Great love and great achievements involve great risk.

In history--in life--possibilities do not become realities of their own accord; someone, with his hands and his brain, with his labor and his self-sacrifice, must make realities of them. . . . All we are given is possibilities--to make ourselves one thing or another. . . .

[But] slovenliness. . . penetrates our whole national life from top to bottom. . . . [To oppose

slovenliness] the individual must. . . go into training, and give up many things, in the determination to surpass himself. . . . [A] generation [who will do that] can accomplish what centuries failed to achieve without [it]. And there, my young friends, lies [your] challenge. . . .

[Yours is] the historic [task] of restoring to the university its cardinal function of "enlightenment." . . . In the thick of life's urgencies and its passions, the university must assert itself as a major "spiritual power," . . . standing for serenity in the midst of frenzy, for seriousness and the grasp of intellect in the face of. . . unashamed stupidity.

Without hard work, nothing grown but weeds.

I encourage my students never to give up on their dream, to emulate effort above all, and to mix passion with discipline so as to make the most of luck when it strikes.

Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity.

What is defeat? Nothing but education, nothing but the first step toward something better.

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems

Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.

Any body can quit. It's exactly what your adversaries or competitors hope you will do, and there is always a legitimate excuse. But have faith; hang in there; stay in touch with your dream and commitment. Remember that your resources are always far deeper and far greater than you ever imagine them to be. you got yourself this far. Down deep you got what it takes to go the distance.

Success is never the result of spontaneous combustion. you must set yourself on fire.