In every society some men are born to rule, and some to advise.
Interpretation
Some people are destined to lead while others are meant to guide and counsel.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote reflects the idea that within any society, there are individuals who naturally assume leadership roles and others who take on supportive, advisory positions. This distinction highlights the different yet equally important roles people play in governance and society, suggesting that both leadership and advisement are essential for balance and effectiveness.
In practice
In a speech about community organization, you might say, 'As Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, in every society some men are born to rule, and some to advise, underlining the importance of both leadership and guidance.'
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
You can't inspire people if you are going to be uninspiring.
Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good-faith negotiation.
I have implicit faith in Sun Yat-sen, not because I am his blind follower, but because he really arouses the deepest respect in everybody. I do not know of another person in China who has such a broad and international outlook, whose ideas are so constructive, and who has such deep faith and confidence in his own mission.
It's about communication. It's about honesty. It's about treating people in the organization as deserving to know the facts. You don't try to give them half the story. You don't try to hide the story. You treat them as - as true equals, and you communicate and you communicate and communicate.
We look a little bit disorderly, indecisive, leaderless. That's a real problem, and that's a problem that concerns me particularly on foreign affairs. The presidency, not just President Obama, but the presidency in recent years has lost some of the terrain that they used to dominate in the making of foreign policy. I think President Obama has to make a serious effort to regain it because he lost some of it himself.
I have been given the authority over you, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth.
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