Top 639 Quotes & Sayings by Famous First ladies - Page 2

I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.

In fact, I have the privilege of traveling around our country and meeting people all over the country who are making a huge difference in the lives of their neighbors and themselves. That's what I'm really fortunate to be able to do.

I believe that one of the great problems for us as individuals is the depression and the tension resulting from existence in a world which is increasingly less pleasing to the eye.

Many of our disappointments and much of our unhappiness arise from our forming false notions of things and persons.

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

There is no job description for the first lady and she's only there because her husband got elected president.

There are only four kinds of people in the world - those who have been caregivers, those who are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.

Isn't that wonderful? When we drove through several of the places we lived - Grand Rapids, Washington - they all had those placards. That they stood by the street and had in their hands placards that said 'Gerald Our Ford'. That meant so much to us as we were driving into Washington.

If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.

A lot of people say I am using all the procedures for my face. I didn't do anything. I live a healthy life; I take care of my skin and my body. I'm against Botox. I'm against injections; I think it's damaging your face, damaging your nerves. It's all me. I will age gracefully, as my mom does.

Keep your business affairs in your own hands. It's the only way to be happy.

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, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk.

I'm not the one who was elected. I would never do anything to undermine my husband's point of view.

There is clearly much left to be done, and whatever else we are going to do, we had better get on with it.

You cannot know, should I discribe to you; the feelings of a parent . . . . Four years have already past away since you left your native land, and this rural Cottage-Humble indeed, when compared to the Palaces you have visited, and the pomp you have been witness to. But I dare say you have not been so inattentive an observer, as to suppose that Sweet peace, and contentment, cannot inhabit the lowly roof, and bless the tranquil inhabitants, equally guarded and protected, in person and property, in this happy Country, as those who reside in the most elegant and costly dwellings.

The power of a book lies in its power to turn a solitary act into a shared vision. As long as we have books, we are not alone.

If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk.

A lot of business can be accomplished in the state dinners.

I very linearly [sic] wish you would exert yourself so as to keep all your matters in order your self without depending on others as that is the only way to be happy to have all your business in your own hands.

You know, for one glorious half hour, I was the mother of the president-elect.

It's not easy to have the job of president. It's not easy to run for it. And it's not a job for the feint of heart.

I'm worried about parents who aren't parenting.

Diseases don't respect borders. You know, just at the edge of the American border, that isn't the edge of diseases. We need to be sure that we're looking worldwide. And it is in our security interest, as well as our moral interest, to pay attention to the rest of the world.

Every politician should have been born an orphan and remain a bachelor.

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.

It's always been my feeling that God lends you your children until they're about eighteen years old. If you haven't made your points with them by then, it's too late.

I have a little spa at home. I put together a room where I get massages, pedicures, manicures. It's comfortable in my own home, and it's very private. It's very relaxing.

You just don't luck into things as much as you'd like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities.

Mr. Lincoln had no hope, and no faith, in the usual acceptation of those words.

The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom.

I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values - and follow my own moral compass - then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.

Alcohol may pick you up a little bit, but it lets you down in a hurry.

I enjoy tennis, Pilates. I read magazines and love fashion.

We know how to treat depression, we know how to treat mental illness, and we have not had the political will in our country to make it happen.

Our greatness has always come from people who expect nothing and take nothing for granted - folks who work hard for what they have, then reach back and help others after them.

I've seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are.

A great goal in life is the only fortune worth finding.

Old age has deformities enough of its own. It should never add to them the deformity of vice.

What man could afford to pay for all the things a wife does, when she's a cook, a mistress, a chauffeur, a nurse, a baby-sitter? But because of this, I feel women ought to have equal rights, equal Social Security, equal opportunities for education, an equal chance to establish credit.

I am convinced, the longer I live, that life & its blessings are not so entirely unjustly distributed, are [as] when we are suffering greatly, we are inclined to suppose.

Even though Christmas can be a lot of work, we all know the bustle is worth the bother.

For Jimmy and me, Iowa holds a special place in our hearts. During his presidential campaign I spent over 100 days in Iowa. I visited 105 communities and knocked on more doors and met more Iowans than anyone thought possible.

I didnt know what it was not to work hard as I grew up.

It has been my unbroken policy not to see newspaper writers or give interviews to anyone. At the word interview spoken or written my ears go up and my chin out.

I acknowledge myself a unitarian - Believing that the Father alone, is the supreme God, and that Jesus Christ derived his Being, and all his powers and honors from the Father. ... There is not any reasoning which can convince me, contrary to my senses, that three is one, and one three.

I don't talk about political matters. That's not my department.

When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?

Just try new things. Don't be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right?

I am a big believer that eventually everything comes back to you. You get back what you give out.

If I made a commitment, I stood by that commitment - and try to make it real. Because when you become leaders, the most important thing you have is your word, your trust. That's where respect comes from.

you may imagine me the very shadow of my husband.

You have to love your children unselfishly. That's hard. But it's the only way.

Let's judge a man on what he's done.

You have to be doing something you enjoy. That is a definition of happiness: Complete use of one's faculties along lines leading to excellence in a life affording them scope. It applies to women as well as to men. We can't all reach it, but we can try to reach it to some degree.

I don't look at what I've lost. I look instead at what I have left.

Cherish your human connections - your relationships with friends and family.

It's very embarrassing to be put on the spot.

Then there's the joy of getting your desk clean, and knowing that all your letters are answered, and you can see the wood on it again.

Early diagnosis is so important because the earlier a mental illness can be detected, diagnosed and treatment can begin, the better off that person can be for the rest of his or her life.

Its never to late to get back on your feet though we wont live forever make sure you accomplish what you were put here for