“From a financial standpoint, it was roughly 12 to 13 years before I felt secure enough to draw a consistent annual salary. Up until that point, there was always an undercurrent of uncertainty. It wasn't until 12 to 13 years in that I felt we had the financial resilience to withstand these challenges.”
— Brian Smith

The quote archive

Politics

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

For us, for our people, who were under communist domination, we were comfortable and happy to take on a European identity when we gained independence. Identity is something incredibly personal; and how the individual combines their national and European identity is something they do themselves.

— Toomas Hendrik Ilves

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

Portugal is generally perceived as a symbol of tolerance, openness to the world and ability to interact with and serve as a bridge to different societies, cultures and religions.

— Antonio Costa

Former Prime Minister of Portugal (2015-2024)

There are two basic underlying reasons economies slow down. Firstly dysfunctional politics and secondly economic mistakes.

— Michael Spence

Nobel Prize-winning economist; Stanford provost and NYU president

I grew up in Canada and have a lot of friends in Argentina. In the early part of the 20th Century, Argentina was wealthier and had a higher per-capita income than Canada. The country had severe governance issues which impacted economic and social development.

— Michael Spence

Nobel Prize-winning economist; Stanford provost and NYU president

Many entrepreneurs are deluded about their odds of success, that evidence is very clear. This creates problems… Should a government subsidise entrepreneurs who greatly over-estimate their chances of success?

— Daniel Kahneman

Nobel Prize Winner in Economics for Behavioral Economics Research

The current Trump–Silicon Valley consensus—that all forms of regulation somehow constrain the muscular freedom of companies to innovate—is ludicrous.

— Nick Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister of the UK (2010-2015) & Liberal Democrat Leader

One of the great ironies of a company like Meta, where I worked, is that well over 90% of its users are outside the US, yet well over 90% of the bandwidth among decision-makers is focused on what's happening in America. In the end, that just doesn't make sense.

— Nick Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister of the UK (2010-2015) & Liberal Democrat Leader

We're not just over-reliant—we're wholly reliant—on American technology across the entire stack. Our data sits in American cloud infrastructure; our hardware is American designed; our software and operating systems are overwhelmingly American; most of the AI systems people interact with are American, and so on.

— Nick Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister of the UK (2010-2015) & Liberal Democrat Leader

Politicians, by and large, don't understand technology at all, and technologists don't understand politicians—and both tend to denigrate each other. The technologists in Silicon Valley see politicians as venal, short-term, and ignorant, while politicians view technologists as rapacious capitalists who will stop at nothing to beat their rivals and lack any ethical compass.

— Nick Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister of the UK (2010-2015) & Liberal Democrat Leader

You have some smart people gaslighting us into telling us this isn't true... and that's now how history works. Those same people, when a Donald Trump figure comes onto the scene- or some other toxic force- are like who's going to save us? But they discouraged you from believing people had the power to do that.

— Ryan Holiday

Author & Stoicism Expert; Marketer & Media Strategist

If history has taught us anything, it's that women rarely win anything without a fight!

— Cherie Blair

Wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair & Human rights lawyer

Instead of worrying about powerful artificial intelligences in the future, we should be concerned about the lack of intelligence in the Oval Office today!

— Garry Kasparov

World Chess Champion & Political Activist Against Russian Authoritarianism

People like Trump rally people behind them by pointing out threats; these may be real, but most likely are imaginary or inflated. Then he says, 'only I can protect you.'

— Garry Kasparov

World Chess Champion & Political Activist Against Russian Authoritarianism

If you offer no vision for the future, someone else will. Our geopolitics cannot tolerate a vacuum, and if you retreat- whether physically or ideologically- someone else will come up with a plan which may not be complementary for democracy.

— Garry Kasparov

World Chess Champion & Political Activist Against Russian Authoritarianism

History is not linear, like the chapters of a book… History moves through seasons, and so winters are inevitable.

— Garry Kasparov

World Chess Champion & Political Activist Against Russian Authoritarianism

The zeitgeist of this moment is not about charismatic leaders but about an awakened citizenry. This isn't an era of soloists. It's an era of change led by the choir, where everyone is learning to sing their own note by living as authentically as we can.

— Marianne Williamson

Author of "A Return to Love" & Spiritual Activist