Affliction may one day smile again; and till then, sit thee down, sorrow!

Plans will get you into things, but you have got to work your way out.

Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.

A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.

First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. The proceed to improve on the worst.

If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain.

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it—but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.

The shell must break before the bird can fly.

So it is more useful to watch a man in time of peril, and in adversity to discern what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask it torn off, reality remains.

If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that setbacks and griefs which endure help us in our march forward.