Ancestry is most important to those who have done nothing themselves.

Everyone has it within his power to say, this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow.

Actors, politicians, and writers-all of us are but creatures of the hour. Long-lasting fame comes to but few.

Up to a point a person’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and changes in the world about them. Then there comes a time when it lies within their grasp to shape the clay of their life into the sort of thing they wish it to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune or the quirks of fate. Everyone has the power to say, "This I am today. That I shall be tomorrow.

To die is nothing. One is here, one is no longer here. It is only at the end one must be able to say 'I was a man'.

What can the will do when the heart commands?

Enemies can be an incentive to survive and become someone in spite of them. Enemies can keep you alert and aware.