Eleanor Rosalynn Carter (b.1927,) née Smith, is a former first lady 1977–81, the wife of Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, and mental health activist. She was one of the most politically insightful and active of all American first ladies.
Born in Plains, Georgia, Rosalynn married Carter in 1946. When her husband was governor of Georgia 1971–74, she began to commit herself to develop a national strategy for helping the mentally ill, a work that she continued as the first lady. Since then she has assisted on many committees dedicated to helping the mentally ill and promoting children’s health and global peace.
Carter received with her husband the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999. Her books include First Lady from Plains (1984,) Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book for Caregivers (1994,) and Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis (2010.) She also wrote Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life (1987) with Jimmy Carter.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Rosalynn Carter
Once you accept the fact that you’re not perfect, then you develop some confidence.
—Rosalynn Carter
Topics: Perfection
A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.
—Rosalynn Carter
Do what you can to show you care about other people, and you will make our world a better place.
—Rosalynn Carter
Topics: Humanity
If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.
—Rosalynn Carter
Topics: Confidence, Perseverance, Ability, Doubt
You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried. If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set high goals, and you don’t branch out, you don’t try—you don’t take the risk.
—Rosalynn Carter
Topics: Acceptance, Failure, Risk-taking
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