The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible. That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit.

Recommended reading: The Little Prince.

No experience is a cause of success or failure. We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences, so-called trauma – but we make out of them just what suits our purposes.

Recommended reading: Understanding Human Nature: The Psychology of Personality.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Recommended reading: How to Win Friends & Influence People.

Lost love is still love. It takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it.

Recommended reading: Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson.

Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.

Recommended reading: Thoughts of a Christian Optimist.

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Recommended reading: The History of Western Philosophy.

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.

Recommended reading: Candide.

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.

Recommended reading: Martha Washington: An American Life.

One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.

Recommended reading: The Silver Cord.

Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try.

Recommended reading: For Whom the Bell Tolls.