I called to the other men that the sky was clearing, and then a moment later I realized that what I had seen was not a rift in the clouds but the white crest of an enormous wave.

I chose life over death for myself and my friends... I believe it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all.

If you're a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you've got to keep going.

Difficulties are just things to overcome after all.

By endurance we conquer.

I have often marveled at the thin line which separates success from failure.

Optimism is true moral courage.

A man must shape himself to a new mark directly the old one goes to ground.

When things are easy, I hate it.

Superhuman effort isn't worth a damn unless it achieves results.

I do not know what 'moss' stands for in the proverb , but if it stood for useful knowledge... I gathered more moss by rolling than I ever did at school.

No gossip ever dies away entirely if many people voice it: it too is a kind of divinity.

To me, there is no greater act of courage than being the one who kisses first.

Modernity is the most transient of qualities.

Music from my iPod was setting my life to a dramatic soundtrack that only I could hear.

What I do is based on powers we all have inside us; the ability to endure; the ability to love, to carry on, to make the best of what we have - and you don't have to be a 'Superman' to do it.

Thorough selfishness destroys or paralyzes enjoyment. A heart made selfish by the contest for wealth is like a citadel stormed in war, utterly shattered.

Whether you like it or not, alcohol helps to create emotional links between humans, too.

In times of tumult, voters are likely to forgive a president, if not reward him, for compromises made in service of solutions.

Language, thought, analysis, art, dance, poetry, mythmaking: these are the things that point the way toward the realm of the eschaton.

Receive Communion often, very often...there you have the sole remedy, if you want to be cured. Jesus has not put this attraction in your heart for nothing.