Today is Nelson Mandela International Day, a day of service celebrated on July 18. This is the first time the day has been celebrated since the South Africa's anti-apartheid icon's death last year. Friday would have been Mandela's 96th birthday.
Here are some of the most famous quotes from Nelson Mandela:
1. “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.”
2. "It always seems impossible until it's done."
3. “And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Related: Nelson Mandela's Biography and Christian Values
4. “I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.”
5. “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
6. “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
7. “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
8. “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
9. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
10. “I've never had a single moment of depression, because I know my cause will triumph.”
11. “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
12. “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.”
13. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
14. “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”
15. “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.”
16. "Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world."
17. “Where you stand depends on where you sit.”
18. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
19. "We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference."
20. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”
21. “One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.”
22. "When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw."
23. "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."
24. "I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope."
25. "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."
