Top 500 Nelson Mandela Quotes (2023 Update)

1. “It always seems impossible until it's done.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Perseverance Quotes, Persistence Quotes

2. “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”

— Nelson Mandela

3. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Success Quotes

4. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Change Quotes, Graduation Quotes, Inspiring Quotes

5. “It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Success Quotes

6. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”

— Nelson Mandela

7. “I am the captain of my soul.”

— Nelson Mandela

8. “The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.”

— Nelson Mandela

9. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

— Nelson Mandela

10. “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

11. “Lead from the back – and let others believe they are in front.”

— Nelson Mandela

12. “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

13. “Nothing is black or white.”

— Nelson Mandela

14. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Inspiring Quotes

15. “ As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

— Nelson Mandela

16. “Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great?”

— Nelson Mandela

17. “Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any person can have.”

— Nelson Mandela

18. “Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Startup Quotes

19. “Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.”

— Nelson Mandela

20. “One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.”

— Nelson Mandela

21. “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Time Quotes, New Year Quotes, Graduation Quotes

22. “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.”

— Nelson Mandela

23. “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

Featured in: Courage Quotes, Inspiring Quotes

24. “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

— Nelson Mandela

25. “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

26. “Fools multiply when wise men are silent.”

— Nelson Mandela

27. “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”

— Nelson Mandela

28. “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Change Quotes, Travel Quotes

29. “Forget the past.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Moving On Quotes, Past Quotes

30. “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

31. “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

Featured in: Leadership Quotes

32. “You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”

— Nelson Mandela

33. “We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.”

— Nelson Mandela

34. “Times change, we need to change as well.”

— Nelson Mandela

35. “A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”

— Nelson Mandela

36. “Quitting is leading too.”

— Nelson Mandela

37. “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

— Nelson Mandela

38. “In my country we go to prison first and then become President. ”

— Nelson Mandela

39. “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”

— Nelson Mandela

40. “Education is the great engine to personal development.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Achievement Quotes

41. “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

42. “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”

— Nelson Mandela

43. “Appearances matter – and remember to smile.”

— Nelson Mandela

44. “Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation.”

— Nelson Mandela

45. “Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.”

— Nelson Mandela

46. “People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.”

— Nelson Mandela

Featured in: Hate Quotes, Love Is Quotes

47. “Where you stand depends on where you sit.”

— Nelson Mandela

48. “Courage is not the absence of fear – it s inspiring others to move beyond it.”

— Nelson Mandela

49. “In Africa there is a concept known as ‘ubuntu’ – the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others.”

— Nelson Mandela

50. “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.”

— Nelson Mandela