Welcome to a collection of profound insights and thought-provoking reflections from Eric Greitens. As a former Navy SEAL, humanitarian, and author, Greitens brings a unique perspective to matters of leadership, resilience, and the human condition. His experiences have shaped his understanding of adversity, courage, and the pursuit of excellence, offering invaluable wisdom for individuals navigating their own paths in life.
Through his writings and speeches, Eric Greitens inspires others to embrace challenges with determination and integrity. Whether discussing the principles of leadership forged in the crucible of combat or the importance of service to others, his words resonate with clarity and depth. Within these quotes, you’ll find a treasure trove of insights to ponder, apply, and share with others on your journey towards personal growth and fulfillment.
Below, you’ll find a selection of Eric Greitens’ most compelling quotes, ready to be copied, paired with images, or enhanced with stylish fonts to amplify their impact and significance. Dive in, explore, and let these words ignite your own inner strength and resilience.
In Missouri, we built the steamships that plied the Mississippi. It was people of Missouri who believed that a human being could fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone. And it was Missourians who built the capsule in which an American first orbited the earth. Eric Greitens
One of the great things about the SEAL teams in particular, and the American military in general, is the tremendous diversity of backgrounds and experience that people bring to their service. Eric Greitens
Every generation of Americans who has fought, every generation of Americans who has served, has suffered. Eric Greitens
When I was in Iraq and Afghanistan, I never once turned to someone before a raid on a house and said, ‘Hey, man, are you a Democrat or a Republican?’ Eric Greitens
Before I became a SEAL, I’d done humanitarian work around the world – with refugee families in Bosnia, with unaccompanied children in Rwanda, with kids who lost limbs to land mines in Cambodia. Eric Greitens
I don’t think that we need to raise tuition on our students. I don’t think that our students should be made to pay for the mistakes of our past politicians and the promises they made. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
I believe that you have to live a life that involves both courage and compassion. Eric Greitens
I’m proud that many of Missouri’s lawmakers stood strong to protect the lives of the innocent unborn and women’s health. Eric Greitens
We need a modern government that allows people to do more on-line instead of making them wait in line. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
Whenever we love or care for anything in our lives we’re willing to respond with care and with compassion, but if something that we love or someone we love is threatened, we’re also willing to respond with courage. Eric Greitens
It’s really important to have role models, and a lot of the ancients always talked about this. Seneca talked about this, Aristotle talked about this, and in fact, this was my boxing coach’s philosophy in college, was that you have to have role models. Eric Greitens
When you have law-abiding citizens who are actively ready to protect themselves and their family, that reduces crime. Eric Greitens
The best way to honor the legacy of a person who’s passed is to find a way to support the living. Eric Greitens
The fact is, Missouri’s budget is broken. For decades, insiders, special interests, lobbyists and prior politicians have made a mess of our budget. Eric Greitens
Anyone who is willing to take a bullet for this country, anyone who is willing to serve in uniform, should at the end of their military service be given an opportunity to become an American citizen. Eric Greitens
We are fighting to bring more jobs to the people of Missouri. Eric Greitens
There is no room for anti-Semitism in the Republican Party, and the leaders need to show that. Eric Greitens
As the Obama administration negotiates with the Karzai government and with Pakistan, we may be tempted to make commitments that, in the name of nation-building, restrict our ability to fight terrorists. If we must involve the Afghan government in every night raid, our operations will slow and targets will escape. Eric Greitens
Sometimes the purpose of our opponents is to be our teachers. Eric Greitens
Defeating a terrorist organization is like fighting a forest fire; there’s never a clear moment of victory, and even after you’ve won, you have to watch carefully. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
I became a conservative because I believe that caring for people means more than just spending taxpayer money; it means delivering results. It means respecting and challenging our citizens, telling them what they need to hear, not simply what they want to hear. Eric Greitens
The more successful Navy SEALs there are, the more glory it reflects on the community and the better it is for our country. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
Success means eliminating Al Qaeda’s ability to launch terrorist attacks against the United States and our allies. Eric Greitens
Part of the attraction of the SEAL teams was the incredible tests that it offered. Eric Greitens
In any leadership, whenever you’re facing a tough challenge, find ways to bring people together and get them to serve together. Eric Greitens
Teach your children early not to pass the blame or make excuses, but to take responsibility for their actions. Eric Greitens
People know if you care about them. How do you show people that you care? By caring for them. By putting their needs first. By sacrificing for them. By serving them. Do that, and you’ll build a great team. Eric Greitens
Both Sheena and I are working parents, and we know how hard it is to balance work and parenting. Eric Greitens
To be very clear, I have completely ruled out state funding for stadiums. Eric Greitens
Children who know that they have something to offer others will learn that they can shape the world around them for the better. Eric Greitens
If you care about people, then you’re willing to act not just with compassion, but you’re also willing to act with courage. Eric Greitens
I think there are a couple of key lessons that come from Judaism that shaped my life. One of them is the idea we have a duty to repair the world, and all of us should play a role in our lives in trying to repair the world and to make the world better for the next generation. Eric Greitens
Tort reform is important. We need to prevent trial lawyers from killing good jobs. Eric Greitens
I was raised to stand up for the little guy, for working families and the middle class. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
The world needs many more humanitarians than it needs warriors, but there can be none of the former without enough of the latter. Eric Greitens
Ask yourself, how can I learn from the people around me. Often, your mentors are already in your life; you just haven’t yet found a way to learn from them. Eric Greitens
Everyone needs resilience. It’s a virtue essential to growth and essential to happiness. Eric Greitens
My parents were both Democrats and I grew up as a Democrat. Basically I was told that the Democrats were the party that cared about people. I liked people and I cared about them, so I was a Democrat. Eric Greitens
I am a conservative Republican, but I didn’t start out that way. I was raised as a Democrat. Eric Greitens
When vets come home from war they are going through a tremendous change in identity. Then the VA, and others, encourage them to view themselves as disabled. Eric Greitens
I’ve never been in politics before, but even in the brief time that I’ve been running for governor, I’ve been exposed to some of the worst people I’ve ever known. Liars, cowards, sociopaths. Eric Greitens
Our state’s world famous motto, ‘Show me,’ reminds us that Missourians don’t much value big talk. Eric Greitens
I’m running for Governor because we need a political outsider to move Missouri forward. Eric Greitens
I’m proud to be Jewish. Eric Greitens
In failure, children learn how to struggle with adversity and how to confront fear. By reflecting on failure, children begin to see how to correct themselves and then try again with better results. Eric Greitens
It’s oftentimes the case that relief workers, people who’ve been involved in development projects and foreign assistance, have a real understanding of foreign cultures that the military desperately needs if we’re going to be able to work effectively. Eric Greitens
Like the plague, opioids kill the young, the old, the healthy, the sick, the virtuous and the sinful. Eric Greitens
We need to make sure we’re making a distinction between violent felons who are in this country illegally and children who were brought here through no fault of their own, who have grown up here in America. Eric Greitens
The mistake that I made was that I was engaged in a consensual relationship with a woman who was not my wife. That is a mistake for which I am very sorry. Eric Greitens
The more I thought about myself, the weaker I got. The more I recognized that I was serving a purpose larger than myself, the stronger I got. Eric Greitens
We have a culture of political corruption in Jefferson City. We have corrupt politicians, well-paid lobbyists and special-interest insiders taking the state in the wrong direction. Eric Greitens
I actually think it’s very important that the Navy SEAL community stay out of politics. Eric Greitens
I don’t think many people want to say to themselves that they’ve quit. At the same time, we’ve all failed in our lives, we’ve all failed at different things in different ways and I think there’s a lot to be said about facing that failure squarely. Eric Greitens
We’ve already seen other candidates set up these secretive super PACs where they don’t take any responsibility for what they’re funding… because that’s how the game has always been played. I’ve been very proud to tell people, ‘I’m stepping forward, and you can see every single one of our donors.’ Eric Greitens
For too long, Missouri has been run by career politicians, owned by corrupt consultants, high-paid lobbyists and special interests. Eric Greitens
What happens for a lot of veterans when they come home, especially when they get back to their community is that they can go to a very tough and hard place and they start to wonder, ‘What’s next for me?’ and they ask themselves, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ Eric Greitens
I first started doing service, actually, as a kid, doing service projects. Later in college, I started doing international humanitarian work that brought me to places like Bosnia, Rwanda. Eric Greitens
We are not going to use money from the people of the state of Missouri for what I believe is corporate welfare. We’ve got far too many core priorities of government that have to be invested in. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
We need to protect every life and that we need to defend the lives of the unborn. Eric Greitens
Young men often seek tests and trials, and to me, BUD/S training – basic underwater demolition/SEAL – seemed like the ultimate test. Eric Greitens
I’m not after anything, I don’t want to be part of politics, I don’t want to be a part of anything. Eric Greitens
I had a great time at Oxford, got a wonderful, wonderful education there. Eric Greitens
One of the things that I’ve found in everything that I’ve done: People want leaders to create a sense of direction and to lead and to act. Eric Greitens
I read Mitch Daniels’s book, ‘Keeping the Republic,’ several times. Eric Greitens
I did a lot of humanitarian work before I joined the military. Eric Greitens
I came to see that it wasn’t enough just to care about people. You also had to build systems in which you could ensure that there are results and accountability. Eric Greitens
The U.S. military may well be the best-integrated large institution on the planet. You have people from every corner of the country, every ethnic background, every walk of life, and we all come together to serve. Eric Greitens
The fact is, I was elected governor of the state of Missouri to bring more jobs to the state of Missouri. Eric Greitens
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. Eric Greitens
People understand the tremendous sacrifices that veterans have made – and they instinctively want to do something for them. And that sometimes leads people to give veterans an excuse: Oh, you didn’t show up for work on time. It must be that you have posttraumatic stress disorder. Oh, you’re disabled. Don’t even try. Eric Greitens
I know the pride of carrying our nation’s flag abroad – and I have felt the grief of burying too many friends beneath that flag at home. Eric Greitens
I’m very confident that God has a way of bringing good from difficulty. Eric Greitens
Right to work doesn’t eliminate unions. It makes them more responsible and accountable to their members on the front lines. Eric Greitens
It certainly could be that there are prejudices around. I can only speak to what I have lived, and I have experienced that people have been incredibly welcoming to me as a Jewish Republican. Eric Greitens
Every entrepreneur has to deal with hardship, but if we’re tough enough and thoughtful enough, we can find a way to make hard things make us better. Eric Greitens
If you want to start or grow a business in the state of Missouri and hire more people with good jobs, I will be your friend and ally. Eric Greitens
When people have jobs in a thriving economy, it solves a lot of problems. Eric Greitens
It’s only in the act of pushing yourself, challenging yourself to make a contribution to your community, to your family, to your country, that you actually realize your full self, you know? Eric Greitens
What matters is what you do. And this runs counter to what a lot of the culture teaches people about putting feelings first. By contrast, resilient people focus not on what they intend, but on what they achieve. Eric Greitens
You don’t reduce crime by taking away guns from law-abiding citizens. Eric Greitens
Resilience is distinct from mere survival, and more than mere endurance. Resilience is often endurance with direction. Eric Greitens
When we make these decisions that we’re going to commit ourselves to making a difference in the life of one person every single day, what happens is we actually build a whole generation of citizen leaders. Eric Greitens
After four tours of duty as a Navy SEAL officer, I came home from Iraq and watched the VA – the second-biggest bureaucracy in the country – fail my friends. The VA was broken and my friends were suffering. And yet, time and again, the only ‘solution’ I heard from liberals was to spend more money. It made me angry. Eric Greitens
God has a way of helping you to move through suffering and actually become stronger. Eric Greitens
Your children should know that you’re always there for them, and that they can call on you when needed. But give them the opportunity to learn to solve their own problems. Eric Greitens
Missourians are a hardworking people. They want good, quality jobs. Eric Greitens
So Hell Week is considered to be the hardest week of the hardest military training in the world. It is a week of continuous military training during which most classes sleep for a total of two to five hours over the course of the entire week. Eric Greitens
