Quotes from Madeleine Albright

I loved what I did. I could've been secretary of state for ever.

Often if you don't speak up, whatever you thought was stupid to say some man would say and then everyone would say 'as he said'.

I am by nature a worried optimist.

You think that the heads of state only have serious conversations, but they actually often begin really with the weather or, 'I really like your tie.'

Hate, emotionalism, and frustration are not policies.

One of the issues I kept saying to my students is you have to learn to interrupt. When you raise your hand at a meeting, by the time they get to you, the point is not germane. So the bottom line is active listening. If you are going to interrupt, you look for opportunities. You have to know what you're talking about.

While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You're trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren't very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

As you go along your own road in life, you will, if you aim high enough, also meet resistance... But no matter how tough the opposition may seem, have courage still and persevere.

I think there has to be the sense that once you have climbed the ladder of success, that you don't push it away from the building.

There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women. (Keynote speech at Celebrating Inspiration luncheon with the WNBA's All-Decade Team, 2006)

I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life.