Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

You cannot find peace by avoiding life.

Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

When we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never attribute it to others, but to ourselves; that is, to our own principles.

Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to your will, unless itself wills it.

Lameness is an impediment to the leg, but not to the will; and say this to yourself with regard to everything that happens.

Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible, be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death; and you will never entertain any abject thought.

Is your child dead? It has been given back. Is your wife dead? She has been given back. Is your estate taken away? Well, and is not that likewise given back?

Remember that foul words or blows in themselves are no outrage, but your judgment that they are so.

Difficulties are things that show what men are.

Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.

Does your head ache? Be not hasty to curse. Does your ear ache? Be not hasty to lament.

I must die. But must I die groaning? I must be imprisoned. But must I whine as well?

I must suffer exile. Can any man then hinder me from going with a smile, and a good courage, and at peace?

Count the days on which you have not been angry: 'I used to be angry every day; now every other day; then every third and fourth day.' If you have passed thirty days, offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

You are no longer a boy, but a full-grown man. If you are careless and lazy now, and keep putting things off, you will remain without improving, living and dying as an ordinary person.

And if any task, whether agreeable or painful, be set before you, remember that the contest is now, the Olympic Games are now, and delay is no longer possible.

When he is impeded or hindered, he blames only himself.

In one word, he keeps watch over himself as over an enemy and an intriguer.

What would have become of Hercules do you think if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar, and no savage and wild beasts to drive him into the arena?

What would he have done under such circumstances? Obviously he would have rolled himself up in a blanket and slept.

It is trials that show what a man is. When trouble arrives, greet it as the sparring partner sent to make you an Olympic champion.

When a raven croaks in an inauspicious manner, let not the impression carry you away, but immediately distinguish in your mind and say: 'None of these omens is for me; but either for my body, or my property, or my reputation, or my children.'

The ancient saying, 'Yield and overcome,' is not an empty phrase. Truly, if you yield, you will be whole.

The soft and the yielding overcome the hard and the strong.

The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no substance enters where there is no crevice.

Nothing in the world is more soft and yielding than water. Yet for attacking the hard and strong, nothing can surpass it.

Hardness and rigidity are companions of death. Softness and flexibility are companions of life.

Therefore an army that cannot yield will be defeated. A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind.

The hard and strong will fall. The soft and weak will overcome.

I love those who do not know how to live unless by going under, for they are the ones who cross over.

You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame; how could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes?

He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.

Can you be your own judge and the avenger of your own law? Terrible is it to be alone with the judge and the avenger of one's own law.

It is not the strength, but the duration, of great sentiments that makes great men.

The thought of suicide is a powerful solace: by means of it one gets through many a bad night.

Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.

Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it—all idealism is mendacity in the face of what is necessary—but love it.

For believe me, the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is: to live dangerously!

Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius! Send your ships into uncharted seas!

He who has a firm will molds the world to himself.

The tree that would grow to heaven must send its roots to hell.

I want to have my lions and my eagles about me, that I may always have hints and premonitions to know whether my strength increaseth or decreaseth.

To endure my solitude I was in need of war; I had to force myself into the open, to defend myself.

One must be a sea, to receive a polluted stream without becoming impure.

No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen.

When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink; but when you try to sink, you float.

Insecurity is the very condition of life. To resist it is to resist life itself.

To be afraid of life is to be afraid of death. And to be afraid of death is to be unable to live.

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.

There is no birth of consciousness without pain.

No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.

Find out what you fear most; that is where you will find your next growth.

A man who has not passed through the inferno of his passions has never overcome them.

There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.

We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it and liberate its creative energy.

Nobody can fall so low unless he has a great depth. If such a thing happens, it signifies that he must now descend into his own depth.

The highest, most decisive moments of life are often accompanied by fear.

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Meaning makes a great many things endurable—perhaps everything.

The shadow is a tight passage, a narrow door, whose painful constriction no one is spared who goes down to the deep well.

The treasure you seek is hidden in the cave you fear to enter.

The most intense conflicts, if overcome, leave behind a sense of security and calm that is not easily disturbed.

I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live.

The first and greatest victory is to conquer oneself; to be conquered by one's own weakness is of all things most shameful.

A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether what he is doing is right or wrong.

No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death, nor are his affairs neglected by the gods.

The greatest honor you can pay to virtue is to practice it when no one is watching and no reward is promised.

Wisdom begins with self-discipline; an undisciplined mind is blown about by every passing wind of appetite.

Let him that would move the world first move himself.

Better to stumble while running toward the truth than to sit contentedly in the lap of error.

The beauty of the soul shines outward when a man bears with equanimity one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.

It is better to suffer an injustice than to commit one, for suffering an injustice harms only the body, but committing one ruins the soul.

Do not be angry with me for speaking the truth; for no man will preserve his life who genuinely opposes the multitude and prevents many unjust deeds from taking place.

Neither in war nor in the courts of law ought any man to use every craft to escape death.

Wherever a man has taken a position that he believes to be best, there he must remain and face danger, taking into account neither death nor anything else before dishonor.

The difficult thing, my friends, is not to flee from death, but much rather to flee from wickedness, for it runs swifter than death.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical and mental training; what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without seeing the strength and beauty of which his body and mind are capable.

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.

You can do no harm to me; for it is not permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.

Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.

Be of good cheer about death, and know of this truth: that no evil can happen to a good man, whether in life or after death.

When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want air when you are under water, then you will have it.

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.

We shall be better and braver and less helpless if we believe that one must search for what one does not know, than if we believe it impossible to find.

What is to give light must endure burning.

Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I will obey the god rather than you, and as long as I have breath and strength I will never cease from philosophy.

The truly good and prudent man bears all the chances of life with dignity and always does the best with what is available to him.

In the arena of human life, honors and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities in action.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Even in the midst of misfortunes, nobility of soul shines forth when a man bears many heavy burdens with calm patience, not from lack of feeling, but from greatness of heart.

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.

The brave man is not he who feels no fear, but he who noble-mindedly faces that which is terrible.

The magnanimous person does not run into trifling dangers, but in great dangers he is unsparing of his life, knowing that there are terms on which life is not worth living.

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

Choice, not chance, determines your destiny.

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.

If you're going through hell, keep going.

Truth and justice are by nature more powerful than their opposites; when the right cause is defeated, it is due to the fault of its defenders.

The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is ready, in great crises, to give even his life.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light of virtue.

Never, never, never give up.

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.

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

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

No one succeeds without effort... Mind control is not your birthright. Those who have succeeded owe their success to perseverance.

Don't count the days, make the days count.

Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny.

Whatever you think, that you will be. If you think yourselves weak, weak you will be; if you think yourselves strong, strong you will be.

The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so.

Fear is the greatest cause of all our sufferings and weakness.

Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject it as poison.

We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.

Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.

The cheerful mind perseveres and the strong mind hews its way through a thousand difficulties.

Never say 'No', never say 'I cannot', for you are infinite. All the power is within you.

Do not look back, look forward! Infinite energy, infinite enthusiasm, infinite daring, and infinite patience—then alone can great deeds be accomplished.

In the day when you have not come across any problems—you can be sure that you are traveling in a wrong path.

You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

The highest manifestation of power is in being calm.

He who struggles is better than he who never attempts.

To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. 'I will drink the ocean,' says the persevering soul.

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

Never think yourself weak. The greatest sin is to think yourself weak.

Character, not circumstance, makes the person.

Have faith that you are born to do great things.

Stand upon the rock of your own convictions.

Every obstacle is an opportunity to forge character.

Let your actions speak with the force of thunder.

The mind that knows no fear knows no defeat.

Awaken the giant within your own consciousness.

Live like a lion in the forest of life, fearless and serene.

Where there is selflessness, there is ultimate victory.

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

Full effort is full victory.

To lose patience is to lose the battle.

You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.

Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation.

To practice non-violence requires more courage than to wield a sword.

Fear has no place in our hearts when we are anchored in truth.

Purity of mind is the greatest shield against adversity.

Every noble work is at first impossible.

Where there is no courage, there is no virtue.

Walk forward with truth, and fear will vanish like mist.

Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless when facing them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.

The river has its burden of water, but it carries it forward to the sea.

The mountain remains unmoved by the passing storm.

He who carries peace within his chest walks unharmed through fire.

Dance with the winds of change, but stay anchored in your center.

The soul was made for soaring, not for crawling in the dust.

The gentle stream cuts through granite through relentless patience.

The stars shine brightest when the night is deepest.

The silent sky holds all storms without breaking.

To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.

Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.

Work out your own salvation with diligence.

Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.

Irrigators channel water; fletchers straighten arrows; carpenters bend wood; the wise master themselves.

The master of oneself is the master of all realms.

Patience is the fortress of the awakened soul.

The lotus blossoms in the mud, untainted by water.

Master your senses as a charioteer masters horses.

The greatest strength is staying centered in the storm.

No external circumstance can diminish your true nature.

Stay unshakeable in the truth of who you are.

Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along.

The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.

Persistence guarantees that results are inevitable.

Will is the power of the soul in dynamic action.

The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory in overcoming it.

Every trial is a silent lesson in divine endurance.

When you conquer your own mind, you conquer the world.

Faith moves the mountains that doubt has created.

Inner peace is the foundation of all authentic power.

The mind that rests in stillness discovers infinite strength.

Master your attention and you master your destiny.

Every obstacle is a stepping stone to higher realization.

Walk fearlessly, knowing that divine light protects your steps.

Let peace be your fortress and love your sword.

Live with radiant purpose and divine enthusiasm.

Stand firm in the storm like a mighty oak.

Sheer will and faith are the twin wings of spiritual victory.

The greatest strength is quiet, unshakeable faith in the ideal.

Adversity is the chisel that carves the divine image out of rough human clay.

We must conquer not only our minds, but our bodies and vital energies.

Do not be afraid of the heights; you were born for the peaks.

The hero is he who dares to walk the unexplored path to the summit.

Do not compromise with inner weakness; confront it with light.

The seeker of truth must possess the courage of a lion.

Do not look down; keep your gaze fixed upon the stars.

Inner peace is the shield that deflects every hostile arrow.

The master is one who has transformed his lowest impulses into light.

The light within is the master of all circumstance.

Stand firm upon the rock of your divine origin.

Do not be distracted by the passing clouds of adversity.

Stand unshakeable in the truth that you are divine.

In the crucible of dedicated effort, character is purified.

Live in the radiant certitude of spiritual victory.

As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.

Discipline is the root of prosperity.

A debt should be paid to the last penny, an enemy conquered to the last man, and a disease treated to the very root.

A sharp intellect combined with decisive action conquers all obstacles.

Patience in adversity is the true mark of courage.

The best defense is an alert and disciplined mind.

He who seeks true knowledge must conquer indolence and sleep.

Preserve your dignity even in the midst of poverty.

He who masters his temper masters his destiny.

Walk with clarity and act with unyielding purpose.

The lion does not wait for prey to enter his mouth; he hunts with vigor.

The wise man turns every obstacle into a strategic advantage.

The foundation of all enduring success is unyielding discipline.

Cultivate self-reliance and fear no change of fortune.

Stand firm in your duties and let the world take note.

Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

After the storm has soaked the earth, the ground hardens into stone.

The broken bowl repaired with gold is more radiant than the unbroken one.

Where there is a dark shadow, a brilliant light is guaranteed to be standing nearby.

The water that yields to the riverbed eventually carves through the stone.

The bow must bend before the arrow can fly toward its mark.

The foolish old man who moved mountains did so by removing one stone at a time.

A jade stone cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without trials.

The mountain does not bow to the storm, yet it allows the white clouds to drape gently over its shoulders.

The bamboo bends before the howling wind, and so it survives the hurricane unbowed.

A tree with deep, unyielding roots smiles when the tempest roars through the forest.

The water that carves through the canyon does so not through fury, but through unceasing persistence.

Patience is the invincible shield in the hand of the righteous; what can the fire of the wicked do to one who stands on ground that cannot burn?

The sun rises red in the morning and sets red in the evening; so too the truly noble remain unchanged in prosperity and in adversity.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

However long the night may linger, the dawn will surely break.

The best way out is always through.

Through hardships and severe trials, we reach the shining stars.

Difficulty is what shows what human beings truly are.

While I breathe, I hope.

No tree becomes deeply rooted and sturdy unless many a harsh wind assails it.

If winter comes, can spring be far behind?

The tide will turn, however long and bleak the ebb may seem.

No tree grows sturdy and resilient without fierce winds to test its grain.

Grief softens the hardened heart, but courage binds the broken bones.

The soul would possess no radiant rainbow had the eyes no tears.

The river flows through the granite canyon not by fighting the stone, but by embracing its contours.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through. But one thing is certain: when you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in.

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for any man to accomplish.

There are two things a person should never be angry at: what they can help, and what they cannot.

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

Courage is a kind of salvation.

To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.

Self-conquest is the greatest of victories.

When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.

We are twice armed if we fight with faith.

The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily.

To be conquered by oneself is the greatest shame, but to conquer oneself is the greatest glory.

Nothing beautiful without struggle.

Let us be brave, and the gods will fight on our side.

The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.

Choose not to be harmed—and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed—and you haven't been.

Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.

Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.

Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear.

Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it.

Whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my color.

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.

The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm.

Do not let future things disturb you, for you will come to them, if you shall at all, having the same reason which now you use on present things.

Do not be ashamed of being helped. It is your duty to achieve your work, like a soldier on the battlements.

The mind that is free from passion is a citadel; for man has no stronger place than this to which he can flee.

To be like the rock which the waves keep crashing over. It stands, unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it.

No man can rob you of your will.

The blazing fire makes flames and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.

You have survived so much; why surrender now?

Let no one hear you complain, not even yourself.

Stand like an anvil when it is beaten upon. A great champion must be struck and yet conquer.

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

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.

Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men.

Nothing is burdensome if taken lightly, and nothing need arouse your irritation so long as you don't make it irritate you.

How does it help to make troubles heavier by weeping over them?

It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.

A great pilot can sail even when his canvas is rent.

To wish to be well is a part of becoming well.

No tree becomes deep-rooted and sturdy unless frequent gales buffet it.

He who has begun his task has accomplished half. Dare to be wise and carry through.

Nothing is so bitter that a calm mind cannot find comfort in it.

Do not ask for a lighter burden; seek shoulders broad enough to carry it.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

He who has courage has everything.

To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden.

A voyage through rough waters only proves the skill of the steersman.

It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it.

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.

The good things of prosperity are to be wished; but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired.

The greatest cure for sorrow is work and purposeful engagement.

No man is crushed by misfortune unless he has first been deceived by prosperity.

Gold is tested by fire, brave men by misfortune.

Stand firm, for the tempest will not last forever, but the dignity of your soul will endure.

Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.

The cure for pain is in the pain.

In the blackest of your moments, wait with no fear.

The lion is most handsome when looking for food.

Don't sit and wait. Get out there, feel life. Touch the sun, and immerse in the sea.

Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.

Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy.

The moon stays bright when it doesn't avoid the night.

Run from what's comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.

Shine like the whole universe is yours.

Don't turn your head. Keep looking at the bandaged place. That is where the light enters you.

You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep.

A mountain does not tremble before the wind.

As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.

The rose's rarest essence lives in the thorn.

The wound is the place where the light enters you.

What you seek is seeking you.