I do not yet know of a man who became a leader as a result of having undergone a leadership course.
—Lee Kuan Yew
I believe that life is a process of continuous change and a constant struggle to make that change one for the better.
—Lee Kuan Yew
If you want to be popular all the time, you will misgovern.
—Lee Kuan Yew
No, your job as a leader is to inspire and to galvanize, not to share your distraught thoughts. You make your people dispirited.
—Lee Kuan Yew
Even from my sickbed, even if you are going to lower me to the grave and I feel that something is going wrong, I will get up.
—Lee Kuan Yew
What I fear is complacency. When things always become better, people tend to want more for less work.
—Lee Kuan Yew
A nation is great not by its size alone. It is the will, the cohesion, the stamina, the discipline of its people and the quality of their leaders, which ensure it an honourable place in history.
—Lee Kuan Yew
The task of the leaders must be to provide or create for them a strong framework within which they can learn, work hard, be productive and be rewarded accordingly. And this is not easy to achieve.
—Lee Kuan Yew
I don’t believe in love at first sight. I think it’s a grave mistake. You’re attracted by physical characteristics, and you will regret it.
—Lee Kuan Yew
Life is not just eating, drinking, television and cinema. The human mind must be creative, must be self-generating; it cannot depend on just gadgets to amuse itself.
—Lee Kuan Yew
Between being loved and being feared, I have always believed Machiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me, I’m meaningless.
—Lee Kuan Yew
It is possible to create a society in which everybody is given not equal rewards, but equal opportunities, and where rewards vary not in accordance with the ownership of property, but with the worth of a person’s contribution to that society. In other words, society should make it worth people’s while to give their best to the country. This is the way to progress.
—Lee Kuan Yew
History does not repeat itself in the same way each time, but certain trends and consequences are constants. If you do not know history, you think short term. If you know history, you think medium and long term.
—Lee Kuan Yew
Topics: History
I have never been overconcerned or obsessed with opinion polls or popularity polls. I think a leader who is, is a weak leader. If you are concerned with whether your rating will go up or down, then you are not a leader. You are just catching the wind … you will go where the wind is blowing. And that’s not what I am in this for.
—Lee Kuan Yew
There is a glorious rainbow that beckons those with the spirit of adventure. And there are rich findings at the end of that rainbow. To the young and the not too old, I say look at the horizon, find that rainbow, go ride it. Not all will be rich; quite a few will find a vein of gold; but all who pursue that rainbow will have a joyous and exhilarating ride and some profit.
—Lee Kuan Yew
If you are a troublemaker… it’s our job to politically destroy you… Everybody knows that in my bag I have a hatchet, and a very sharp one. You take me on, I take my hatchet, we meet in the cul-de-sac.
—Lee Kuan Yew
I’m not interested in changing either my suit or my car or whatever with every change in fashion. That’s irrelevant. I don’t judge myself or my friends by their fashions. Of course, I don’t approve of people who are sloppy and unnecessarily shabby or dishevelled… But I’m not impressed by a $5,000 or $10,000 Armani suit.
—Lee Kuan Yew
A society to be successful must maintain a balance between nurturing excellence and encouraging the average to improve.
—Lee Kuan Yew
It is impossible to read the daily press without being diverted from reality. You are full of enthusiasm for the eternal verities—life is worth living, and then out of sinful curiosity you open a newspaper. You are disillusioned and wrecked.
—Lee Kuan Yew
Topics: Media
That which is written without much effort is seldom read with much pleasure.
—Lee Kuan Yew
You need, besides determination, all the other attributes that will push a project along. You must have application, you must be prepared to work hard, you must be prepared to get people to work with you.
—Lee Kuan Yew
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
- Norman Mailer American Novelist, Journalist
- Freeman Dyson American Physicist, Author
- Reginald Horace Blyth British Japanologist
- Charlton Heston American Actor
- Joseph F. Smith American Religious Leader
- Raymond Chandler American Novelist
- Fred Astaire American Dancer, Singer
- Jeraldine Saunders American Writer, Television Personality
- Og Mandino American Self-Help Author
- Joseph Weizenbaum American Computer Scientist
Leave a Reply