimuph if you have the iron will and the neccessary skill.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency, and that if their heart is touched, they are capable of changing.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It is most unusual to return to a place that has changed in ways you yourself have altered.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I was a young man who attempted to make up for his ignorance with militancy.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“But the hard facts were that fifty years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Men have different capacities and react differently to stress. But the stronger ones raised up the weaker ones, and both became stronger in the process.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Some men, under the pressure of incarceration, showed true mettle, while others revealed themselves as less than what they had appeared to be.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”― Nelson Mandela Quote
“When the women begin to take an active part in the struggle, no power on earth can stop us from achieving freedom in our lifetime.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Honour belongs to those who never forsake the truth even when things seem dark and grim, who try over and over again, who are never discouraged by insults, humiliation and even defeat.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“In South Africa, to be poor and black was normal, to be poor and white was a tragedy.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Later the island was turned into a leper colony, a lunatic asylum, and a naval base. The government had only recently turned the island back into a prison.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“overcoming fear, personal scarifies for the cause of freedom of all, and ability to see good in your enemies – No one is born hating another person because of the color of your skin, or his background, or his religion … if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“all remained loyal to him, not because they always agreed with him, but because the regent listened to and respected different opinions.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It will forever remain an accusation and a challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took as long as it has, before all of us stood up to say enough is enough.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts,” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Losing a sense of time is an easy way to lose one’s grip and even one’s sanity.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“He knew when to compromise. Yet he never compromised his principles. He was a militant. Yet a militant who knew how to plan, assess concrete situations and emerge with rational solutions to problems.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY DESTINY.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”― Nelson Mandela Quote
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ― Nelson Mandela Quote