Quotes about the decision
page 22

“If the Bank of England is “independent” who took the decision to steal Venezuela’s gold?”

George Galloway (1954) British politician, broadcaster, and writer

Twitter https://twitter.com/georgegalloway/status/1090754716227768321 (30 January 2019)

“Our minds are artists,
always drawing lines.

Making decisions, differentiating
One thing from another,
Calling it something.

This is the way we know.
This is how we think.

We define
by drawing the line.”

Alex Grey (1953) American artist

Art Psalms (2008), Let Love Draw the Line

Making love, Way, Thinking, Drawing

“I regret giving orders to shoot kar sevaks at Ayodhya. My decision to order firing at kar sevaks was to save Muslim minorities. This decision was needed to keep the faith of Muslims in this country intact.””

Mulayam Singh Yadav (1939–2022) Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh three times

Mulayam Singh Yadav quoted from ‘Mulayam Singh govt buried Karsevaks, conspired to hide actual number of casualties’: Republic TV exposé https://www.opindia.com/2019/02/mulayam-singh-govt-buried-karsevaks-conspired-to-hide-actual-number-of-casualties-republic-tv-expose/amp/

Faith, Country

“If you don’t let current conditions drive your decisions, you can give your investment the time it needs to grow.”

Bhanu Choudhrie (1978)

"CEO Spotlight: Bhanu Choudhrie, Founder & Director of Alpha Aviation Group" https://ceoworld.biz/2020/03/11/ceo-spotlight-bhanu-choudhrie-founder-director-of-alpha-aviation-group/, CEOWORLD magazine (March 2020)

Time

“The best foundation that a decision is ever allowed is our fallible assessment of the probabilities.”

Poul Anderson book The People of the Wind

Source: The People of the Wind (1973), Chapter 17 (p. 161)

“You can see my decision as either a distinctive factor or as a limitation. I don't feel it is a limitation.”

Ennio Morricone (1928–2020) Italian composer, orchestrator and conductor

Feeling

“When business executives are making the artistic decisions and don't understand animation, things can go awry. Now they call in all of the authority figures they can find and hire them – the cost has gone up. The picture may or may not get better, but definitely, it gets more cumbersome. It's like trying to turn around an army of tanks, instead of being able to move lightly on your feet or being able to listen to what's going on inside of you – because that's what's telling you what to do. It gets bogged down.”

Don Bluth (1937) American animator

Interview with Don Bluth https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/06/13/interview-with-don-bluth-part-1-of-3 (June 13, 2000)

Making love, Understanding, Business, Animals

“Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back to where I came from because I didn’t have the courage to say “yes” to life?”

Paulo Coelho book Eleven Minutes

Life, World, Making love, Courage

“During my punk phase in the nineties, I was really into Nirvana. My wardrobe consisted of ripped corduroy jeans and flannel shirts. One day after school, I dyed my hair blue. Mom wasn't a fan of this decision.”

Ivanka Trump (1981) American businesswoman, socialite, fashion model and daughter of Donald Trump

10 October 2017, Raising Trump page 74 https://books.google.ca/books?id=gQ5aDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT74 <br class="br">2017

School, Moms

“Claiming all power for the purpose of prosperity and justice in society is conflicting to its own cause, rather authorizing individual authority is the just way toward a better society, because each individual has the right to decide about himself, and for collective decision making in society, all individual has the right to provide their input in it, after that majorities’ rule and minorities’ rights is the key to move forward, otherwise its destruction of society.”

Zaman Ali (1993) Pakistani philosopher

Source: https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=co3AzQEACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Zaman+Ali%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVi-2e57jtAhWToVwKHUj0D3kQ6AEwAnoECAEQAg

Making love, Justice, Way

“...my extreme anxiety about the Object of our common sollicitude and my clear and decided conviction, that there is one part of the War, which instead of being postponed and considered in a secondary light, ought to have priority over every other, and requires our most early and our most careful attention; I mean La Vendée. ... This is a War directly against Jacobinism and its principles. It strikes at the Enemy in his weakest and most vulnerable part. At La Vendée with infinitely less Charge, we may make an impression likely to be decisive. This goes to the heart of the Business.”

Edmund Burke (1729–1797) Anglo-Irish statesman

Letter to the Home Secretary Henry Dundas (8 October 1793), quoted in P. J. Marshall and John A. Woods (eds.), The Correspondence of Edmund Burke, Volume VII: January 1792–August 1794 (1968), p. 445
1790s

War, Making love, Business, Light

“In the present situation, such an experiment would be doubly dangerous to the Russian Social Democracy. It stands on the eve of decisive battles against tsarism. It is about to enter, or has already entered, on a period of intensified creative activity, during which it will broaden (as is usual in a revolutionary period) its sphere of influence and will advance spontaneously by leaps and bounds. To attempt to bind the initiative of the party at this moment, to surround it with a network of barbed wire, is to render it incapable of accomplishing the tremendous task of the hour.”

Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) Polish Marxist theorist, socialist philosopher, and revolutionary

Leninism or Marxism? (1904)

Democracy

“Less than a month ago this Nation reminded the world that it possessed both the will and the weapons to meet any threat to the security of free men. The gains we have made will not be given up, and the course that we have pursued will not be abandoned. But in the long run, that security will not be determined by military or diplomatic moves alone. It will be affected by the decisions of finance ministers as well as by the decisions of Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense; by the deployment of fiscal and monetary weapons as well as by military weapons; and above all by the strength of this Nation's economy as well as by the strength of our defenses.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

Source: 1962, Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York

Men, World

“It is a most important decision that we make as a nation. But all of you have lived through the last four years and have seen the significance of space and the adventures in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space. I believe we should go to the moon. But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. If we are not, we should decide today and this year.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

Source: 1961, Speech to Special Joint Session of Congress

Making love, Thinking, Sense, Success

“We need to make decisions that make us less consumptive and reduce our reliance on nitrogen. It's like a carbon footprint. But you can reduce your nitrogen footprint. I do it by not eating much meat -- I still like a little every now and then -- not using corn oil, driving a car that I can put nonethanol gas in and get better gas mileage. Just things like that that can make a difference. So I'm challenging, not just you, but I challenge a lot of people, especially in the Midwest -- think about how you're treating your land and how you can make a difference. So my steps are very small steps. To change the type of agriculture in the US is going to be many big steps. And it's going to take political and social will for that to happen. But we can do it. I strongly believe we can translate the science, bridge it to policy and make a difference in our environment. We all want a clean environment.”

Nancy Rabalais Marine biologist

Source: The "dead zone" of the Gulf of Mexico https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_rabalais_the_dead_zone_of_the_gulf_of_mexico (November 2017)

People, Making love, Cars, Thinking

“It is very difficult to edit something that I direct. It’s having to remake decisions that I’ve already made on set and now have to undo or reimagine. I always warn Directors sitting down with me to edit not to watch the film and footage too much. The ability to have fresh eyes and be able to watch the movie as a viewer is the most valuable tool a director has.”

Misty Talley American film director and editor

Source: The Shark Lady: An Interview with Misty Talley https://www.bigeasymagazine.com/2019/07/01/the-shark-lady-an-interview-with-misty-talley/ (July 1, 2019)

“See, in general, as systems designers, you’re forced with necessity to make decisions about how you’re going to do things, and in general, the way you’d like to retain flexibility is to never make up your mind about anything until you’re forced to do it. The problem is, there’s a very, very narrow line between deferring decisions and outright procrastination. So you’d like to make progress, but also at the same time, never be bound by the consequences of your decisions.”

Hal Abelson (1947) computer scientist

Source: Lecture on Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrFkf-T-6Co

Making love, Way, Problem, Time

“Western civilization, unfortunately, does not link knowledge and morality but rather, it connects knowledge and power and makes them equivalent. Today with an information "superhighway" now looming on the horizon, we are told that a lack of access to information will doom people to a life of meaninglessness — and poverty. As we look around and observe modern industrial society, however, there is no question that information, in and of itself, is useless and that as more data is generated, ethical and moral decisions are taking on a fantasy dimension in which a "lack of evidence to indict" is the moral equivalent of the good deed.”

Vine Deloria Jr. (1933–2005) American writer

Foreword to Words of Power: Voices from Indian America (1994), also quoted in "Vine Deloria, Jr." at Indigenous Peoples Literature (2015) by Glen Welker http://www.indigenouspeople.net/vine.htm

Life, People, Making love, Question

“In the United States, such collusion with the destroyers of human life on Planet Earth is written all over their actions. It’s beyond evident in the appointment of former oil and gas lobbyists and fellow travelers to positions of power... We are, of course, talking about nothing short of the ultimate crime, but on any given day of our lives, you’d hardly notice that it was underway. Even for an old man like me, it’s a terrifying thing to watch humanity make a decision, however inchoate, to essentially commit suicide. In effect, there is now a suicide watch on Planet Earth. Let’s hope the kids can make a difference.”

Tom Engelhardt (1944) American writer

Suicide Watch on Planet Earth, CounterPunch, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/26/suicide-watch-on-planet-earth/(26 April 2019)

Life, Making love, Hope, Travel

“The experiences differ from the typical dream state principally in the following ways: (1) Continuity of some sort of conscious awareness; (2) Intellectual or emotional (or blends of the two) decisions made during the experiences; (3) Multivalued perception via sensory inputs or their equivalents; (4) Non-recurrence of identical patterns; and (5) Development of events in sequence that seem to indicate a time lapse.”

Robert Monroe (1915–1995) American founder of The Monroe Institute

Journeys Out of the Body (1971), Chapter 14. Mind and Supermind

Dreams, Way, Time

“No one I imagine is so stupid as to believe that truth or even an approximation of truth is derived from counting pieces of marked paper and that the largest pile of papers is it. What makes democracy so fragile is the certain knowledge, even by the winners, that it is often wrong and if they think it’s right now, then it’s either been wrong at some time in the past or will be at some time in the future. There is then a shaky agreement on both sides of a democratic debate that there is some more fundamental reason for using this method to make decisions than that it is always right. In Western Europe over the last century or so that shaky agreement has not always held together and indeed it still is far from ordinary worldwide. A common everyday reason why most people accept democratic results is that they are rarely always on the losing side. And in the case of government elections they can have another opportunity to persuade the majority that the opinion they hold is correct and hope that the mistakes of the previous few years are not so very bad. On a much deeper level however respecting the “will of the people” comes from a profoundly scary place.”

Justin Barrett (1971) Irish activist

A Republic of Innocent Dead Cannot Live https://nationalparty.ie/a-republic-of-innocent-dead-cannot-live/ (June 4, 2018)

Bad luck, People, Truth, Stupidity

“Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling. The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene (1974) American politician and businesswoman from the state of Georgia

Statement from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy https://republicanleader.house.gov/leader-mccarthy-condemns-comparisons-to-the-holocaust/, 25 May 2021 <br class="br">About

History

“God is in command of history. Each crisis has something to teach us; each crisis is overcome by particular virtues and by reference to particular truths. The way out of a crisis is often unexpected, and often combines a decisive historical intervention by God, and a new spirit in the Church, animating new movements and new thinking. With hindsight we can even see in some cases how the crisis itself solved intractable problems which could not be solved in any other way”

Joseph Shaw (academic) (1971) British academic

Interview with Dr. Joseph Shaw https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/fetzen-fliegen/item/5036-interview-with-dr-joseph-shaw (August 28, 2020)

God, Truth, Way, History

“Systemize your decision making.”

Ray Dalio (1949) American businessman

[Principles: Life and Work, https://books.google.com/books?id=6LGuDgAAQBAJ&pg=PR11, xv]
Principles: Life and Work (2017)

Making love

“Make believability-weighted decisions. ...
Operate by principles ... that are so clearly laid out that their principles can be easily assessed and you and others can see if you walk the talk.”

Ray Dalio (1949) American businessman

[Principles: Life and Work, https://books.google.com/books?id=6LGuDgAAQBAJ&pg=PR10, xiv]
Principles: Life and Work (2017)

Making love

“Using the power of decision gives you the capacity to get past any excuse to change any and every part of your life in an instant.”

Anthony Robbins (1960) Author, actor, professional speaker

Life, Change, Past, Parting

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”

Anthony Robbins (1960) Author, actor, professional speaker

Inspirational

“If a demarcation criterion exists (we must not, I think, seek a sharp or decisive one), it may lie just in that part of science which Sir Karl ignores.”

Thomas Kuhn (1922–1996) American historian, physicist and philosopher

"Logic of Discovery or Psychology of Research?", Criticism and the growth of knowledge edited by Imre Lakatos and Alan Musgrave (1970)

Lie, Thinking, Science, Parting

“Real estate agents have to deal with the dumbest people in the world making the biggest decisions of their lives.”

John Mulaney (1982) American actor and comedian

The Comeback Kid (2015)

People, World

“It's a bad habit, I know, but I believe that you shouldn't do anything in life until you're ready. Half of life's heartaches come from decisions that were made in a hurry. One should make haste slowly.”

Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer

On her lack of punctuality, as quoted in "Tardy but Talented" https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22039844/the-courier-journal/ by James Bacon (AP), The Louisville Courier-Journal (July 17, 1960), p. 84

Life

“Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive factor; it is people, not things that are decisive. The contest of strength is not only a contest of military and economic power, but also a contest of human power and morale. People necessarily wield military and economic power.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

1930s, On Protracted Warfare (1938)

War, People

“We have to make some decisions now.”

Peter A. McCullough (1962) American cardiologist and medical professor

[The Wall Street Journal, FDA Warns of Danger From Virus Treatment, Burton, Thomas M; Hopkins, Jared S., April 25, 2020, A.1]

“I would rather be at the table making decisions with other countries than walking away and not having a say.”

Liz Truss (1975) British Conservative Party politician

EU referendum: Leavers 'want to have cake and eat it', Elizabeth Truss claims https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36512743 BBC News (12 June 2016) <br class="br">2016

Country

“Intuition is the energy of your being. When this pure energy starts flowing out from the unconscious level, it also heals you physically, mentally and emotionally. Apart from healing, it reduces stress and helps you to make decisions spontaneously.”

Nithyananda (1978) Indian guru

Guaranteed Solutions

Help

“To the greatest fans and the greatest sport in the world, thank you! Thank you for all the wonderful memories. This is the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but I’m at peace with it. Chase your dreams, work hard, and watch what happens. Good bye boxing.”

Manny Pacquiao (1978) Filipino boxer, basketball player, singer and politician, dancer.

Manny Pacquiao announcing his retirement from boxing, September 29, 2021. https://twitter.com/MannyPacquiao/status/1443063035627651078

World, Peace, Dreams, Sport

“Democracy is about participation in the first place. And with participation comes responsibility for decisions and actions.”

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (1982) Belarusian politician and educator

"Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Leader Of The Democracy Movement In Belarus" in Faces of Democracy https://www.faces-of-democracy.org/sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya/ (6 July 2021)

Democracy

“So long as production is left to the uncontrolled decisions of private individuals, conducted, guided and inspired by the motive of profit, so long will Poverty, Insecurity and Injustice continue.”

Hugh Gaitskell (1906–1963) British politician

'Why I Am a Socialist', South Leeds Worker (December 1937), quoted in Philip Williams, Hugh Gaitskell: A Political Biography (1979), p. 68

Motivation

“The losers on the battlefield were not the soldier and his spirit, but the decision-making officials who were supposed to be ready for a possible war, properly organize and wage it.”

Armen Sarkissian (1953) 4th President of Armenia, Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, one of the directors of Eurasia House, phy…

"In an interview with CivilNet" https://www.president.am/en/interviews-and-press-conferences/item/2020/12/11/President-Armen-Sarkissians-interview-with-CivilNet/ (11 December 2020)

War

“Preventing and fighting corruption and waste is an important, urgent and long-term task of extreme difficulty and complexity. To enhance the efficiency of the work, timely detection, investigation and handling of offences plays a decisive role.”

Trần Đại Quang (1956–2018) 8th President of Vietnam

"Re-elected President Tran Dai Quang gives media interview" in Nhân Dân https://en.nhandan.vn/politics/domestic/item/4492502-re-elected-president-tran-dai-quang-gives-media-interview.html (26 July 2016)

Time, Fight

“I really love being the person who in the end gets to make the decisions and have it become the way you want it to be and that urge is an overpowering urge that I have that makes me want to make films.”

Joan Micklin Silver (1935–2020) American film director

NYWIFT Archive - Interview by Norma Davidoff - at 43 Min 29 Sec - Remembering Joan Micklin Silver, Director & NYWIFT Advisory Board Member https://www.nywift.org/remembering-joan-micklin-silver/ - Original Interview from 5 April 2006 - Published 15 January 2021 - Youtube Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYFKZK7svpY - Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20210911143358/https://www.nywift.org/remembering-joan-micklin-silver/

Love, Way, Personality

“Most of our decisions are based on experience. More experience on something equals quick decisions. Less knowledge means fearful judgements.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Fear, Knowledge

“So whatever decision you make, you're going to be able to find stories or signs to say 'I did the right thing,' because we have to believe we did the right thing in order to survive.”

Lulu Wang (1983) Asian-American filmmaker

As quoted in "In 'The Farewell,' The Bad News Bearers Keep A Secret" in WBUR News (13 July 2019) https://www.wbur.org/npr/741217856/in-the-farewell-the-bad-news-bearers-keep-a-secret

“We now have no option but to end war forever because with the nuclear bombs and armament today, we can destroy all life... it's up to us. We have to do it. We have to make the decision.”

Benjamin Creme (1922–2016) artist, author, esotericist

The State of the World 2010, public lecture in New York City, USA, (July 2010)

Life, War

“Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American general and politician, 34th president of the United States (in office from 1953 to 1961)

1950s, Address to the American People on the Situation in Little Rock (1957)

“You may have your own wisdom but that wisdom is nothing compared to the wisdom of God who appointed you as the King over his people therefore you need to call on him before you take any decision that affect the people”

Joseph Edra Ukpo (1937) Nigerian priest (1937–2023)

Corruption impeding fight against Boko Haram – Arch Bishop https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/05/corruption-impeding-fight-boko-haran-arch-bishop/ (May 19, 2014)

Wisdom, God, People

“The climate system takes decades to respond to changes in carbon emissions so decisions made now will affect future generations - for better or worse.”

Joanna Haigh (1954) British physicist

"Imperial climate experts respond to IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report" https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/161770/imperial-climate-experts-respond-ipccs-fifth/, Imperial College London (November 3, 2014)

Change, Future

“[W]hat is most important to us, most of the time, is not the objective results of a decision, but the subjective results.”

Barry Schwartz book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

Source: The Paradox of Choice (2004)

Time

“A large array of options may discourage customers because it forces an increase in the effort that goes into making the decision. ...[T]hinking about the attractions of some of the unchosen options detracts from the pleasure derived from the chosen one.”

Barry Schwartz book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

The Paradox of Choice (2004)

Pleasure, Effort

“The most effective way to live is as a warrior. A warrior may worry and think before making any decision, but once he makes it, he goes on his way, free from worries or thoughts; there will be a million other decisions still awaiting him. That's the warriors' way.”

Carlos Castaneda book The Wheel of Time

Source: The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe], (1998), Quotations from A Separate Reality (Chapter 6)

Way, Thinking

“I made a very historic decision. Every month, we will give cash to our athletes for their lifetime if they get medals in the Olympic games.”

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (1963) Mongolian politician

Source: "Mongolian President Talks Corruption And Human Rights" in The Harvard Crimson https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/9/24/mongolian-president-institute-politics/ (24 September 2012)

Game

“Today there is more acceptance than ever before that women bring different experiences, perspectives, and skills to the table and make irreplaceable contributions to decisions, policies and laws that work better for all. I call upon all stakeholders to join us in this nationwide effort to improve the lives of women, knowing that empowering a woman means empowering a village, empowering a village means empowering communities and therefore empowering the nation.”

Sithembiso Nyoni (1949) Zimbabwean politician

Source: https://www.herald.co.zw/womens-resilience-unmatched/ 'Zimbabwe: 'Women's Resilience Unmatched'

Women, Law

“I still can't go of course. But if I didn't go, I would disappoint a lot of people. One would consider it desertion. As betrayal. And that also counts in my decision-making. I will choose the moment myself. And it will be there soon.”

Éric Zemmour (1958) French essayist

Source: Eric Zemmour: "If I don't run, it will be seen as desertion, as treason" https://palnws.be/2021/09/eric-zemmour-als-ik-me-geen-kandidaat-zou-stellen-zal-het-worden-gezien-als-desertie-als-verraad/ Éric Zemmour on his potential Presidential candidacy.

People, Disappointment, Betrayal

“It’s just like in the military — you argue, you debate something, but once the president has made a decision, that becomes a decision for the Cabinet.”

Colin Powell (1937) Former U.S. Secretary of State and retired four-star general

Source: As quoted from CNN's ‘Larry King Live’ in Colin Powell Leaves Many Leadership Lessons For Corporate Executives, Forbes, October 18, 2021

“The problem with paranoia was that if you let it rule all your decisions, then you would miss some perfectly good opportunities.”

Genevieve Cogman (1972) novelist and game designer

Source: The Burning Page (2016), Chapter 24 (p. 315)

Problem

“All big projects, every time, they come when you are forced to do something when you are in the corner. Otherwise, if you need to take a decision, you will never take it.”

Angelo Galasso (1959) Italian fashion designer

Source: From Designer Angelo Galasso on reinventing the shirt and defying the recession https://www.spearswms.com/designer-angelo-galasso-on-reinventing-the-shirt-and-defying-the-recession/, spearswms.com, May 7th 2015.

Time

“Whatever possibilities and potentialities are latent today, the fact remains that the last word and the final decision will rest with us — the people.”

Vera Stanley Alder (1898–1984) British artist

Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter I, Secrets Behind History

People

“[W]hen face with overwhelming choice, we... become "pickers,"... we must be willing to rely on habits, customs, norms, and rules to make some decisions automatic.”

Barry Schwartz book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

Source: The Paradox of Choice (2004)

“[T]he basic decisions are... about aims... what is desirable... the greater good or the lesser evil in the case of conflicting aims... what sacrifice we are willing to make for a certain achievement, and at what point the sacrifice outweighs the advantages.”

Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant

Source: 1930s- 1950s, The Future of Industrial Man (1942), p. 120

Evil

“The people working at the White House at the time are friends of mine, and they're friends of mine to this day. I don’t want to trivialize how difficult their decisions were. They did not have good choices.”

Michael McFaul (1963) American academic and diplomat

"Michael McFaul - The Frontline Interview" in PBS https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview/michael-mcfaul/ (23 June 2017)

People, Time, Housing

“We must stop looking outside of ourselves for a messiah but look inward, making a conscious decision to play our parts in the puzzle.”

Yemi Adamolekun Executive Director of Enough is Enough

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/10/nigeria-61-eie-11-light-hope-power-and-voice-opinion/ Speaking about Nigeria (October 18 2021 )

Parting

“I do not make any promises. But I do promise one thing - anarchy will not be allowed into Poland. Let no one in Poland or outside cherish any illusions that the present decisions will allow for another round.”

Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014) Polish military officer and politician

Source: Speech on 1982

“The absence of a decision could result in an impetuous, dangerous development of a situation which has got out of any control. There is no ideal solution in such circumstances. The only thing is to find the optimal solution, "a lesser evil."”

Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014) Polish military officer and politician

Source: Speech at Kansas State University (11 March 1996)

Optimism, Evil

“There are no heroes, just heroic decisions.”

Edward Snowden (1983) American whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor

Source: Joe Rogan Experience #1368 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efs3QRr8LWw Oct 23, 2019

“We won't sacrifice our ties with any of our allies or good friends over business relations with another country. We firmly believe no country in the world can restrict our sovereign decision to make friends with another country.”

Mario Abdo Benítez (1971) 51.° President of Paraguay

Source: Mario Abdo Benítez (2019) cited in: " Paraguay will always be a loyal ally: Abdo Benitez https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2018/10/12/2003702215" in Taipei Times, 12 October 2018.

World, Business, Country

“The introduction of martial law was the most dramatic decision I had ever taken. And life had treated me harshly. I experienced my country's tragedy in 1939.”

Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014) Polish military officer and politician

Source: Speech at Kansas State University (11 March 1996)

Life, Law, Country

“By launching the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in our country today (10 April 2021), we are taking a new step in our strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. To set an example, I made a decision to be the first to take the vaccine.”

Azali Assoumani (1959) President of Comoros

Source: Azali Assoumani (2021) cited in: " Comoros president receives injection of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-04/10/c_139871604.htm" in Xinhuanet, 10 April 2021.

Fight, Country

“I no longer make recommendations; they are forwarded to me and I have to make the final decisions without hesitation. I cannot afford to procrastinate because decisions made in central banking have to be definitive since they affect the entire nation—the rich, the not-so rich, and the poor.”

Linah Mohohlo (1952–2021) Botswana banker

Source: "In On the Ground Floor" (December 2004)

“[The UK is] no less united... nor indeed any less European following the decision to leave the EU.”

Boris Johnson (1964) British politician, historian and journalist

Source: Brexit: David Cameron to quit after UK votes to leave EU https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36615028 BBC News (24 June 2016)

“Without the prior pacification of Italy, it could happen that as soon as I leave to succer you, Venice, Florence, Ferrara and Francesco Sforza will ally together, pull all their resources and invite the French to support them… Since I will need to take with me to Germany the army besieging Florence, we need a swift decision by His Holiness in this matter.”

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) Holy Roman Emperor

Support

“Few desire to know the truth of what is happening in our state’s abortion clinics. All of the outrage, all of the noise is directed at one thing: silencing the uncomfortable truth. It’s either willful ignorance or a decision to partner with the abortion industry. When I started in public office, I was intellectually pro-life, but now I have come to see that the life issue is truly the issue of our time. The depth of evil that exists to protect this lie prevents the states from protecting children. How we determine the answer to this issue is what will determine where our nation will end up. Unless the truth prevails, abortion will destroy us as a nation.”

Phill Kline (1959) American politician

Source: Ask the Attorney: An Interview with Former Kansas Attorney General and Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline http://lifelegalgiving.com/ask-the-attorney-an-interview-with-former-kansas-attorney-general-and-johnson-county-district-attorney-phill-kline/ (1 August 2009)

Life, Children, Truth, Lie

“[W]e’re skeptical that so-called "impeachment precedent" commands deference apart from its power to persuade future generations. Congress isn’t bound by its own prior decisions.”

Laurence Tribe (1941) American lawyer and law school professor

To End a Presidency (2018)

Future

“[M]any of the most important Supreme Court decisions take the form of holding that a particular limit either has not been exceeded or, more fundamentally, that the asserted limit is not in fact part of the Constitution at all.”

Laurence Tribe (1941) American lawyer and law school professor

Soundings and Silences (2016)

Parting

“We have to respect the decision that was made in the referendum ... otherwise, to be frank, we undermine all confidence in our democratic process.”

John McDonnell (1951) British politician (born 1951)

Source: EU referendum result must be respected, says John McDonnell https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36680463 BBC News (1 July 2016)

Confidence

“Exploring the infinitely small particles to better protect our planet and understand its major challenges is essential, so that our decisions live up to the hopes of future generations.”

Stéphane Valeri (1962) Monaco politician

Source: Stéphane Valeri (2021) cited in: " High Level Visit to IAEA Monaco Laboratories Highlights Nuclear Techniques to Protect People, the Ocean https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/high-level-visit-to-iaea-monaco-laboratories-highlights-nuclear-techniques-to-protect-people-the-ocean" in International Atomic Energy Agency, 4 March 2021.

Hope, Understanding, Future

“Spontaneous rallies were used as a pretext for provoking civil unrest. Religious radicals, criminals, outright thugs, looters and petty hooligans filled the streets as if on cue. Socio-economic and socio-political demands were put on the back burner, they were forgotten. Next followed the hot phase, and armed fighters, who were biding their time, took over. The main goal of these events became clear – to undermine the constitutional system, destroy governance institutions and seize power. It is obvious now that these armed activities were coordinated from a single centre, and the carefully planned operation entered its decisive phase.”

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (1953) Kazakh politician

Source: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2022) cited in: " Don’t Ignore All Sides of Russian Messaging https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column_article/dont-ignore-all-sides-of-russian-messaging" in The Cipher Brief, 18 January 2022.

Time

“In every ideological or political movement, the two most important components play an important role: the idea and the person. Leading ideas and worldviews in the ideological movement and guiding program decisions in the political - create the "soul", the essence, the inner meaning of the movement. People who recognize, disseminate and implement ideas and programs and for that purpose take an active part in the movement - create its living, active organism.”

Stepan Bandera (1909–1959) Ukrainian anti-communist

Source: "Idea and Man in the Ideological Movement" (1954)

People, Soul, Idea, Parting

“The decisions I made after that moment were not the ones she would have made. They were the choices of a changed person, a new self.
You could call this selfhood many things. Transformation. Metamorphosis. Falsity. Betrayal.
I call it an education.”

Tara Westover book Educated

Source: Educated (2018), Chapter 40, “Educated” (p. 329)

Education, Change, Betrayal, Personality

“When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are to become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No … don’t blush. I am telling you some truths. For that is just being in love; which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over, when being in love has burned away. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? But it is!”

Louis De Bernières (1954) English novelist

Source: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Love, Truth, Imagination, Lying

“The idea that we're going to make a judgment that is going to say that no one can make the judgment to choose to abort a child, based on a decision by the Supreme Court, I think goes way overboard”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

Biden reacts to leaked draft Supreme Court opinion on abortion https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-reacts-leaked-draft-supreme-court-opinion-abortion/story?id=84467397 <br class="br">2022, May 2022

Way, Idea, Thinking

“Then there is the man with a conscience, who fights single-handedly against heavy odds in situations that call for a decision.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi

Letters and Papers from Prison (1967; 1997), Who Stands Fast?

Fight

“I pray to the Spirit, not vaingloriously with this title, as titles aren't the most important in life, but the fraternal service of love. What is decisive, what makes us worth more, is to love God and our neighbor.”

Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel (1940) Mexican bishop

Consistory of Cardinals: Exclusive Interview with Monsignor Felipe Arizmendi https://zenit.org/2020/11/27/consistory-of-cardinals-exclusive-interview-with-monsignor-felipe-arizmendi/ (27 November 2020)

Love, Life, God

“The plaint that there hasn’t been enough time for the eye to evolve turns out to be not just wrong but dramatically, decisively, ignominiously wrong.”

Richard Dawkins book Climbing Mount Improbable

Source: Climbing Mount Improbable (1996), Chapter 5, “The Forty-fold Path to Enlightenment” (p. 166)

Time

“There is a lot of pressure on the players in the Chinese team. I wouldn’t have survived if I had stayed there. Right now, I have the freedom to choose which tournaments to play and where to train. I take decisions that suit me.”

Beiwen Zhang (1990) badminton player

"Well-travelled Beiwen Zhang plays on her own terms" in The Indian Express https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/badminton/well-travelled-beiwen-zhang-plays-on-her-own-terms-5046843/ (1 February 2018)

Freedom, Training

“When you got right down to it, every important decision in life was made with inadequate information.”

Charles Sheffield book Proteus In The Underworld

Source: Behrooz Wolf (aka The Proteus Trilogy), Proteus In The Underworld (1995), Chapter 14 (p. 190)

Life

“As a chess player, I know that strategy is the future impact of present decisions. However grand our plans are for two, five, even ten moves ahead, it's the move that we make now that determines that future.”

Garry Kasparov (1963) former chess world champion

2020s, Stand with Ukraine in the fight against evil (2022)

Future

“You have to remain calm. You can’t make precipitous decisions. You just have to sit down and be very thoughtful and deliberative in everything you say and do.”

Gary Locke (1950) American politician

"An Interview with Gary Locke, Former U.S. Ambassador to China" in The Yale Politic https://thepolitic.org/an-interview-with-gary-locke-former-u-s-ambassador-to-china/ (5 June 2017)

“The organizing system merely provides placeholders for all your oprn loops and options so your mind can... make the necessary intuitive, moment-to-moment strategic decisions.”

David Allen book Getting Things Done

Source: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (2001), Ch. 7

“That’s what this is all about: responding to basic human desires that we share for dignity, for safety, and for security. And when those basics are absent in one place, that’s when people make the desperate decision to seek them elsewhere.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

2022, June 2022, Remarks by President Biden at the Inaugural Ceremony of the Ninth Summit of the Americas

People

“A new reality is being formed: the unipolar world is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past, a multipolar one is taking shape. It’s an objective process. It’s unstoppable. In this reality, more than one power will “rule” it will be necessary to negotiate between all the key states that today have a decisive influence on the world economy and politics. At the same time, realizing their special situation, these countries ensure compliance with the basic principles of the UN Charter, including the fundamental one – the sovereign equality of states. No one on this Earth should be seen as a minor player. Everyone is equal and sovereign.”

Sergey Lavrov (1950) Russian politician and Foreign Minister

As quoted in Meet the New, Resource-Based Global Reserve Currency https://www.unz.com/pescobar/meet-the-new-resource-based-global-reserve-currency/, 31 March 2022

World, Reality, Time, Past

“You know you make your own decisions and you live the life you choose
I watch it from the sidelines and it sure gives me the blues
You know you're sure to find me waiting, should you ever come around”

Steve Forbert (1954) American singer-songwriter

Sadly Sorta Like a Soap Opera
Song lyrics, Jackrabbit Slim (1979)

Life, Waiting

“Now, I’m telling you. Mark my fucking words. This, it’ s going to be a clear and decisive win. I don’t know how it’s going to happen. I just want to let my body freely move with headbutts and elbows, I don’t care. I just want to finish the guy.”

Dave Leduc (1991) Canadian Lethwei fighter (born 1991)

Talking about his rematch with Cyrus Washington MyMMANews.com https://mymmanews.com/dave-leduc-the-king-of-lethwei/ (October 13, 2020)

Guy

“[…] Life is tragic and history won’t shed a tear for us if we make poor collective decisions, or adopt beliefs that are inconsistent with reality.”

James Howard Kunstler (1948) American writer

"The Old American Dream Is a Nightmare," March 9, 2011.

Life, History, Reality, Tear

“When you make a decision or take an action based off of something that isn’t true, it is absolutely guaranteed to fall apart; like building a sand castle where it will be washed away by the tide.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

“If you demand the collective to pay for your medical expenses, then be prepared for the collective to demand to make your medical decisions for you.”

A.E. Samaan

Source: H.H. LAUGHLIN: American Scientist. American Progressive. Nazi Collaborator.

“If collectivizing highly personal medical decisions is evil, then so follows that collectivized medicine is evil.”

A.E. Samaan

Source: H.H. LAUGHLIN: American Scientist. American Progressive. Nazi Collaborator.

Evil, Personality

“Wisdom is not just weighing what is good and what is bad. Wisdom also looks at the consequences of the decisions it makes. The more severe the consequences, the greater the demands on wisdom to make the right decision.”

Titon Rahmawan

Wisdom

This quote waiting for review.

“Latin American government decisions, in general terms, discourage the development of the arts, turning artists into true martyrs of a cause, creating a vicious cycle in which ordinary people fail to notice the importance of cultural development, focusing on money as the axis of their lives.”

José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor

Source: https://www.peruinforma.com/entrevista-cultural-al-escritor-chileno-jose-baroja/

Money, People, Art

“In life, every sacrifice accomplished is a decisive step towards a prestigious future.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Nella vita, ogni sacrificio compiuto è un passo decisivo verso un futuro prestigioso.
Source: prevale.net

Life, Future

“Time is an excellent ally in learning to build self-confidence: having the ability to make decisions, manage emotions, and take responsibility for one's actions.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Il tempo è un ottimo alleato per imparare a costruire fiducia in sé stessi: avere la capacità di prendere decisioni, gestire le emozioni ed assumersi la responsabilità delle proprie azioni.
Source: prevale.net

Confidence, Learning, Time, Self-confidence

“Attention, reflection, decision and action: the main pillars for effective learning.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Attenzione, riflessione, decisione ed azione: i principali pilastri per un efficace apprendimento.
Source: prevale.net

Learning

Quotes about the decision page 22

Quotes about the decision
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