Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama
Michelle Obama is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to former president Barack Obama. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. (Michelle Obama Quotes)
“And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond; that you do what you say you’re going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.”
“At fifty-four, I am still in progress, and I hope that I always will be.”
“At the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.”
“Barack intrigued me. He was not like anyone I’d dated before, mainly because he seemed so secure. He was openly affectionate. He told me I was beautiful. He made me feel good. To me, he was sort of like a unicorn—unusual to the point of seeming almost unreal. He never talked about material things, like buying a house or a car or even new shoes. His money went largely toward books, which to him were like sacred objects, providing ballast for his mind. He read late into the night, often long after I’d fallen asleep, plowing through history and biographies and Toni Morrison, too. He read several newspapers daily, cover to cover. He kept tabs on the latest book reviews, the American League standings, and what the South Side aldermen were up to. He could speak with equal passion about the Polish elections and which movies Roger Ebert had panned and why.”
“Choose people who lift you up.”
“Confidence, I’d learned then, sometimes needs to be called from within. I’ve repeated the same words to myself many times now, through many climbs: ‘Am I good enough? Yes I am.”
“Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts…good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt. They’re not painful. That’s not just with somebody you want to marry, but it’s with the friends that you choose. It’s with the people you surround yourselves with.”
“Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.”
“Don’t ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn’t.”
“Empower yourselves with a good education.”
“Every day, you have the power to choose our better history — by opening your hearts and minds, by speaking up for what you know is right.”
“Every day, you have the power to choose.”
“Every girl, no matter where she lives, deserves the opportunity to develop the promise inside of her.”
“Every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected.”
“Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result. It’s vulnerability that breeds with self-doubt and then is escalated, often deliberately, by fear.” (Michelle Obama Quotes)
“Failure is an important part of your growth and developing resilience. Don’t be afraid to fail.”
“Find people who will make you better.”
“For every door that’s been opened to me, I’ve tried to open my door to others.”
“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”
“Friendships between women, as any woman will tell you, are built of a thousand small kindnesses…swapped back and forth and over again.”
“I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them.”
“I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity.”
“I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values and follow my own moral compass, then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.”
“I’ve seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are.”
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s the power of using your voice. I tried my best to speak the truth and shed light on the stories of people who are often brushed aside.”
“Instead of letting your hardships and failures discourage or exhaust you, let them inspire you. Let them make you even hungrier to succeed.”
“I’ve seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are.”
“Just do what works for you because there will always be someone who thinks differently.”
“Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right?”
“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens.”
“No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, YOU are beautiful.”
“Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.”
“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.” (Michelle Obama Quotes)
“People who are truly strong lift others up.”
“Real men treat the janitor with the same respect as the CEO.”
“Strong men, strong men, men who are truly role models, don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.”
“Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.”
“Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”
“The difference between a broken community and a thriving one is the presence of women who are valued.”
“The future of our world is only as bright as the future of our girls.”
“The lesson being that in life you control what you can.”
“The one way to get me to work my hardest was to doubt me.”
“The only limit to THE HEIGHT OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS IS THE REACH OF YOUR DREAMS and your willingness to WORK HARD FOR THEM.”
“There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.”
“There is no boy, at this age, cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting an education, If I had worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn’t be married to the President of the United States.”
“There is no limit to what we can accomplish.”
“There is no magic to achievement. It’s really about hard work, choices and persistence.”
“There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others.”
“Through my education, I didn’t just develop skills, I didn’t just develop the ability to learn but I developed confidence.”
“Time, as far as my father was concerned, was a gift you gave to other people.”
“Walk away from friendships that make you feel small and insecure, and seek out people who inspire you and support you.”
“We learned about dignity and decency – that how hard you work matters more than how much you make… that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.” (Michelle Obama Quotes)
“We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.”
“We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.”
“We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.”
“We need to start focusing on what matters, on how we feel, and how we feel about ourselves.”
“We should always have three friends in our lives-one who walks ahead who we look up to and follow; one who walks beside us, who is with us every step of our journey; and then, one who we reach back for and bring along after we’ve cleared the way.”
“When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.”
“When I get up and work out, I’m working out just as much for my girls as I am for me, because I want them to see a mother who loves them dearly, who invests in them, but who also invests in herself. It’s just as much about letting them know as young women that it is okay to put yourself a little higher on your priority list.”
“When I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”
“When it came to the home-for-dinner dilemma, I installed new boundaries, ones that worked better for me and the girls. We made our schedule and stuck to it. …It went back to my wishes for them to grow up strong and centered and also unaccommodating to any form of old-school patriarchy: I didn’t want them ever to believe that life began when the man of the house arrived home. We didn’t wait for Dad. It was his job now to catch up with us.”
“When somebody walks up to me, don’t look around, don’t look beyond them. Look them in the eye, take in the story.”
“When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is, ‘When they go low, we go high.”
“When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.”
“Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.”
“With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models.”
“You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.”
“You have to fill your bucket with positive energy—and if you have people hanging around you that are bringing you down and not lifting you up, whether that’s your ‘boo’ or your best friend—you have to learn how to push these people to the side.”
“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
“You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.” (Michelle Obama Quotes)
“Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”
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