“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

21 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from the World’s Most Influential Freedom Advocates

To celebrate 4th of July, I thought it would be best to share with you, a few of the many valuable life lessons we can all learn from many great men and women who campaigned for human and civil rights and promoted freedom. People like Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. 

Abraham Lincoln who issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.

Martin Luther King who inspired the American civil rights movement and organized the 1963 March on Washington, where he gave his famous “I have a dream” speech.

Eleanor Roosevelt who devoted her life to gaining freedom rights for others. Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a bus and sparked a boycott that changed America. And many others.

Enjoy.

1. Every great dream begins with a dreamer.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~ Harriet Tubman

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ~ Robert Kennedy

2. Faith is to believe what you do not see.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

3. One man with courage is a majority.

“One man with courage is a majority.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

4. If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” ~ Winston Churchill

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

“A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” ~Malcolm X

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

5. Freedom must be demanded by the oppressed

“I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” ~ Harriet Tubman 

“I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.” ~ Rosa Parks

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 

6. Every experience, either good or bad, comes with a valuable lesson.

“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.” ~ Malcolm X

7. Be true at all times.

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.” ~ Abraham Lincoln 

“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

“I have more respect for a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he’s wrong. Than the one who comes up like an angel and is nothing but a devil.” ~ Malcolm X

8. Love is the only thing that’s real. Fear is just an illusion.

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” ~ Rosa Parks 

“Where there is love there is life.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

9. Give up complaining.

“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” ~ Shirley Chisholm

10. Service is the rent that you pay for a room on this earth.

“Service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth.” ~ Shirley Chisholm

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” ~ Dalai Lama

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” ~ Winston Churchill

11. Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

12. Be the change you want to see in the world.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” ~ Winston Churchill

13. Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

“There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.” ~ Dalai Lama

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” ~ Dalai Lama

14. Self-love is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

“Friendship with ones self is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.” ` Eleanor Roosevelt

15. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.

“When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.” ~ Dalai Lama

16. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is a body without a soul.

“Spiritual relationship is far more precious than physical. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is body without soul.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

17. Health is your real wealth.

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Mahatma Gandhi

18. God is always right.

“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

19. Happiness is an inside job.

“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

20. Character is more important than reputation.

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

21. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” ~ Winston Churchill 

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~ Winston Churchill

Happy 4th of July everyone! 🙂

~love, Luminita💫

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