Bill Russell Leadership Quotes

When the qualities that now confer leadership have become universal, there will no longer be leaders and followers, and democracy will have been realized at last. ~ Bertrand Russell

What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere. ~ Bill Russell

The principle of real leadership ignored, the immortal objects of society forgotten, practical conservatism degenerated into mere laudation of private enterprise, economic policy almost wholly surrendered to special interests. ~ Russell Kirk

I guarantee you, if you could give me 10 points in all those seventh games against the Boston Celtics, instead of Bill Russell having 11 rings, I could've at least had nine or eight. ~ Wilt Chamberlain

I would have loved to play against Bill Russell. He was such a force. ~ Tim Duncan

The police force in America pledge to "protect and serve." That would actually be dandy if it were happening. Bill Hicks used to joke that he'd like to hijack a typically unpunctual plane and force it to go to its scheduled destination on time. ~ Russell Brand

Has Bill Clinton inspired idealism in the young, as he himself was inspired by John F. Kennedy? Or has he actually reduced their idealism? Surely part of the answer lies in Clinton's personal moral lapse with Monica Lewinsky. But more important was his sin of omission - his failure to embrace a moral cause beyond popularity. ~ Arlie Russell Hochschild

If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you. ~ Bill Russell

We overreached our decision power. Sometimes our decisions have to fit the reality of the outside world. ~ Bill Russell

Life isn't easy, and leadership is harder still. ~ Walter Russell Mead

After I played him for the first time, I said 'Let's see. He's four or five inches taller. He's 40 or 50 pounds heavier. His vertical leap is at least as good as mine. He can get up and down the floor as well as I can. And he's smart. The real problem with all this is I have to show up. ~ Bill Russell

Love is a debt, she thought. When the bill comes, you pay in grief. ~ Mary Doria Russell

Even with a Democratic president behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a far larger percentage of Republicans than Democrats voted for it. Eminent Democratic luminaries voted against it, including Senators Ernest Hollings, Richard Russell, Sam Ervin, Albert Gore Sr., J. William Fulbright (Bill Clinton's mentor) and of course, Robert Byrd. Overall, 82 percent of Senate Republicans supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964, compared to only 66 percent of Democrats. In the House, 80 percent of Republicans voted for it, while only 63 percent of Democrats did.
Crediting Democrats for finally coming on board with Republicans civil rights policies by supporting the 1964 act would be nearly as absurd as giving the Democrats all the glory for Regan's 1981 tax cuts - which passed with the support of 99 percent of Republicans but only 29 percent of Democrats. ~ Ann Coulter

To love someone is nothing, to be loved by someone is something, to love someone who loves you is everything ~ Bill Russell

A rebounder, or a shot-blocker for that matter, is always at a disadvantage if he tells himself the only way he can succeed is by out jumping the guy next to him. Sometimes he will have to, but most of the time he will not. Most of my rebounds came from positioning, where I was able to get the ball while in heavy traffic. ~ Bill Russell

Bill Russell helped make my dream a better dream because when you play with the best, you know you have to play your best. ~ Wilt Chamberlain

Karen Russell learned to think from her father, someone Peter Gammons knows well, Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, who used his prominence to support Martin Luther King Jr., to support the civil rights movement, and other important work, including work in Africa throughout his career. And Bill Russell is still at it. ~ Donald Trump

My most prized possession was my library card from the Oakland Public Library. ~ Bill Russell

We learn to make a shell for ourselves when we are young and then spend the rest of our lives hoping for someone to reach inside and touch us. Just touch us - anything more than that would be too much for us to bear. ~ Bill Russell

I think that David Stern is probably the greatest commissioner that any sport has ever had in the history of this country. ~ Bill Russell

Believe me when I say that Bill Clinton's second term will be good for business. My business. ~ Mark Russell

I've been fortunate to meet and work with a lot of really smart people. The thing that strikes me most about them is how they continue to explore and learn every day. I have tried to apply that approach in my modest career as well. ~ Bill Russell

Put another way, I love all of you dog lovers, but I have to spoil your fun a little with a fundamental truth. There is, in an important evolutionary sense, no such thing as a specific breed of dog. If a Great Dane has sex with a dachshund, you get a dog. If a Standard Poodle has sex with a Jack Russell terrier, you get a dog. If a mutt has sex with a so-called purebred, you get a dog. ~ Bill Nye

God'll send the bill to you. ~ James Russell Lowell

Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you've got him ~ Bill Russell

Recalling his mother's endless drudgery, (Senator) Richard (Russell) Jr. was to say that he was ten years old before he saw his mother asleep; previously, he had thought that mothers never had to sleep. ~ Robert A. Caro

Dunce is completely bald and has a really pointed head so the temptation to get him paralytic on his thirtieth birthday, carry him to the tattooist's and get a nice big 'D' smack bang in the middle of his forehead was too much for me. Trouble is he can't afford to have it removed so he wears a big plaster over it. Gangs of children tease him.

'What's underneath the plaster, mister? Show us!'

They swear he has a third eye under there.

My name is Bill but Dunce calls me 'Fez' on account of my hat. I've known Dunce for over sixteen years. ~ Mike Russell

A document from the reign of King Henry VIII described one of the two actual axes used for the beheadings. The story was that the relic was displayed in the church; it gave both the church and the street their odd names. In the early 1560s refugees from Spain used it as a place of worship but by then it was in a state of disrepair. It was demolished shortly thereafter, taken down to the foundation. Another building, the one which Thomas and Belinda Russell owned today, was built in 1620 on the ruins of the ancient church. ~ Bill Thompson

Free and open expression coupled with visionary leadership generally encourages good decision-making. ~ M. Russell Ballard

If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you're doing becomes art. ~ Bill Russell

Bill Russell is one of the great names in basketball, an all-American ... and the only athlete to ever win an NCAA Championship, an Olympic Gold Medal, and a professional championship all in the same year-1956 ... But Bill Russell had this one problem: He threw up before every game. ~ John Eliot

The last five or six days, I've been running. The last two days, I've been running pretty hard. Everybody's got to be someplace. ~ Bill Russell