Blue Gargoyle

“This idea of purity, and you’re never compromised, and you’re always politically ‘woke’ and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly. The world is messy; there are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting, may love their kids and, you know, share certain things with you.
There is this sense sometimes of: ‘The way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people, and that’s enough.’
…That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far. That is easy to do.
--Speech at the Obama Foundation Summit, October 2019.”
― Barack Obama

“Only a few things in life matter a little. The rest don’t matter at all.”
― John Cleese

“I never lose. I either win or learn.”
― Nelson Mandela

“I’ve often been asked about this personality trait—my ability to maintain composure in the middle of crisis. Sometimes I’ll say that it’s just a matter of temperament, or a consequence of being raised in Hawaii, since it’s hard to get stressed when it’s eighty degrees and sunny and you’re five minutes from the beach. If I’m talking to a group of young people, I’ll describe how over time I’ve trained myself to take the long view, about how important it is to stay focused on your goals rather than getting hung up on the daily ups and downs.”
― Barack Obama, A Promised Land