Colin Luther Powell is the full name of Colin Powell. He was born on April 5, 1937, in New York in the United States. He was an American politician, diplomat and retired four-star general who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. Colin Powell was also the first African-American Secretary of State. He did his education at the City College of New York (BS) and George Washington University (MBA).
He belonged to the Republican Political party. However, he was an Independent candidate before joining the party. He was a soldier in the US Armed forces for over 35 years and went up to the rank of general. He was a professional person in the American political party. He advocated the emergence of technology as very important in everybody's life. In 2008, Powell encouraged young people to continue to use new technologies to their advantage in the future.
Here is a list of awards won by him. They are as follows -
1.Defense Distinguished Service Medal
2.Army Distinguished Service Medal
3.Navy Distinguished Service Medal
4.Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
5.Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
6.Defense Superior Service Medal
7.Legion of Merit
8.Soldier's Medal
9.Bronze Star Medal
Below are some of the famous Colin Powell quotes.
90 per cent of my time is spent on 10 per cent of the world.
Colin Powell was a diplomat. He had served his country in many ways. He wants to tell us that 90% of his time has been spent on 10% of the world and that it is the United States of America. Since he was a diplomat and the secretary of state of the United States, he was involved in his country's internal affairs.
Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their backyard.
Advises not to worry about the pros and cons of a particular thing. He just urges you to pursue your work in the right direction and have no fear regarding it. Also, one must not be afraid to challenge the pros and cons of a particular thing if he or she has an opinion about it.
Experts often possess more data than judgment.
Colin Powell was a great person who had a lot of experience and knowledge in his field. He says that experts often possess more data regarding a particular topic and do not have an opinion or judgment. They just possess facts and figures related to a topic.
Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.
Colin Powell advises a person to surround himself with a good amount of people who worry about him. He expresses his desire that one must be surrounded by those people who take your work seriously and do not make use of your work in their way.
You don't know what you can get away with until you try.
He cautions one to remain vigilant and aware of things happening around us. You must be aware of the current happenings around you and must be careful regarding it. You never know what the other man do to you, so remaining vigilant is very important.
Get mad, then get over it.
Colin Powell advises one to be mad towards one's dream. First of all, a person must be passionate about his dreams; then he must start working upon them.
Continue reading some of the best Colin Powell Quotes...
No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
Colin Powell had worked on the battlefield. He knows how to tackle the battlefield and different battles. He says that there can be no battle in which one is not counted with the enemy. One must be courageous and brave enough to face such situations.
I think whether you're having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.
Colin Powell talks about the role of a leader. He says that a leader must be brave enough to guide his team to move forward. A leader must take his team to a winning position. Also, he must have a clear vision in his mind and should display a winning attitude. He must be brave enough to survive setbacks and prove a great leader for his team.
The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong unless proved otherwise.
Colin Powell talks about himself in this quote. He says that a commander in the field is always right as he is the leader of his team and knows how to move forward. The Commander of an army is the leader and knows how to play on the battlefield.
Bad news isn't wine. It doesn't improve with age.
He tells the importance of bad news. Bad news can make a person better every time. If a person is determined towards good things in life, then definitely he will avoid bad news. Bad news will follow you if you do not perform your task well. The only way to avoid the bad news is by working on yourself and in the direction of your dreams.
It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
He advises never to lose hope and move in the direction of your dreams so that you can make them through one day. Although it may appear difficult at the first instance it will be better with time.
Some more Colin Powell Motivational Quotes...
Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
Ego is a very bad thing in life. It destroys a person from the inner self. If a person is egoistic, then he will never prosper and will never improve in his life. One should be humble at heart and be gentle in his actions. One must not be attached to a particular position because by doing so, one will definitely acquire ego in himself, and when one day this position will be taken away, then the ego will also automatically fall.
Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.
Great leaders are great simplifiers. Because they can divide large problems into smaller parts. They can cut the argument, debate and doubt into a solution that is very much easy to understand by the common people. Hence the role of great leaders is very important in the world.
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
Colin Powell expresses his desire to remain optimistic in every aspect of life. By staying positive, one will multiply his force of energy. Optimism is a great power that can multiply the energy and thus prove a boon to an individual.
Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.
Success is not instant. It is a result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty and persistence. These are the core values by which a person can become successful in his career and in every field he wants to go.
A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
Dreams are seen by everyone. A dream doesn't become a reality through magic, but it takes a huge amount of dedication and determination to pursue them. Sweat and a feeling of passion are required so that one can be what one desires in his life.
If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters.
Excellence is not an exception; it is a prevailing attitude. Colin Powell expresses his desire to achieve excellence in big things. One must develop the skills and habits in little matters and aspects of life. He says that excellence is not outside this world but is learned from childhood and different situations of life.
Few more Colin Powell Quotes...
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
There is no secret to success. Success can be attained by following hard work, determination, and also learning from failure. Learning from failure will let us improve further, and hence by walking on this path, we can be successful.
Diplomacy is listening to what the other guy needs. Preserving your position, but listening to the other guy. You have to develop relationships with other people so when the tough times come, you can work together.
Since he was a diplomat, so he has been trying to share his experience here. He says that diplomacy is the art of listening to another person and what he needs. One must preserve his position and listen to the other person. Developing good relationships with the other country and the diplomat is a way of mutual understanding between the two nations.
Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or conclude you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.
Leadership is the meaning of solving big problems. A good leader can turn disaster into victory. He says that the day many soldiers stop bringing their problems to you, they will stop leading you because they have lost faith in you. This can be a case of a failure of leadership. Hence it becomes very important for a leader to connect with his team or his soldiers so that he can stay connected with his soldiers.
