Page 192 - Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton

LEADERSHIP SECRETS IN ACTION

certainly don’t face the best of circumstances today, with
our economy faltering and our budget deficits growing.
So to fulfill our responsibility to our children, to pro-
tect and defend our nation while honoring our values, we
have to establish priorities. Now, I’m not trying to mince
words here. As my colleagues in the Senate know, “estab-
lishing priorities” means making tough choices. Because
those choices are so important to the American people, we
must be disciplined in evaluating them—weighing the
costs and consequences of our action or inaction; gauging
the probability of success; and insisting on measurable
results.
Right after I was nominated, a friend told me: “The
world has so many problems. You’ve got your work cut out
for you.” Well, I agree that the problems are many and they
are big. But I don’t get up every morning thinking only
about the threats and dangers we face. With every chal-
lenge comes an opportunity to find promise and possibility
in the face of adversity and complexity. Today’s world calls
forth the optimism and can-do spirit that has marked our
progress for more than two centuries.
Too often we see the ills that plague us more clearly than
the possibilities in front of us. We see threats that must be
thwarted; wrongs that must be righted; conflicts that must
be calmed. But not the partnerships that can be promoted;
the rights that can be reinforced; the innovations that can
be fostered; the people who can be empowered.

x 181 z