Quotes by Barbara Bush

• Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.
• Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people - your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way.
• My son, George, has been a bad, bad boy! Right, George?
• It was the dumbest thing I had ever seen, but it's a family thing, and I guess it's clean.
• It seems to me I spent my life in car pools, but you know, that's how I kept track of what was going on.
• If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather that dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.
• I'm not a competitive person, and I think women like me because they don't think I'm competitive, just nice.
• I think togetherness is a very important ingredient to family life.
• I may be the only mother in America who knows exactly what their child is up to all the time.
• Believe in something larger than yourself... get involved in the big ideas of your time.
• The personal things should be left out of platforms at conventions. You can argue yourself blue in the face, and you're not going to change each other's minds. It's a waste of your time and my time.
• Bias has to be taught. If you hear your parents downgrading women or people of different backgrounds, why, you are going to do that.
• And who knows? Somewhere out there in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well!
• Cherish your human connections - your relationships with friends and family.
• I married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell this to my children, they just about throw up.
• 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.
• At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.
• The winner of the hoop race will be the first to realize her dream, not society's dream, her own personal dream.
• When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.
• To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.
• You have to love your children unselfishly. That's hard. But it's the only way.
• One thing I can say about George... he may not be able to keep a job, but he's not boring.
• You may think the president is all-powerful, but he is not. He needs a lot of guidance from the Lord.
• Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well!
• You don't just luck into things as much as you would like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it is friendships or opportunities.