Quotes by Abdul Kalam

• We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.
• You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
• My view is that at a younger age your optimism is more and you have more imagination etc. You have less bias.
• We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.
• We must think and act like a nation of a billion people and not like that of a million people. Dream, dream, dream!
• We have not invaded anyone. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them.
• Unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. In this world, fear has no place. Only strength respects strength.
• To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.
• Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.
• Tell me, why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognise our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
• No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.
• Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.
• Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.
• Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career.
• Do we not realize that self respect comes with self reliance?
• Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model.
• English is necessary as at present original works of science are in English. I believe that in two decades times original works of science will start coming out in our languages. Then we can move over like the Japanese.
• Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? Is it a legacy of our colonial years? We want foreign television sets. We want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported?
• God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps us tap and develop these powers.
• I was willing to accept what I couldn't change.
• As a child of God, I am greater than anything that can happen to me.
• If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.
• If we are not free, no one will respect us.
• In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.
• It means, people who are in high and responsible positions, if they go against righteousness, righteousness itself will get transformed into a destroyer.
• Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.
• Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birthright to be a person.
• Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.
• Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.
• If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun.
• The dream is not what you see in sleep, it's the thing that doesn't let you sleep.
• All birds find shelter during a rain. But eagle avoids rain by flying above the clouds.