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Quotes from the 2000s

Commencement speeches, founders and the quotes of our own time. Listed oldest first.

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“It always seems impossible until it's done.”

Often credited to Nelson Mandela · 2001

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“It always seems impossible until it's done.”

Often credited to Nelson Mandela · No source found in Mandela's speeches, letters or books · 2001

An encouraging line that fits Mandela's life perfectly, but it has not been traced to anything he said or wrote. It spread online in the 2000s and especially after his death in 2013.

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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Nelson Mandela · Address at the launch of the Mindset Network · 2003 · Activist

Said by Mandela at the launch of an educational broadcasting project. For a man whose people had been denied decent schooling under apartheid, education was a form of liberation.

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“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

Steve Jobs · Commencement address, Stanford University · 2005 · Founder

Keep wanting more and keep being willing to look foolish by trying new things. Jobs borrowed the words from the farewell issue of the Whole Earth Catalog.

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“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.”

Steve Jobs · Commencement address, Stanford University · 2005 · Founder

Jobs urges graduates to follow their own judgment rather than other people's expectations, because life is short. He spoke from the experience of a recent cancer diagnosis.

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