Quotes from Emilio F. iodice

USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, award winning writer, US Presidential Historian, University Professor and Public Speaker

Children

“Children are pieces of our heart.”

“My children and grandchildren are my most important achievements. Their love is more precious than anything else.”

Courage

“Courage does not come over night. It comes from experience.”

“Mistakes and success are the elements that give us enough self-confidence to be courageous.”

“Fear is natural. Yet it is often used as an excuse to not be courageous.”

Death

“I am afraid of dying before I have a chance to finish what I feel is important to leave behind and show those I love how much I care for them.”

“I have lost friends and loved ones. It is painful and depressing. What is the saving grace: perhaps for them it was the best time to journey to the other side even though for us, who miss them, it was not.”

“To die a peaceful death is a blessing and an art. God blesses us to pass on to the next world tranquilly. The art is to live a full life so when our time comes, we go without remorse and can say we did our best and leave behind the best possible memories to those who love us.”

Decisions

“Facts are our friends.”

“Never make emotional decisions.”

“Decide on facts and figures.”

“Search for the truth and base your choices on a foundation of logic, honesty, and short, medium, and long-term goals.”

“Leaders who strategize should look at all the possibilities of failure before deciding a course of action.”

Democracy

“Democracy is our only choice. Individual and collective freedom allows the mind to travel across new horizons to search for solutions to problems created by humans and nature.”

“Democratic nations do not go to war against each other. Freedom loving people are attacked by tyrannical regimes which seek domination and conquest.”

Example

“We live in fishbowls. What we do, how we do it, what we say is part of the example we set. Good example is the key to making a better world because it begins with those close to us and spreads to others.”

Family

“Family is success. It is the refuge and safe port when life becomes tragic, unfair, and insecure.”

“To build a stable, good, and loving family is difficult. It requires sacrifice, immense patience, success and failure, constant long-range thinking, mutual goals, honesty and fidelity, endless respect and most of all, love. It is very hard to achieve but worth it.”

“I loved my parents. They were simple, not highly educated but gave me guidance and love as best they could. That is all I could ask of them and wish for.”

“My mother was kind, sweet, very strong and wise. She loved me and I did all I could to show my love for her even though for me it was never enough.”

“My father was strong, tough, imperious but fair, courageous, and just. He was never afraid. He wanted his children and grand children to achieve more than he did which is why he came to America.”

“I was fortunate to be born in the New World. It allowed me to use my talents and be who I am today, with all my weaknesses and ideals.”

Forgiveness

“I forgive those who hurt me and betray me. I do it by forgetting. It is not easy but is worth trying. I do not want to carry the burden of hate on my shoulders in addition to everything else.”

“Someone said, ‘Always forgive your enemies but never forget their names.’ I believe this because life is not fair, and people are not always honest or just. It is a matter of self-preservation and protecting those we love.”

God

“God is my co-pilot. We are born alone and die alone. We should not go through life alone but with the Lord as our guide, friend, and shepherd.”

“Faith, spirituality, and religion are personal and free choices to make. We grow up in a religion but eventually create our own ladder to the Almighty if we believe one exists.”

“Each of us has the right to believe or not.”

Gratitude

“Gratitude is a sublime expression that is indispensable. Thank everyone who gives you the slightest service whether it is a waiter or a door person. Each is part of humanity, fighting a daily battle. Saying "Thank you" with sincerity and respect and demonstrating it materially may be that one gesture that makes their day or gives them hope regarding the quality of human nature.”

Leadership

“The essence of leadership is the willingness to take on responsibility. It is about making decisions that impact lives and futures.”

“Leaders create problems and solve them.”

“False leaders lack integrity, humility, and a sense of collective responsibility. They are essentially dictatorial, self-centered, and dangerous.”

“True leaders are humble but decisive and make decisions that are based on facts and integrity.”

Life

“You ask, ‘what is the compass that guides my life?’ When I make a management or executive decision, I ask, ‘What would Lincoln do?’ When I make a moral decision, I ask, ‘What would Jesus do?’ I am a Christian and use Christ as my moral model. A Jew may use Moses, a Buddhist Buddha and a Moslem, Mohammed. The key is to have standards, models, and benchmarks to help direct us on the road to an ethical and honest life worth living.”

“You only have one life. Do something important with it.”

“A person born in this century, under the age of 20 has 100 years of life before them. That is the good news. The bad news is that they have ten more decades to either have a meaningful, rewarding, and exciting existence or live in desperation, frustration, and misery. It is up to them.”

Love

“Finding someone who loves you for who you are more than what you are is hard but rewarding.”

“Never miss an opportunity to say, ‘I love you.’ It may be your last.”

“Only your parents and grand parents love you without any qualification.”

“It is possible to love more than one person but not easy.”

“Learn to love yourself and care for yourself, first and foremost. This is not selfishness but personal respect and part of the process of setting a good example.”

“Love is hope.”

Mind

“The mind is truly its own place to transform heaven into hell or hell into heaven.”

“The secret is in what we think. If we imagine success, we will achieve it.”

“To avoid depression, act, move and do something useful, important but at least avoid reflecting on the past which we cannot change or control.”

Mistakes

“Mistakes? We make them every day. Those who do nothing never make mistakes.”

“Acknowledge the fact you make mistakes and admit it. This will bring humility and self-reflection and improvement.”

Money

“When in doubt, go for the money.”

“Money cannot be the only measure of success and a life worth living. It is a means to attain security so we can dedicate ourselves to making the world better than how we found it.”

Optimism

“Be optimistic despite the disappointments in life. In the end everything works out well.”

People

“You can determine something about the nature of a person by the reaction of animals and children to them. Both have innate instincts that discern sincerity.”

Problems

“Look at a problem like a coin. On one side is a challenge. The other is an opportunity. Flip it over. In tackling the difficulty, you demonstrate your ability to get things done, your talent to achieve and willingness to take risks.”

Success

“Exceptional people often succeed by doing those things no one else is willing to do.”

“Success is a matter of work. Hard and smart work go together like a hand and glove.”

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

“Think of what you do as part of something bigger than ourselves, contributing to an important outcome, no matter how humble or simple the task.”

Truth

“In the realm of national security, it is believed that truth is so precious that it must be protected by a bodyguard of lies.”

“Never lie. It is a burden to you. It is wrong and disrespectful to you and to those who believe you.”

Quotes from Emilio F. iodice

Children

“Children are pieces of our heart.”

“My children and grandchildren are my most important achievements. Their love is more precious than anything else.”

Courage

“Courage does not come over night. It comes from experience.”

“Mistakes and success are the elements that give us enough self-confidence to be courageous.”

“Fear is natural. Yet it is often used as an excuse to not be courageous.”

Death

“I am afraid of dying before I have a chance to finish what I feel is important to leave behind and show those I love how much I care for them.”

“I have lost friends and loved ones. It is painful and depressing. What is the saving grace: perhaps for them it was the best time to journey to the other side even though for us, who miss them, it was not.”

“To die a peaceful death is a blessing and an art. God blesses us to pass on to the next world tranquilly. The art is to live a full life so when our time comes, we go without remorse and can say we did our best and leave behind the best possible memories to those who love us.”

Decisions

“Facts are our friends.”

“Never make emotional decisions.”

“Decide on facts and figures.”

“Search for the truth and base your choices on a foundation of logic, honesty, and short, medium, and long-term goals.”

“Leaders who strategize should look at all the possibilities of failure before deciding a course of action.”

Democracy

“Democracy is our only choice. Individual and collective freedom allows the mind to travel across new horizons to search for solutions to problems created by humans and nature.”

“Democratic nations do not go to war against each other. Freedom loving people are attacked by tyrannical regimes which seek domination and conquest.”

Example

“We live in fishbowls. What we do, how we do it, what we say is part of the example we set. Good example is the key to making a better world because it begins with those close to us and spreads to others.”

Family

“Family is success. It is the refuge and safe port when life becomes tragic, unfair, and insecure.”

“To build a stable, good, and loving family is difficult. It requires sacrifice, immense patience, success and failure, constant long-range thinking, mutual goals, honesty and fidelity, endless respect and most of all, love. It is very hard to achieve but worth it.”

“I loved my parents. They were simple, not highly educated but gave me guidance and love as best they could. That is all I could ask of them and wish for.”

“My mother was kind, sweet, very strong and wise. She loved me and I did all I could to show my love for her even though for me it was never enough.”

“My father was strong, tough, imperious but fair, courageous, and just. He was never afraid. He wanted his children and grand children to achieve more than he did which is why he came to America.”

“I was fortunate to be born in the New World. It allowed me to use my talents and be who I am today, with all my weaknesses and ideals.”

Forgiveness

“I forgive those who hurt me and betray me. I do it by forgetting. It is not easy but is worth trying. I do not want to carry the burden of hate on my shoulders in addition to everything else.”

“Someone said, ‘Always forgive your enemies but never forget their names.’ I believe this because life is not fair, and people are not always honest or just. It is a matter of self-preservation and protecting those we love.”

God

“God is my co-pilot. We are born alone and die alone. We should not go through life alone but with the Lord as our guide, friend, and shepherd.”

“Faith, spirituality, and religion are personal and free choices to make. We grow up in a religion but eventually create our own ladder to the Almighty if we believe one exists.”

“Each of us has the right to believe or not.”

Gratitude

Leadership

“The essence of leadership is the willingness to take on responsibility. It is about making decisions that impact lives and futures.”

“Leaders create problems and solve them.”

“False leaders lack integrity, humility, and a sense of collective responsibility. They are essentially dictatorial, self-centered, and dangerous.”

“True leaders are humble but decisive and make decisions that are based on facts and integrity.”

Life

“You only have one life. Do something important with it.”

“A person born in this century, under the age of 20 has 100 years of life before them. That is the good news. The bad news is that they have ten more decades to either have a meaningful, rewarding, and exciting existence or live in desperation, frustration, and misery. It is up to them.”

Love

“Finding someone who loves you for who you are more than what you are is hard but rewarding.”

“Never miss an opportunity to say, ‘I love you.’ It may be your last.”

“Only your parents and grand parents love you without any qualification.”

“It is possible to love more than one person but not easy.”

“Learn to love yourself and care for yourself, first and foremost. This is not selfishness but personal respect and part of the process of setting a good example.”

“Love is hope.”

Mind

“The mind is truly its own place to transform heaven into hell or hell into heaven.”

“The secret is in what we think. If we imagine success, we will achieve it.”

“To avoid depression, act, move and do something useful, important but at least avoid reflecting on the past which we cannot change or control.”

Mistakes

“Mistakes? We make them every day. Those who do nothing never make mistakes.”

“Acknowledge the fact you make mistakes and admit it. This will bring humility and self-reflection and improvement.”

Money

“When in doubt, go for the money.”

“Money cannot be the only measure of success and a life worth living. It is a means to attain security so we can dedicate ourselves to making the world better than how we found it.”

Optimism

“Be optimistic despite the disappointments in life. In the end everything works out well.”

People

“You can determine something about the nature of a person by the reaction of animals and children to them. Both have innate instincts that discern sincerity.”

Problems

“Look at a problem like a coin. On one side is a challenge. The other is an opportunity. Flip it over. In tackling the difficulty, you demonstrate your ability to get things done, your talent to achieve and willingness to take risks.”

Success

“Exceptional people often succeed by doing those things no one else is willing to do.”

“Success is a matter of work. Hard and smart work go together like a hand and glove.”

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

“Think of what you do as part of something bigger than ourselves, contributing to an important outcome, no matter how humble or simple the task.”

Truth

“In the realm of national security, it is believed that truth is so precious that it must be protected by a bodyguard of lies.”

“Never lie. It is a burden to you. It is wrong and disrespectful to you and to those who believe you.”

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