Eric Greitens

“Teach your children early not to pass the blame or make excuses, but to take responsibility for their actions.”

“In the name of "force protection," the military often rolls up windows, builds walls, and points rifles at the outside world. The best force protection, however, is to be surrounded by friends and allies.”

“It's very important for us as a group of Navy SEALs, to make sure that the message that we send to the country is that we're ready to serve any commander in chief, the elected head of the armed forces, that the people of the United States elect. That is our mission, that's our duty, as Navy SEALs.”

“Trial lawyers can sue people in the state of Missouri, and because of how broken the system is, if they win just one dollar for their client, they still get paid huge legal fees. For too long in this state, trial lawyers have picked our people's pockets.”

“I'm proud that many of Missouri's lawmakers stood strong to protect the lives of the innocent unborn and women's health.”

“Our firefighters, they show up every day to fight fires. If, God forbid, there's a situation where they have to fight cancer, they shouldn't have to fight bureaucrats to get the care they deserve.”

“God has a way of helping you to move through suffering and actually become stronger.”

“I am a conservative Republican, but I didn't start out that way. I was raised as a Democrat.”

“The people who believe in voter intimidation believe that the minute you make a political donation, that you immediately need to turn all your information over to the government.”

“Of course fear does not automatically lead to courage. Injury does not necessarily lead to insight. Hardship will not automatically make us better. Pain can break us or make us wiser. Suffering can destroy us or make us stronger. Fear can cripple us, or it can make us more courageous. It is resilience that makes the difference.”

“I'm not after anything, I don't want to be part of politics, I don't want to be a part of anything.”

“I was at this dinner for Rhodes Scholars. And we were in the Rhodes mansion, which is this fancy mansion on the Oxford campus. And I remember I looked up in the rotunda, and I saw that etched into the marble were the names of Rhodes Scholars who had left Oxford, and had fought and died in World War II.”

“Alone, human beings can feel hunger. Alone, we can feel cold. Alone, we can feel pain. To feel poor, however, is something we do only in comparison to others.”

“Since Bin Laden's death, many Americans have decided that our job in Afghanistan is done. They see a victory in the counterterrorism campaign, and are tired of the corruption, confusion and dysfunction of the nation-building campaign.”

“I read Mitch Daniels's book, 'Keeping the Republic,' several times.”

“Take care of your people" is one of the principle lessons of military leadership. If we take care of our people on deployment, why should that change when we come home?”

“Tort reform is important. We need to prevent trial lawyers from killing good jobs.”

“Resilience is distinct from mere survival, and more than mere endurance. Resilience is often endurance with direction.”

“I'd finished a dissertation, writing about how international humanitarian organizations worked with kids in war zones and then I made this transition from the academic world to officer candidate school and to the SEAL teams. It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”

“To be very clear, I have completely ruled out state funding for stadiums.”