John F. Kennedy
35th U.S. president, 1917-1963
34 quotes.
Quotes by John F. Kennedy
- A man does what he must, in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures.
- A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.
- And so, my fellow americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
- Ask not that the journey be easy; ask instead that it be worth it.
- Compromise does not mean cowardice.
- Courage, not complacency, is our need today; leadership, not salesmanship.
- Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.
- I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises.
- Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
- Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
- Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain.
- My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
- One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.
- Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.
- Our task is not to fix blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future.
- The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.
- The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word "crisis". One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger — but recognize the opportunity.
- The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
- The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!'
- The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
- There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.
- Things don't just happen, they are made to happen.
- This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.
- Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
- We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle
- We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.
- We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves.
- We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
- We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.
- We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.
- What really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out — not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.
- Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.
- Change is the Law of Life. Those who only look to the past or present, are certain to miss the future.
- Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.