The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year.

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

No all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path.

Waves are inspiring not because they rise and fall, but because each time they fall they never fail to rise again.

I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.

A series of failures may culminate in the best possible result.

Put your greatest possession on the tallest shelf, so if you fall you have something to reach for.

If you feel pain, you're alive. If you feel other people's pain, you're a human being.

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.

Dying is nothing. What is terrible is not to live.

The truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is dull without it.

Nobody is equal to anybody. Even the same man is not equal to himself on different days.

Vigor is found in the man who has not yet grown old, and discretion in the man who is not too young.

There are a thousand excuses for failure but never a good reason.

There is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life.

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.

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.

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.

You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true, and also fierce, you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her.

The opposite is beneficial; from things that differ comes the fastest fairest attunement; all things are born through strife.

Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible. The kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.

In school, you are given the lesson first. One the street, you're given the mistake first and then it's up to you to find the lesson, if you ever find it.

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Football is like life—it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.

You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise.

Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.

Against all odds and despite all the obstacles, we are going to make it.

Half-finished work generally proves to be labor lost.