I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
(Jack London)

Mistakes are the portals for discovery.
(James Joyce)

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
(Thomas Edison)

The price of self-destiny is never cheap, and in certain situations it is unthinkable. But to achieve the marvelous, it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.
(Tom Robbins, "Jitterbug Perfume")

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.
(Napoleon Hill)

People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.
(Norman Vincent Peal)

You have a very powerful mind that can make anything happen as long as you keep yourself centered.
(Dr. Wayne W. Dyer)