I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.

This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.

There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.

The sun doesn’t always shine in West Virginia, but the people do.

The most important 6 inches on the battlefield is between your ears.

In all my work, in the movies I write, the lyrics, the poetry, the prose, the essays, I am saying that we may encounter many defeats – maybe it’s imperative that we encounter the defeats – but we are much stronger than we appear to be and maybe much better than we allow ourselves to be. Human beings are more alike than unalike.

We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future.

On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit.

I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a manmade world.

To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.

What you put into life is what you get out of it.

I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.

Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value.

Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.

We will move forward, we will move upward, and yes, we will move onward.

Having nothing, nothing can he lose.

If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

Fortitude is the marshal of thought, the armor of the will, and the fort of reason.

It is not God’s will merely that we should be happy, but that we should make ourselves happy.

A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.

We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle.

There is love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look.

Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks.

I make preparations both to live and to die every day, but with the emphasis on not dying, and on acting as if I was going to carry on living.

It would be a terrific innovation if you could get your mind to stretch a little further than the next wisecrack.

I think the tiniest little thing can change the course of your day, which can change the course of your year, which can change who you are.

Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. You can never lose it, and it cannot leave you. It is not dependent on some other body, some external form.

It’s not fun to get out of bed early in the morning. When the alarm goes off, it doesn’t sing you a song: it hits you in the head with a baseball bat. So how do you respond to that? Do you crawl underneath your covers and hide? Or do you get up, get aggressive, and attack the day?

You can kill ten of our men for every one we kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and we will win.

It is better to be high-spirited even though one makes more mistakes, than to be narrow-minded and all too prudent.

If pleasures are greatest in anticipation, just remember that this is also true of trouble.

I was bullied as a boy – lots of kids are, but hopefully most of us get on with our lives and grow up.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.

Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace.

Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.

Many people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.

A lot of people have it a lot worse than you do.

Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.

I’m like a recovering perfectionist. For me it’s one day at a time.

Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true.

Sometimes God will deliver you from the fire, and other times God will make you fireproof.

The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.

Let God’s promises shine on your problems.

Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.

But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles.

The best scientist is open to experience and begins with romance – the idea that anything is possible.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.

So many people have this idea: I want to achieve something great or be somebody great. And they neglect the step that leads to greatness. They don’t honor this step at this moment because they have this idea of some future moment where they are going to be great.

Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.

I was in my late thirties when my eyes were opened to truth in God’s Word that showed me I wasn’t living the abundant life Jesus died for me to have. I had a very negative mindset and was miserable most of the time because of the abuse I had experienced throughout my childhood.

I’m one of the luckiest people on earth.

No untroubled day has ever dawned for me.

You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Life’s too short to deal with other people’s insecurities.

If life gives you limes, make margaritas.

Anyone can have a good day, but you have to be able to perform on a bad day.

Like every man of sense and good feeling, I abominate work.