General of the Army Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower was was the 34th president of the United States (1953–61). Eisenhower had been supreme commander of the Allied forces in western Europe during World War II. Profoundly inspirational Dwight D. Eisenhower quotes will make you look at life differently and help you live a meaningful life.
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Famous Dwight D. Eisenhower Quotes
We the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve Dwight D. Eisenhower
Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine
Teachers need our active support and encouragement. They are doing one of the most necessary and exacting jobs in the land. They are developing our most precious natural resource: our children, our future citizens. Dwight D. Eisenhower
I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity
If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power. Dwight D. Eisenhower
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable
Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well. Dwight D. Eisenhower
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron. Dwight D. Eisenhower
In vast stretches of the earth, men awoke today in hunger. They will spend the day in unceasing toil. And as the sun goes down they will still know hunger. They will see suffering in the eyes of their children
For every obstacle, there is a solution. Persistence is the key. The greatest mistake is giving up! Dwight D. Eisenhower
Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well
Someday there is going to be a man sitting in my present chair who has not been raised in the military services and who will have little understanding of where slashes in their estimates can be made with little or no damage. If that should happen while we still have the state of tension that now exists in the world, I shudder to think of what could happen in this country Dwight D. Eisenhower
Most things which are urgent are not important, and most things which are important are not urgent
The supreme quality of leadership is integrity. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America. When America consists of one leader and 158 million followers, it will no longer be America
And I should like to assure you, my Islamic friends, that under the American Constitution, under American tradition, and in American hearts, this Center, this place of worship, is just as welcome as could be a similar edifice of any other religion. Indeed, America would fight with her whole strength for your right to have here your own church and worship according to your own conscience. This concept is indeed a part of America, and without that concept, we would be something else than what we are. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs you would not hear of that party again in our political history
The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Some day there is going to be a man sitting in my present chair who has not been raised in the military services and who will have little understanding of where slashes in their estimates can be made with little or no damage
If you want total security, go to prison. There you’re fed, clothed, given medical care, and so on. The only thing lacking is freedom. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The only way to win World War III is to prevent it
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group of course that believes you can do these things. Among them are a few other Texas oil millionaires and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid. Dwight D. Eisenhower
This world of ours must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. Dwight D. Eisenhower
We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex
Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the cornfield. Dwight D. Eisenhower
What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight it’s the size of the fight in the dog
The qualities of a great man are vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character. Dwight D. Eisenhower
You do not lead by hitting people over the head that’s assault, not leadership
The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist, poet and philosopher
Here in America, we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. William Arthur Ward, author
Always try to associate yourself with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you do, who do better than you, who see more clearly than you. Dwight D. Eisenhower
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. President John Quincy Adams
Some politicians some years ago said that bad officials are elected by good voters who do not vote. Dwight D. Eisenhower
As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others. Bill Gates, co founder of Microsoft
This world of ours must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Always do right. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain, author
You don’t lead by hitting people over the head that’s assault, not leadership. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Jack Welch, former GE chairman and CEO
There is a kind of dictatorship that can come about through a creeping paralysis of thought, readiness to accept paternalistic measures by government, and along with those measures comes a surrender of our own responsibilities and therefore a surrender of our own thought over our own lives and our own right to exercise the vote. The free system gives the right to every citizen to do something for himself. Because he has the right, the opportunity is always there. Dwight D. Eisenhower
People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives. President Theodore Roosevelt
No man can always be right. So the struggle is to do one’s best, to keep the brain and conscience clear, never be swayed by unworthy motives or inconsequential reasons, but to strive to unearth the basic factors involved, then do one’s duty. Dwight D. Eisenhower
What you do has far greater impact than what you say. Stephen Covey, author, businessman and speaker
Leadership is the ability to decide what is to be done and then get others to do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower
To lead people, walk beside them. As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, ‘We did it ourselves! Lao Tzu, philosopher
May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. Dwight D. Eisenhower
A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit. Arnold Glasow, humorist and author
Our American heritage is threatened as much by our own indifference as it is by the most unscrupulous office or by the most powerful foreign threat. The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been. Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State
If a man’s associates find him guilty of being phony, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there. John Buchan, novelist, historian and politician
