Quotes About Decision-making

A wise neuter joins with neither, but uses both, as his honest interest leads him.

You decide you'll wait for your pitch. Then as the ball starts toward the plate, you think about your stance. And then you think about your swing. And then you realize that the ball that went past you for a strike was your pitch.

Men do with opportunities as children do at the seashore; they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one, till all are gone.

Take heed lest passion sway Thy judgment to do aught, which else free will Would not admit.

Probably the most distinctive characteristic of the successful politician is selective cowardice.

Whin a man gets to be my age, he ducks political meetin's, an' reads th' papers an' weighs th' ividence an' th' argymints - pro-argymints an' con-argymints, an' makes up his mind ca'mly, an' votes th' Dimmycratic Ticket.

Three people marooned on a desert island would soon reinvent politics.

When you approach a problem, strip yourself of preconceived opinions and prejudice, assemble and learn the facts of the situation, make the decision which seems to you to be the most honest, and then stick to it.

No country can act wisely simultaneously in every part of the globe at every moment of time.

Moderation in war is imbecility.

The question "Who ought to be boss" is like asking "Who ought to be tenor in the quartet?" Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.

A leader must face danger. He must take the risk and the blame, and the brunt of the storm.

Prudence keeps life safe, but does not often make it happy.

Somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.

I am learning that if I just go on accepting the framework for life that others have given me, if I fail to make my own choices, the reason for my life will be missing. I will be unable to recognize that which I have the power to change.

Choice of attention-to pay attention to this and ignore that-is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences.

A great man is one who seizes the vital issue in a complex question, what we might call the jugular vein of the whole organism, and spends his energies upon that.

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

One cannot weep for the entire world. It is beyond human strength. One must choose.

The Department of Justice is committed to asking one central question of everything we do: What is the right thing to do? Now that can produce debate, and I want it to be spirited debate. I want the lawyers of America to be able to call me and tell me: Janet, have you lost your mind?

The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it; but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it.

The heart of a statesman should be in his head.

A president's hardest task is not to do what's right, but to know what's right.

Within the first few months I discovered that being a president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep riding or be swallowed.