Rosalynn Carter

“You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you've tried. If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk.”

“When I announced my focus on mental health as first lady of Georgia in 1971, none but five mental health advocates in the state wanted to be involved with the issue.”

“It's just unbelievable to me that the National Rifle Association has so much power.”

“If you look at suicides, most of them are connected to depression. And the mental health system just fails them. It's so sad. We know what to do. We just don't do it.”

“My mother made all of our clothes, my friends' mothers made all of their clothes. This was the Depression.”

“If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk.”

“For Jimmy and me, Iowa holds a special place in our hearts. During his presidential campaign I spent over 100 days in Iowa. I visited 105 communities and knocked on more doors and met more Iowans than anyone thought possible.”

“We know how to treat depression, we know how to treat mental illness, and we have not had the political will in our country to make it happen.”

“I've always worked - I can't stay at home and do Cokes and teas, although I think that for those people who want to do that, then that's surely important to them.”

“I've never had time for friends. I've always worked too hard.”

“I hope I've contributed something to the mental health field. But I hope people will think - I've had so many wonderful opportunities, I tried to take advantage of them.”

“I've watched my family grow, I've traveled around the world and I've had a chance to contribute some, I think.”

“When I was first lady, I worked to call attention to the plight of refugees fleeing Cambodia for Thailand, I visited Thailand and witnessed firsthand the trauma of parents and children separated by circumstance beyond their control.”

“Being a caregiver requires infinite patience, physical and emotional strength, health care navigation skills, and a sense of humor - which can be hard to come by after sleepless nights and demanding days.”

“One day, I made a remark that I might work with people with mental illness, and somebody in the press heard it, and it was in the paper. And the more I thought about it and found out about it, the more I thought it was just a terrible situation with no attention. And I've been working on it ever since.”

“My philosophy is that you do what you have to do.”

“You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.”

“You can make the First Lady's job whatever you want it to be. To some women the job is more involved with the entertaining. They feel at home doing the things at home.”

“There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home.”

“Don't worry about polls, but if you do, don't admit it.”