"We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power,or fame,but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better."
~ Barack Obama, born August 4, 1961

"The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope."
~ Barack Obama

"Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead...Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it." Obama

"I want every young man who sees me to know that I'm not that different from them. I wasn't born into wealth. I wasn't born into fame. I made a lot of mistakes - but I kept at it."
~ Barack Obama

"All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort...to find common ground...and to respect the dignity of all human beings." ~ Barack Obama

"A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things."
~ Barack Obama

"Your voice can change the world."
~ Barack Obama

"Don’t ever let anybody tell you that your efforts don’t matter or that your voice doesn’t count. Don’t ever believe that you can’t make a difference. You have."
~ Barack Obama

"Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes, to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. And it's up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world."
~ Barack Obama

"You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you."
~ Barack Obama

"When times get tough, we don't give up. We get up."
~ Barack Obama

"Change is never easy, but always possible."
~ Barack Obama

"Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new." ~ Obama

"If somebody is different from you, that's not something you criticize, that's something that you appreciate."
~ Barack Obama

"Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail."
~ Barack Obama

"Our destiny is not written for us, but by us."
~ Barack Obama

"Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important."
~ Barack Obama