As water downs ships but upholds leaves, and as fires burn cities but refines gold, so do life's troubles propel the meek to greatnessand the proud to ruin.

A genuine smile is one of the world’s rarest treasures.

A fish that is afraid of drowning in a river is ignorant of its gifts.

A diamond earns its sparkle from the pressure it endures.

It is in the storm, not the calm, that a rainbow is born.

A determined seed cannot be hidden from the world, not even by dirt.

Calm skies don't make skillful eagles.

If you cry in the rain, only the sky will see your tears.

Birds keep singing beautiful songs, even if they have no audience.

Today's storms help you appreciate tomorrow’s sunshine.

Train the ears to hear more, the eyes to see more, the hands to do more, the feet to accomplish more, the mind to think more, the heart to feel more, and the soul to love more.

With organization comes empowerment.

Maybe, now and then, we have to give up a portion of our kingdoms--the things we hold dearest--to find what it is God wants for us.

What is food to one man is bitter poison to others.

I'm not interesting enough on my own that you'd want to see a film about me.

Synchronizing mind and body is not a concept or a random technique someone thought up for self-improvement. Rather, it is a basic principle of how to be a human being.

You've got to take the initiative and play your game. In a decisive set, confidence is the difference.

In a novel, it's hard to keep track of everybody

Do something you hate every day, just for the practice.

Be conservative in its sending behavior, and liberal in its receiving behavior.

I think I've only spent about ten percent of my energies on writing. The other ninety percent went to keeping my head above water.