Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

Recommended reading: The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

Recommended reading: Wins, Losses, and Lessons: An Autobiography.

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

Recommended reading: Man’s Search for Meaning.

To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.

Recommended reading: The Salmon of Doubt.

Judge people not by what they are, but by what they strive to become.

Recommended reading: Crime and Punishment.

Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart

Recommended reading: Meditations.

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.

Recommended reading: The Alchemist.

A warrior of the light studies very carefully the position he wishes to conquer. However difficult his objective may be, there is always a way to overcome the obstacles. He verifies the alternative routes, sharpens his sword, and seeks to fill his heart with the perseverance necessary to face the challenge. But, as he advances, the warrior realizes there are difficulties he had not foreseen at the outset. If he waits for the ideal moment, he will never move from his position; he sees that a little madness is needed for the next step. The warrior uses a little madness. Because – in war and in love – one cannot foresee everything.

Recommended reading: Warrior of the Light: A Manual.

Most of us spend our time seeking happiness and security without acknowledging the underlying purpose of our search. Each of us is looking for a path back to the present: We are trying to find good enough reasons to be satisfied now. Acknowledging that this is the structure of the game we are playing allows us to play it differently. How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience and, therefore, the quality of our lives.

Recommended reading: Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion.

At all costs try to avoid granting yourself the status of the victim. Of all the parts of your body, be most vigilant over your index finger, for it is blame-thirsty. A pointed finger is a victim’s logo — the opposite of the V-sign and a synonym for surrender. No matter how abominable your condition may be, try not to blame anything or anybody: history, the state, superiors, race, parents, the phase of the moon, childhood, toilet training, etc. The menu is vast and tedious, and this vastness and tedium alone should be offensive enough to set one’s intelligence against choosing from it.

Recommended reading: On Grief and Reason: Essays.