Colin Powell

Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of…

— Colin Powell

Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.

— Colin Powell

Decision-making is lonely.

— Colin Powell

The purposes of the United States should not be doubted. The Security Council resolutions will be enforced - the just demands of…

— Colin Powell

I always like to take my time and examine the two candidates, see not only the two candidates but the policies they…

— Colin Powell

We can seldom get our children to do what we tell them, but they almost never fail to imitate us.

— Colin Powell

With respect to where we are now, we have a voluntary army. And if we ever go back to conscription I hope…

— Colin Powell

Politics is not bean bags. It's serious, tough stuff.

— Colin Powell

There are no secrets to success: don't waste time looking for them, success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from…

— Colin Powell

So like any football or basketball coach, you always always believe you're going to win.

— Colin Powell

We hope that more assistance will be available to the nations of the region, to include Egypt, on the three pillars that…

— Colin Powell

One of the most worrisome things that emerges from the thick intelligence file we have on Iraq's biological weapons is the existence…

— Colin Powell

Pissing people off doesn't mean you're doing the right things, but doing the right things will almost inevitably piss people off.

— Colin Powell

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases…

— Colin Powell

Be careful what you choose: You may get it.

— Colin Powell

The best leaders are those who break that mission down into the organization's constituent parts, so that everybody understands their role and…

— Colin Powell

Actually, there is no more important task for a leader than to pick people. To make sure you have the very best…

— Colin Powell

When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not. Disagreement,…

— Colin Powell

We want to approach this in a multilateral way, talking with our friends, consulting with our security council colleagues in the United…

— Colin Powell

I strongly believe that at this point in America's history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a…

— Colin Powell

Another rule I have is: Don't let your ego get tied up in a policy dispute. Otherwise, if things don't go your…

— Colin Powell

You need to understand, if you take out a government, take out a regime, guess who becomes the government and regime and…

— Colin Powell

They were anticipating a different kind of immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad, it turned out to be not exactly as…

— Colin Powell

You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.

— Colin Powell

You need to learn what people have done, but you need to learn where they have failed... Usually when they fail it…

— Colin Powell