The pain will not kill you. It will be a reminder that you are very much alive, engaged, and that you loved with abandon.

Playing in non-League gave me the resilience. I learned everything there. You needed to fight off hard tackles and I was playing against big men. You learn how to be strong and take them on and learn resilience.

Jesus lived a life that was full of joy and contradictions and fights, you know? If they were to paint a picture of Jesus without contradictions, the gospels would be fake, but the contradictions are a sign of authenticity.

Resistance is directly proportional to love. If you're feeling massive Resistance, the good news is that it means there's tremendous love there too.

The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.   The artist must be like that Marine. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any soldier or swabbie or jet jockey. Because this is war, baby. And war is hell.

Resistance will unfailingly point to true north. The action it most wants us to stop, we can let resistance use to guide us. The more important, the more resistance.

Strife is life's oldest and most holy fundament.

My friend Tony Keppelman snapped me out of it by asking if I was gonna quit. Hell, no! Then be happy. You're where you wanted to be, aren't you? So you're taking a few blows. That's the price for being in the arena and not on the sidelines. Stop complaining and be grateful. That was when I realized I had become a pro. I had not yet had a success. But I had had a real failure. FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

we must praise God no matter what is happening in our lives. We should praise Him even in the midst of suffering because it strengthens us and refines our faith in Him.

Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. ISAIAH 40:31

Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

I mean, when you grow up in the inner city and you grow up in a single-parent household, that's - those are humbling times, you know?