Quotes About Influence

You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make him think.

The power to do good is also the power to do harm.

I do not believe that the solution to our problem is simply to elect the right people. The important thing is to establish a political climate of opinion which will make it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing. Unless it is politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing, the right people will not do the right thing either, or it they try, they will shortly be out of office.

Nesta terra, só os políticos podem dormir e acordar de bom humor.

Books make their greatest mark when they reach readers in their growing years. The young look everywhere for that ground of truth on which they can stand before they commit the power of their body and mind to the world as it is, or as they might wish to remake it.

The heart is not simply suspended in a body but in a culture, a place, a time.

From the moment she'd met him, she'd felt his presence all around her.

The wife you choose will be your personal and social mirror.

Maybe my life can be significant—not on a grand scale like my brother, but to a few people

For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely.

He read through Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy, Austen, and Trollope, then moved on to the Continent to read through much of Balzac, Zola, and Flaubert, then fell in love with Tolstoy. His favorite was Goethe; he must have read The Sorrows of Young Werther at

He read through Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy, Austen, and Trollope, then moved on to the Continent to read through much of Balzac, Zola, and Flaubert, then fell in love with Tolstoy. His favorite was Goethe; he must have read The Sorrows of Young Werther at least half a dozen times.

And one bad Christian hurts tens of thousands of Christians everywhere, especially in a nation of unbelievers.

The people in charge don't know anything. And the ones who do don't care.

Almost every college playwright or sketch or improv comedian was sort of aware of Christopher Durang - even kids in high school. His short plays were so accessible to younger people and I think that was inspirational to me.

I think a lot of writers, male and female, write as if their parents were killed in a car accident when they were 2, and they have no one to hold accountable. And unfortunately, I don't have that. I have parents who I care about what they think.

My relationship with my mom is really the single most profound relationship that I've ever had in my life.

Everyone has a moment when they discover they love Amy Poehler.

You know when you meet someone so smart and cool that all their tastes and opinions seem like the correct ones? And you instantly think: those are my opinions now too!

He was so popular you could barely look at him without being blinded by cool.

I'm a role model now. ... I want to be a better person because I don't want to disappoint those girls. I stop and think about my actions more. I tip great, I try not to swear too much, and I remember to thank people and be grateful. And all that stuff I do to "appear' better has actually made me a better person. I wish I had always acted like I was a little bit famous.

Have you ever used your neighbor's Wi-Fi when it wasn't on a password? If you have the opportunity to observe someone at work, you are getting mentoring out of them even if they are unaware or resistant. Make a list of the people you think would make the greatest mentors and try to get close enough to steal their Wi-Fi.

Remember, this was back in the '90s, before the only way to be a cool teenager was to have a baby or a reality show (or both).

I also did that thing that corrupt politicians do where I hired all my friends to work with me, so that's very nice as well. I like to think of myself as the Rod Blagojevich of television.