Wilma Quotes & Sayings

Prior to my election, young Cherokee girls would never have thought that they might grow up and become chief. — Wilma Mankiller

I don't consciously try to be a role model, so I don't know if I am or not. That's for other people to decide. — Wilma Rudolph

We must trust our own thinking. Trust where we're going. And get the job done. — Wilma Mankiller

The hand that rocks the cradle should also rock the boat. — Wilma Scott Heide

America would be a better place if leaders would do more long-term thinking. — Wilma Mankiller

I hope many of you will be people that question why things are and why we have to do them the way we have always done them. I hope you will take some risks, exert some real leadership on issues, and if you will, dance along the edge of the roof as you continue for life. — Wilma Mankiller

The feeling of accomplishment welled up inside of me, three Olympic gold medals. I knew that was something nobody could ever take away from me, ever. — Wilma Rudolph

Every social trait labelled masculine or feminine is in truth a human trait. It is our human right to develop and contribute our talents whatever our race, sex, religion, ancestry, age. Human rights are indivisible! — Wilma Scott Heide

Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life. — Wilma Rudolph

I want to be remembered as the person who helped us restore faith in ourselves. — Wilma Mankiller

When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome. — Wilma Rudolph

I had a series of childhood illnesses ... scarlet fever ... pneumonia ... Polio. I walked with braces until I was at least nine years old. My life wasn't like the average person who grew up and decided to enter the world of sports. — Wilma Rudolph

Individually and collectively, Cherokee people possess an extraordinary ability to face down adversity and continue moving forward. — Wilma Mankiller

For me, those weeks in Boston, with Wilma, became a lesson in her ability to be "of good mind," in her phrase, which also meant a people's ability to survive. — Gloria Steinem

It is tempting to ascribe Katrina, Rita and now Wilma to global warming effects, but I am not sure that would pass statistical muster. — Kerry Emanuel

I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I'm competing with is me. — Wilma Rudolph

I know black women in Tennessee who have worked all their lives, from the time they were twelve years old to the day they died. These women don't listen to the women's liberation rhetoric because they know that it's nothing but a bunch of white women who had certain life-styles and who want to change those life-styles. — Wilma Rudolph

It should be remembered that hundreds of people of African ancestry also walked the Trail of Tears with the Cherokee during the forced removal of 1838-1839. Although we know about the terrible human suffering of our native people and the members of other tribes during the removal, we rarely hear of those black people who also suffered. — Wilma Mankiller

Negative thoughts were treated by Cherokee healers with the same medicines as wounds, headaches, or physical illness. It was believed that unchecked negative thoughts can permeate the being and manifest themselves in negative actions. — Wilma Mankiller

I would be disappointed if I were remembered as a runner because I feelthat my contribution to the youth of America has far exceeded the woman who was the Olympic champion. — Wilma Rudolph

I don't know why I run so fast. I just run. — Wilma Rudolph

I don't think anybody anywhere can talk about the future of their people or of an organization without talking about education. Whoever controls the education of our children controls our future. — Wilma Mankiller

Having been away from you offical duties," Arch said as the Miller's hand lowered to his side, "you might not have hearc, but I've developed a weapon capable of destroying all of Boaderland, Wonderland, Morgavia, Unterlan and who knows what else. I call it WILMA, which stands for Weapon of Inconceivable Loss and Massive Annihilation. It also happens to be the name of one of my former wives, who had to be put down on account of her feisty temper. — Frank Beddor

My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces. — Wilma Rudolph

Her hope was to preserve what she called The Way, to keep it alive, for that future moment when the current obsession with excess and hierarchy imploded. Wilma said many Native people believed that the earth as a living organism would just one day shrug off the human species that was destroying it - and start over. In a less cataclysmic vision, humans would realize that we are killing our home and each other, and seek out The Way. That's why Native people were guarding it. — Gloria Steinem

She's strong," he told his mom. "She'll be fine."

"Even strong people need help." Wilma said it with soft but firm tones that he couldn't argue with. — Brenda Minton

Unless women have, from the moment of birth, socialization for, expectations of, and preparation for a viable significant alternative to motherhood ... women will continue to want and reproduce too many children. — Wilma Scott Heide

Whoever controls the education of our children controls the future. — Wilma Mankiller

When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God, why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn't just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that. — Wilma Rudolph

Take care how you place your moccasins upon the Earth, step with care, for the faces of the future generations are looking up from the Earth waiting their turn for life. — Wilma Mankiller

Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle. — Wilma Rudolph

In a moment I might be under the wave swallowing seawater and small jellyfish, but right now I am an ancient princess of Hawaii, I am a bikini model, I am a goddess before the crest of a monster billow. — Wilma Johnson

In our weeks of talk, movies and friendship, I watched as Wilma turned a medical ordeal into one more event in her life, but not its definition. I believe she was teaching me an intimate form of The Way. In her words: Every day is a good day - because we are part of everything alive. — Gloria Steinem

By the time I was 12 I was challenging every boy in our neighborhood at running, jumping, everything. — Wilma Rudolph

I learned a long time ago that I can't control the challenges the creator sends my way, but I can control the way I think about them and deal with them — Wilma Mankiller

A significant number of people believe tribal people still live and dress as they did 300 years ago. During my tenure as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, national news agencies requesting interviews sometimes asked if they could film a tribal dance or if I would wear traditional tribal clothing for the interview. I doubt they asked the president of the United States to dress like a pilgrim for an interview. — Wilma Mankiller

I think the most important issue we have as a people is what we started, and that is to begin to trust our own thinking again and belive in ourselves enough to think that we can articulate our own vision of the future and then work to make sure that that vision becomes a reality. — Wilma Mankiller

In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people. — Wilma Mankiller

With bitterness, then. But that I have forbidden myself. With ridicule, then, which is more affable, which keeps itself transparent and could not care less; and like a bird into a nest I can slip back into a treetrunk and laugh to myself. And keep quiet too, perhaps just to keep quiet so as to dream outward, for the seventh sense is sleep. — Wilma Stockenstrom

There are a whole lot of historical factors that have played a part in our being where we are today, and I think that to even to begin to understand our contemporary issues and contemporary problems, you have to understand a little bit about that history. — Wilma Mankiller

Be the buffalo. Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee nation, once told me how the cow runs away from the storm while the buffalo charges directly toward it - and gets through it quicker. Whenever I'm confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment. I become the buffalo. — Donna Brazile

the triumph cant be had without the struggle — Wilma Rudolph

A lot of young girls have looked to their career paths and have said they'd like to be chief. There's been a change in the limits people see. — Wilma Mankiller

What do you do after you are world-famous and nineteen or twenty and you have sat with prime ministers, kings and queens, the Pope? Do you go back home and take a job? What do you do to keep your sanity? You come back to the real world. — Wilma Rudolph

I've run into more discrimination as a woman than as an Indian. — Wilma Mankiller

My name is Mankiller, and in the old Cherokee Nation, when we lived here in the Southeast, we lived in semi-autonomous villages, and there was someone who watched over the village, who had the title of mankiller. And I'm not sure what you could equate that to, but it was sort of like a soldier or someone who was responsible for the security of the village, and so anyway this one fellow liked the title mankiller so well that he kept it as his name, and that's who we trace our ancestry back to. — Wilma Mankiller

But when you come from a large, wonderful family, there's always a way to achieve your goals. — Wilma Rudolph

People say that crisis changes people and turns ordinary people into wiser or more responsible ones. — Wilma Mankiller

Winning is great but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. — Wilma Rudolph

It's imposible to even imagine Lucy Ricardo without Ethel Mertz, and because of that, this dynamic duo set the bar for future female friendships on TV. Consider Laverne and Shirley, Kate and Allie, Mar and Rhoda, Wilma and Betty, and Cagney and Lacey - where would they have been without Lucy and Ethel. — Elisabeth Edwards

Though many non-Native Americans have learned very little about us, over time we have had to learn everything about them. We watch their films, read their literature, worship in their churches, and attend their schools. Every third-grade student in the United States is presented with the concept of Europeans discovering America as a "New World" with fertile soil, abundant gifts of nature, and glorious mountains and rivers. Only the most enlightened teachers will explain that this world certainly wasn't new to the millions of indigenous people who already lived here when Columbus arrived. — Wilma Mankiller

Everybody is sitting around saying, 'Well, jeez, we need somebody to solve this problem of bias.' That somebody is us. We all have to try to figure out a better way to get along. — Wilma Mankiller

An Indian is an Indian regardless of the degree of Indian blood or which little government card they do or do not possess. — Wilma Mankiller

I thought I'd never get to see that. Florence Griffith Joyner
every time she ran, I ran. — Wilma Rudolph

Possession and loving are concepts that damn each other. — Wilma Stockenstrom

Out of the kitchen, and into the surf. — Wilma Johnson

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us. — Wilma Rudolph

I knew that whatever I set my mind to do. I could do. — Wilma Rudolph

My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother. — Wilma Rudolph

Women in leadership roles can help restore balance and wholeness to our communities. — Wilma Mankiller

One of the things my parents taught me, and I'll always be grateful as a gift, is to not ever let anybody else define me; that for me to define myself ... and I think that helped me a lot in assuming a leadership position. — Wilma Mankiller

Remember that I am just a woman who is living a very abundant life. Every step I take forward is on a path paved by strong Indian women before me. — Wilma Mankiller

The secret of our success is that we never, never give up. — Wilma Mankiller

Every single person has leadership ability. Some step up and take them. Some don't. My answer was to step up and lead. — Wilma Mankiller

If you argue with a fool, someone passing by will not be able to tell who is the fool and who is not. — Wilma Mankiller

Friends describe me as someone who likes to sing and dance along the edge of the roof. I try to encourage young women to be willing to take risks, to stand up for the things they believe in, and to step up and accept the challenge of serving in leadership roles. — Wilma Mankiller

My ability to survive personal crises is really a mark of the character of my people. Individually and collectively, we must react with a tenacity that allows us again and again to bounce back from adversity. — Wilma Mankiller

Growth is a painful process. — Wilma Mankiller

The happiest people I've ever met, regardless of their profession, their social standing, or their economic status, are people that are fully engaged in the world around them. The most fulfilled people are the ones who get up every morning and stand for something larger than themselves. They are the people who care about others, who will extend a helping hand to someone in need or will speak up about an injustice when they see it. — Wilma Mankiller

I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened. — Wilma Rudolph

The pedestal is immobilizing and subtly insulting whether or not some women yet realize it. We must move up from the pedestal. — Wilma Scott Heide

I believe in me more than anything in this world. — Wilma Rudolph

Better wear out than rust out. — Wilma Dykeman

It doesn't matter what you're trying to accomplish. It's all a matter of discipline. I was determined to discover what life held for me beyond the inner-city streets. — Wilma Rudolph

Look forward. Turn what has been done into a better path. — Wilma Mankiller

Swinging the door open, I took a sip. All of the coffee in the world wouldn't help if more visitors showed up at my door this early in the morning but the caffeine fortification was a bonus. The delivery guy pushed his clipboard at me. I held up my cup and raided my eyebrows.
We had an entire conversation in the next seven seconds with our eyes and eyebrows.
I told him that I wasn't giving up my coffee for his delivery. He told me that if I'd just sign on the damned dotted line he would get the hell out of here.
I replied in turn that if he'd hold the clipboard instead of shoving it at me (I threw in a nod here for good measure), I'd sign the damned line.
He finally sighed, turned the clipboard around and held the pen out.
I braced the door with my hip, grabbed the pen and scrawled Wilma Flinstone on the paper. — Nicole Hamlett

I had to let go of my need to know everything before I moved ahead; I had to learn to function in the mystery. — Wilma Derksen

We are a revitalized tribe. After every major upheaval, we have been able to gather together as a people to rebuild a community and a government. Individually and collectively, Cherokee people possess an extraordinary ability to face down adversity and continue moving forward. We are able to do that because our culture, though certainly diminished, has sustained us since time inmemorial. This Cherokee culture is a well-kept secret. — Wilma Mankiller

Black women ... work because their husbands can't make enough money at their jobs to keep everything going ... They don't go to work to find fulfillment, or adventure, or glamour and romance, like so many white women think they are doing. Black women work out of necessity. — Wilma Rudolph

I'm in my prime. There's no goal too far, no mountain too high. — Wilma Rudolph

I tell them that the most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself. — Wilma Rudolph

We will no longer be led only by that half of the population whose socialization, through toys, games, values and expectations, sanctions violence as the final assertion of manhood, synonymous with nationhood. — Wilma Scott Heide

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday. — Wilma Rudolph

The state team is committed to working with our federal partners in meeting the needs of Floridians who were affected by Hurricane Wilma. We want to be as thorough as possible in this vital endeavor. — Craig Fugate

It's like everybody's sitting there and they have some kind of veil over their face, and they look at each other through this veil that makes them see each other through some stereotypical kind of viewpoint. If we're ever gonna collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we're gonna have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level. — Wilma Mankiller

Recognizing the good, not just in one's own personal circumstances, but in the world, makes anything possible. When I am asked about the important characteristics of leadership, being of good, positive mind is at the top of my list. If a leader can focus on the meritorious characteristics of other people and try to play to their strengths as well as find value in even the most difficult situation, she can inspire hope and faith in others and motivate them to move forward. — Wilma Mankiller

The cabbage white flies through the tailor's cheek. The tailor sinks his head. The cabbage white flies out of the back of the tailor's head, white and uncrumpled. Skinny Wilma flaps her handkerchief. The cabbage white flies through her forehead and into her head. — Herta Muller

We celebrate Thanksgiving along with the rest of America, maybe in different ways and for different reasons. Despite everything that's happened to us since we fed the Pilgrims, we still have our language, our culture, our distinct social system. Even in a nuclear age, we still have a tribal people. — Wilma Mankiller

Greetings, O Great Gazoo. How nice of you to join us here on planet Earth again. (Cael)
Thanks, Barney. How's Betty and Bam Bam doing? (Acheron)
Great, if I could only get them away from Wilma and Pebbles. Those women are nothing but trouble. (Cael)
Nah, they're good women. It's the ones in red who are always the downfall of good men. (Acheron) — Sherrilyn Kenyon

No matter what great things you accomplish, somebody helps you. — Wilma Rudolph

I do not refer to myself as a 'housewife' for the reason that I did not marry a house. — Wilma Scott Heide