A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Quotes

55 Sourced Quotes

To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal. Individuals like myself are often called 'workaholics'. I question this term because that implies a pathological condition or an illness. If I do what I desire more than anything else in the world and which makes me happy, such work can never be an aberration.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
It has been my personal experience that the true flavour, the real fun, the continuous excitement of work lie in the process of doing it rather than in having it over and done with.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
One of the important functions of prayer, I believe, is to act as a stimulus to creative ideas. Within the mind are all the resources required for successful living. Ideas are present in the consciousness, which when released and given scope to grow and take shape, can lead to successful events. God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps to tap and develop these powers.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. In this world, fear has no place. Only strength respects strength.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
A developed India by 2020, or even earlier, is not a dream. It need not be a mere vision in the minds of many Indians. It is a mission we can all take up - and succeed.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
I wonder why some people tend to see science as something which takes man away from God. As I look at it, the path of science can always wind through the heart. For me, science has always been the path to spiritual enrichment and self-realisation.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
A person with belief never grovels before anyone, whining and whimpering that it's all too much, that he lacks support, that he is being treated unfairly. Instead, such a person tackes problems head on and then affirms, 'As a child of God, I am greater than anything that can happen to me.'

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
To me, the level of responsibility is measured by one's ability to confront the decision-making process without any delay or distraction.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
… the best way to win was to not need to win. The best performances are accomplished when you are relaxed and free of doubt.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
This is my belief: that through difficulties and problems God gives us the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Are you aware of your inner signals? Do you trust them? Do you have the focus of control over your life in your own hands? Take this from me, the more decisions you can make avoiding external pressures, which will constantly try to manipulate and immobilize you, the better your life will be, the better your society will become. The entire nation will benefit from having strong, inner-directed people as their leaders.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
I never used any outside influence to advance my career. All I had was the inner urge to seek more within myself. The key to my motivation has always been to look at how far I had still to go rather than how far I had come.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
I often read Khalil Gibran, and always find his words full of wisdom. "Bread baked without love is a bitter bread that feeds but half a man's hunger"—those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around. If you are a writer who would secretly prefer to be a lawyer or a doctor, your written words will feed but half the hunger of your readers; if you are a teacher who would rather be a businessman, your instructions will meet but half the need for knowledge of your students; if you are a scientist who hates science, your performance will satisfy but half the needs of your mission.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
I will not be presumptuous enough to say that my life can be a role model for anybody; but some poor child living in an obscure place in an underprivileged social setting may find a little solace in the way my destiny has been shaped. It could perhaps help such children liberate themselves from the bondage of their illusory backwardness and hopelessness.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
I have used the word 'flow' at many places without really elaborating its meaning. What is this flow? And what are these joys? I could call them moments of magic. I see an analogy between these moments and the high that you experience when you play badminton or go jogging. Flow is a sensation we experience when we act with total involvement. During flow, action follows action according to an internal logic that seems to need no conscious intervention on the part of the worker. There is no hurry, there are no distracting demands on one's attention. The past and the future disappear. So does the distinction between self and the activity.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
When you speak, speak the truth; perform when you promise; discharge your trust... Withhold your hands from striking, and from taking that which is unlawful and bad...

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
It means, people who are in high and responsible positions, if they go against righteousness, righteousness itself will get transformed into a destroyer.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
My impression of the American people can be summarized by a quotation from Benjamin Franklin, "Those things that hurt instruct!" I realised that people in this part of the world meet their problems head on. They attempt to get out of them rather than suffer them.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
I was (and am) a terrible conversationist but consider myself a good communicator.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Behind the parents stands the school, and behind the teacher the home.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Thinking is the capital, Enterprise is the way, Hard Work is the solution

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Most of the time, communication gets confused with conversation. In fact, the two are distinctly different.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Science has revealed that the human body is made up of millions and millions of atoms... For example, I am made up of 5.8x10^27 atoms.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Nations consist of people. And with their effort, a nation can accomplish all it could ever want.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
I have always been a religious person in the sense that I maintain a working partnership with God. I was aware that the best work required more ability than I possessed and therefore I needed help that only God could give me. I made a true estimate of my own ability, then raised it by 50 per cent and put myself in God's hands. In this partnership, I have always received all the power I needed, and in fact have actually felt it flowing through me. Today, I can affirm that the kingdom of God is within you in the form of this power, to help achieve your goals and realise your dreams.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the things you believe in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam