George H. W. Bush

It’s a very good question, very direct, and I’m not going to answer it.

Old guys can still do fun things.

Ageing’s alright, better than the alternative, which is not being here.

I think when you see an aircraft fire, these angry, black puffs of smoke, knowing that one of them could kill you that you – you – you understand the seriousness of the mission. And you understand your own mortality.

Many schools include a service project as part of their curriculum, and many corporations have in-house projects for their employees or give them time off to do volunteer work.

America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world.

Silence is so accurate.

Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

We ought to know more about the families who founded this nation, and how they lived. One way to do this is to reconstruct as nearly as possible the conditions under which they lived.

Life is not an easy matter… You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness.

Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.

Love thy neighbour as yourself, but choose your neighbourhood.

I am from the planet of elegance.

Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses.

Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century.

If your parents never had children, chances are you won’t, either.

Treat everyone as if they were a guest in your own house, because in reality, they are a guest in your own world.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.

When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.