Quotes from William Ury

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

have found that this journey from no to yes with myself is not a single trip, but ultimately a lifelong journey. I have been on this journey for a long time and expect to be on it for as long as I live.

When you say that you have a policy, you are signaling that your No is not a one-time message but an ongoing practice to which you have given a lot of thought. It is a signal of resolve, a sign that you will not budge.

Take the eighteenth-century general who had fallen into disfavor with the great Prussian warrior king, Frederick the Great. Coming upon the king, the general saluted him with the greatest respect, but Frederick turned his back. "I am happy to see that Your Majesty is no longer angry with me," murmured the general. "How so?" demanded Frederick. "Because Your Majesty has never in his life turned his back on an enemy," replied the general.

If there is a single lesson I have learned, it is this: in life, we are destined to lose many things. That is the nature of life. Never mind. Just don't lose the present. Nothing is worth it. There is nothing more important than "this," the fullness of life right now.

Instead of attacking, focused on taking away the stick.

How can we get what we truly want while satisfying the needs and concerns of others in our lives—family members, work colleagues, clients, and others?

You can empathize without sympathizing.

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way. —Daniele Vare, Italian diplomat

If we don't let go of our resentment and regret, we become prisoners of the past.

Respect is essentially a yes to others, not to their demands, but rather to their basic humanity. In this sense, respect is indivisible. When we give respect to others, we are honoring the very same humanity that exists in us. When we acknowledge the dignity of others, we are acknowledging our own dignity. We cannot truly respect others without respecting ourselves at the same time.

He drew a circle that shut me out— Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in! —EDWIN MARKHAM