“When you develop confidence, those around you—friends, family, and associates—will increase in their own confidence levels. Confidence breeds confidence.”

“But whenever I tried to pin down this idea of self-esteem, the specific qualities we hoped to inculcate, the specific means by which we might feel good about ourselves, the conversation always seemed to follow a path of infinite regress. Did you dislike yourself because of your color or because you couldn’t read and couldn’t get a job? Or perhaps it was because you were unloved as a child—only, were you unloved because you were too dark? Or too light? Or because your mother shot heroin into her veins … and why did she do that anyway? Was the sense of emptiness you felt a consequence of kinky hair or the fact that your apartment had no heat and no decent furniture? Or was it because deep down you imagined a godless universe? Maybe one couldn’t avoid such questions on the road to personal salvation. What I doubted was that all the talk about self-esteem could serve as the centerpiece of an effective black politics. It demanded too much honest self-reckoning from people; without such honesty, it easily degenerated into vague exhortation. Perhaps with more self-esteem fewer blacks would be poor, I thought to myself, but I had no doubt that poverty did nothing for our self-esteem. Better to concentrate on the things we might all agree on. Give that black man some tangible skills and a job. Teach that black child reading and arithmetic in a safe, well-funded school. With the basics taken care of, each of us could search for our own sense of self-worth.”

“This truth, that I have to please only God, is an important key to becoming resistant to being manipulated by disapproval from others.”

“Nobody achieves anything great by giving the minimum. No teams win championships without making sacrifices and giving their best.”

“Freedom cannot last long without education, because an uneducated populace is likely to be duped by tyrants. An educated populace cannot be easily manipulated and is the foundation of a strong society.”

“The more you are grateful for what you have the more you will have to be grateful for”

“Science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value, elly judgments of all kinds remain necessary.”

“Margaret Mead, who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

“Dios siempre tiene su manera de poner a su gente en la posición necesaria y en el momento preciso.”

“I see the signs!” Jessica snapped. “My question was meant to remind you that you should not try to teach me those matters in which I instructed you.” Paul”

“Because tragedy happened to you, it gives you a greater sense of oneness with others who experience tragedy. Because we have been comforted through the Word of God, we in turn may be able to comfort others.”

“The men who followed Jesus were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up.”

“Trust in Him Have you decided to enjoy today? Trust that God is with you every day, in every moment—the big moments and the ordinary—and He wants you to enjoy them” 

“If you believe yourself unfortunate because you have loved and lost, perish the thought. One who has loved truly, can never lose entirely.”

“physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life.”