The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.
Interpretation
Power can be exhilarating, but its limitations and the scrutiny from others can quickly bring one back to reality.
This quote by William Howard Taft highlights the fleeting nature of the exhilaration that comes with power. While being in a position of authority may initially feel intoxicating, the awareness of the limitations that come with that power, as well as the constant scrutiny from the press and checks from legislative bodies like Congress, serve as a sobering reminder of the responsibilities and challenges associated with leadership.
In practice
This quote can be used during a leadership seminar to discuss the responsibilities that come with power.
The President can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power in the Federal Constitution or in an act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof. There is no undefined residuum of power which he can exercise because it seems to him to be in the public interest.
The secret of Masonry, like the secret of life, can be known only by those who seek it, serve it, live it. It cannot be uttered; it can only be felt and acted. It is, in fact, an open secret, and each man knows it according to his quest and capacity. Like all things worth knowing, no one can know it for another and no man can know it alone.
We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.
I think his greatest fault is his failure to accord credit to anyone for what he may have done. This is a great weakness in any man.
There is nothing so despicable as a secret society that is based upon religious prejudice and that will attempt to defeat a man because of his religious beliefs. Such a society is like a cockroach - it thrives in the dark. So do those who combine for such an end.
As a people, we have the problem of making our forests outlast this generation, or iron outlast this century, and our coal the next; not merely as a matter of convenience or comfort, but as a matter of stern necessity.
There is really no crisis except an artificial one...If the great American people will only keep their temper, on both sides of the line, the trouble will come to an end.
Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.
Organizations grow when they persuade a tiny cadre to be passionate, not when they touch millions with a mediocre message
People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.
Consensus is the negation of leadership.
If someone uses the uniform, whatever uniform, for partisan politics, I am disappointed because I think it does erode that bond of trust we have with the American people.
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