It takes eternity to make a man despair.

There is no door through which tears do not pass.

Character is to some extent judged by what a man does with his falls. A pig falls into the mud and stays there; a sheep falls in and climbs out.

We were just covered in dirt the whole time. It was so hot - and that was in winter. I can not imagine what it's like in summer and how the people who actually live out there survive.

In spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser and happier as a result.

So many people grew up with challenges, as I did. There weren't always happy things happening to me or around me. But when you look at the core of goodness within yourself - at the optimism and hope - you realize it comes from the environment you grew up in.

Around 1998, I went through lots of pressures and struggles. My children got married within eight months of each other, my son was diagnosed with cancer and went through major surgery and radiation, my mother had five life-threatening hospitalizations where I stayed with her, my husband's dental office burned to the ground.

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

There is no birth of consciousness without pain.

You have to develop a very thick skin.

I might have to stumble a little bit more in public than others, but that's fine, I don't mind, I've developed a thick skin.

The thing I always say to people is this: 'If you avoid failure, you also avoid success.'