"Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them."
— William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night)

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
— Mark Twain

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
— Albert Einstein

"Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (Self Reliance)

"Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies."
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

"Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else. "
— Judy Garland

"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know."
"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.
"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!"
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

"Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect."
— Edgar Allan Poe (Complete Tales and Poems)

"To be great is to be misunderstood. "
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Its hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world."
— Dolly Parton

"It takes a great man to be a good listener."
— Calvin Coolidge

"Everyone has the power for greatness—not for fame, but greatness, because greatness is determined by service."
— Martin Luther King Jr.

"Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.

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— Cher

"I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest."
— John Keats

"The greatness comes not when things go always good for you. But the greatness comes when you're really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes. Because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."
— Richard Nixon

"Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so."
— Charles de Gaulle

"Mithorden: 'He was brilliant, yes, but ready to laugh at himself when he made mistakes. You may not believe it, but he made mistakes often.'

Luthiel: 'Why?' She choked around her tears.

Mithorden: 'Because he tried to do great things. Anyone can succeed at easy things. But the things Valkire tried were very difficult. He wanted to make things better for people of all races -- for he saw the good in them.' "
— Robert Fanney

"Everyone can be great because everyone can serve."
— Martin Luther King Jr.

"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality, even occasional greatness will destroy a man."
— Frank Herbert (Dune)

"Great men are not born great, they grow great . . ."
— Mario Puzo (The Godfather)

"Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"What I say is true, anyone can cook. But only the fearless can be great."
— Gusteau (Ratatouille)

"The past is to be respected and acknowledged, but not worshipped; it is our future in which we will find our greatness."
— Pierre Trudeau

"It takes a good man to prevent a catastrophe, and a great man to make use of one."
— Richelieu Three Musketeers By Duma

"Greatness is always built on this foundation: the ability to appear, speak and act, as the most common man."
— Shams-ud-din Muhammed Hafiz

"I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful."
— John Ruskin

"Greatness is a property for which no man can receive credit too soon; it must be possessed long before it is acknowledged."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (Self Reliance)

"Good and great are seldom in the same man. "
— Winston S. Churchill

"When love is your greatest weakness, you will be the strongest person in the world."
— Garman Wold

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
— Mohandas Gandhi

"Mediocrity must be sacrificed in the wake of greatness."
— Jonathon Mead

"Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance."
— Coco Chanel

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

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— Barack Obama

"The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment."
— Elbert Hubbard