40 Margaret Thatcher Quotes: Powerful Words from the Iron Lady

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - If you are looking for some powerful motivation, Margaret Thatcher quotes are perfect for you. As one of the most famous female leaders in modern history, her words continue to inspire many people all around the world to this day. 

Margaret Thatcher, known as the Iron Lady, became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979 and served until 1990. As a famous female leader, she led the country for more than a decade during a period of major political and economic change. She was known for her firm decisions, strong leadership style, and bold public speeches, which helped build her powerful global image.

In this article, we have gathered some of the most powerful Margaret Thatcher quotes from various sources, Monday (9/2/2026). Let's check out the powerful words from the Iron Lady that will change your life.

1. “In politics, If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.”

2. “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”

3. “I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.”

4. “I wasn't lucky, I deserved it.”

5. “I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.”

6. “When I'm out of politics I'm going to run a business, it'll be called rent-a-spine”

7. “Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.”

8. "I started out in life with two great advantages: No money and good parents."

9. "We will stand on principle or we will not stand at all."

10. "There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families."

1. “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”

2. Socialists cry “Power to the people”, and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean - power over people, power to the State.

3. "A world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us."

4. "Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking that someone else will pay - that 'someone else' is you. There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers' money."

5. "Do you know that one of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas."

6. "There are too many people who imagine that there is something sophisticated about always believing the best of those who hate your country, and the worst of those who defend it."

7. "Communism produces neither dignity nor prosperity. It takes all power away from the people and places it in the hands of a self-appointed elite. And because it distorts and manipulates the distinctive talents of individuals rather than letting those talents flourish, it prevents progress and prosperity."

8. "Socialists don't like ordinary people choosing, for they might not choose Socialism."

9. “Consensus: “The process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values, and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner: ‘I stand for consensus?”

10. “Being democratic is not enough, a majority cannot turn what is wrong into right. In order to be considered truly free, countries must also have a deep love of liberty and an abiding respect for the rule of law.”

1. “Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.”

2. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”

3. "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it."

4. "You do not achieve anything without trouble, ever."

5. "Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. And watch your character for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become. "

6. "Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction."

7. "Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides."

8. "The desire to win is born in most of us. The will to win is a matter of training. The manner of winning is a matter of honour."

9. "You don't win by just being against things, you only win by being for things and making your message perfectly clear."

10. “It used to be about trying to do something. Now it's about trying to be someone.”

11. “To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.”

12. “I do not know anyone who has gotten to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but it will get you pretty near.”

13. “Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan”

14. “Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it”

15. “It pays to know the enemy - not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.”

16. "The first step in calculating which way to go is to find out where you are."

17. "Choice is the essence of ethics: if there were no choice there would be no ethics, no good, no evil; good and evil have meaning only insofar as man is free to choose."

18. "If your only opportunity is to be equal then it is not opportunity."

19. "Never flinch. Make up your own mind and do it."

20. "What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose."