33 Barack Obama Quotes
Born: August 4, 1961 
Be inspired by these Barack Obama quotes. His words of wisdom can be applied to our lives.
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii. Barack’s first name means “blessed” in Swahili, an African language. Barack was his father’s name, too. But, he was always called “Barry.”
Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. He served as President for two consecutive terms (2009 to 2017). Before his run up to the presidency, he served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 and the United States Senate from 2005 to 2008.
- We are a people of improbable hope.
Barack Obama
Inspirational Quotes - My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or ”blessed,” believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.
Barack Obama, 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address, July 27, 2004
Success - The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
Barack Obama
Hope Quotes
These words are so true, the next time you feel your hope is running low, get up and do something. Don’t sit back, move forward. - People don’t expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all.
Barack Obama, 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address, July 27, 2004
Opportunity - Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled.
Barack Obama
Focus - I don’t oppose war in all circumstances, and when I look out over this crowd today, I know there is no shortage of patriots or patriotism. What I do oppose is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war.
Barack Obama, Speech Opposing the War in Iraq at Federal Plaza, October 2, 2002, Chicago, Illinois
War Quotes - And then America happened. A place where destiny was not a destination, but a journey to be shared and shaped and remade by people who had the gall, the temerity to believe that, against all odds, they could form “a more perfect union” on this new frontier.
Barack Obama, Commencement Address at Knox College, June 4, 2005
Destiny Quotes - The true test of the American ideal is whether we’re able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time.
Barack Obama, Commencement Address at Knox College, June 4, 2005
Failure - We may not be able to stop evil in the world, but how we treat one another is entirely up to us.
Barack Obama
Respect Quotes - So even in the midst of the enormous challenges we face today, I have great faith and hope about the future – because I believe in you.
Barack Obama, Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee, January 16, 2007
Hope Poem - Change is never easy, but always possible.
Barack Obama
Quotes about Change
One of our favorite quotes and one that we should all remember when dealing with change! - Not only did my encounters with voters confirm the fundamental decency of the American people, they also reminded me that at the core of the American experience are a set of ideals that continue to stir our collective conscience; a common set of values that bind us together despite our differences …
Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
Positive Quotes - In me, one of those flaws had proven to be a chronic restlessness; an inability to appreciate, no matter how well things were going, those blessings that were right there in front of me.
Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
Blessed Quotes - There is no excuse for not trying.
Barack Obama
Excuses
Seven words that hold much wisdom! - We now live in a world where the most valuable skill you can sell is knowledge.
Barack Obama
Knowledge Quotes - Look. You can’t plan out your life. What you have to do is first discover your passion—what you really care about.”
Barack Obama
Passion - I chose to run for President at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together, unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes …
Barack Obama, A More Perfect Union, March 18, 2008
Challenge - Listen to understand rather than listen to respond.
Barack Obama
Listening
Many times we think we are listening but, instead we are formulating a response. As Barack states, listen! - Words do inspire.
Barack Obama
Words of Encouragement - Like most first-time authors, I was filled with hope and despair upon the book’s publication—hope that the book might succeed beyond my youthful dreams, despair that I had failed to say anything worth saying.
Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father
Quotes about Books - The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.
Barack Obama
Moving Forward Quotes - What an amazing gift to help people, not just yourself.
Barack Obama
Amazing Quotes - We cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself…”
Barack Obama, The Inaugural Address, 2009
Hate - Like any value, empathy must be acted upon.
Barack Obama
Empathy Quotes - We are in great need of people being able to stand in somebody else’s shoes and see the world through their eyes.
Barack Obama
Inspirational Poems - Don’t let your failures define you.
Barack Obama
Graduation Quotes
Just because you have failed doesn’t mean you should give up. Learn from that failure and move on! This is a great quote for new graduates, as they will fail, but it doesn’t mean they should stop. A good quote for us all to remember!! - No person, in any culture, likes to be bullied. No person likes living in fear because his or her ideas are different.
Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
Fear Quotes - Duty compels us to care about people that we will never meet.
Barack Obama
Helping Others - Where there is no experience, I believe the wise man is silent.
Barack Obama
Wise - Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should. And these goals are not mutually exclusive.
Barack Obama, Senate Floor Speech on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, May 23, 2007
Family - Obama would insist that even in moments of disappointment, despair was not an option—not only because despair was useless, but also because it denied possibilities that would always exist.
E.J. Dionne Jr., We Are the Change We Seek
Disappointment - Obama bound himself to the American past in order to change the future.
E.J. Dionne Jr., We Are the Change We Seek
Future Quotes - Obama’s superior political ingenuity spilled from his sophisticated brain and his nose for uncanny timing, for knowing what was needed when.
Steven E. Levingston, Barack and Joe
Time
Quotes About Barack Obama
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