The motive behind criticism often determines its validity. Those who care criticize where necessary. Those who envy criticize the moment they think that they have found a weak spot.
People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy.
It is how people respond to stress that determines whether they will profit from misfortune or be miserable.
At the end of the day, the questions we ask of ourselves determine the type of people that we will become.
Eric called Al's suicide brave, and he was wrong. My mother's death was brave. I remember how calm she was, how determined. It isn't just brave that she died for me; it is brave that she did it without announcing it, without hesitation, and without appearing to consider another option.
That is the American story. People, just like you, following their passions, determined to meet the times on their own terms. They weren't doing it for the money. Their titles weren't fancy. But they changed the course of history and so can you.
It’s not what you say out of your mouth that determines your life, it’s what you whisper to yourself that has the most power!
What you are or where you came from is not important. It is who you are and the choices you make, that determine who you will become. If you can look inward and be satisfied, the opinions of others should melt away.
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go they merely determine where you start.