Skip to content

I often hear that it's hard to know the right thing to do. No, it's not! You always know what's right, but sometimes it's just very hard to do it. It's hard because you may have to admit failure. It's hard because the right decision may affect your friends and colleagues. It's hard because you may not personally benefit from doing what's right. Yeah, it's hard. That's called leadership.

— William H. McRaven The Wisdom of the Bullfrog (2023)

Another quote →

More quotes by William H. McRaven

If you want to change the world, don’t ever, ever ring the bell.

Before you can master any of the other axioms of wisdom, you must first strive to be men and women of honor and integrity. That is what sets the great leaders above the commonplace. It will not be easy. It never is. But it is also not complicated.

The Wisdom of the Bullfrog (2023)

A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself.

Open letter to US President Donald Trump (2018)

If you want to change the world measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.

If you want to change the world, sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first.

All William H. McRaven quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William H. McRaven (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.