No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.

No one has ever become poor by giving.

Remember you are just an extra in everyone else’s play.

A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‚I used everything you gave me‘.

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight… the truly wise person is colorblind.

We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!

I believe that one person can make a difference.

If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water’s edge.

You’re not better than anybody else, but you’re not less than anybody else. You’re a child of the Most High God.

Kindnesses are easily forgotten; but injuries! what worthy man does not keep those in mind?

Some people are jerks, and some people aren’t.

You can be young without money but you can’t be old without it.

If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.

The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life.

The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.

Getting money is not all a man’s business: to cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.

Even if my songs are quite sad or quite dark, I don’t want my songs to make people sad. It’s very important for me that all my songs have some kind of hope or light.

I never really had the classic struggle. I had faith.

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing.

All my adult life people have been helping me.

When doubt comes against us, we have to lift up the shield of faith. We do this when we open our mouth and say what God’s Word says, rather than grumbling and complaining about the problem.

Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.

It’s the niceties that make the difference fate gives us the hand, and we play the cards.

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery.

Whether we’re happy with our circumstances or not, giving God praise is so important.

Watch out for the joy-stealers: gossip, criticism, complaining, faultfinding, and a negative, judgmental attitude.

I’m not the sort of person who gives up on things. The first time we crossed the Atlantic in the balloon, it crashed, and we went on and did the Pacific. First time we crossed the Atlantic in a boat, it sank, and we went on and got the record. So, generally speaking, we will pick ourselves up, brush ourselves down, and carry on.

As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.

There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune.

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.

My mother always wanted to give back.

Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.

Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.

Every day that is born into the world comes like a burst of music and rings the whole day through, and you make of it a dance, a dirge, or a life march, as you will.

What I love best in life is new starts.

If you would be loved, love, and be loveable.

If you’re not careful to think and speak words of faith, worry will creep in, and it will not only steal your peace and joy, it will steal your ‚today.‘ The present is the greatest gift God ever gives us. So hold on to the peace that’s yours in Christ. Don’t let it go.

People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things. So the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgments, guilt and anxiety produced by thoughts about the future and so on.

My songs are like my children – I expect them to support me when I’m old.

Read the Bible. Work hard and honestly. And don’t complain.

Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

You’ll see it when you believe it.

Never be ashamed! There’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth bothering with.

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.

The funny thing is people won’t let me pay for things. I’ll be in a restaurant and the manager will say, ‚Oh no, it’s on the house.‘

Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.

Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world.

I get up every morning and say, ‚Father, give me strength today, not strength so I can lift 500 pounds, but give me strength, Lord, so when I speak, my words might motivate, might inspire somebody, Lord, when they see me, let them see you. When they hear me, Lord, let them hear you. In your holy name I pray.‘

If every man loves his mother, he’s going to treat the ladies right, with love and respect.

Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.

When we build, let us think that we build for ever.

There are many harsh lessons to be learned from the gambling experience, but the harshest one of all is the difference between having Fun and being Smart.

You can’t go backward in life.