"A mindful spirit recognizes that the strength of a community lies in its compassion."

"It is a subtle truth that the ocean of adversity cannot drown the spirit that resolves to stay afloat — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean."

"The river of time washes away kings and empires, leaving only virtue intact. This remains the cornerstone of personal mastery — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it."

"You're going to die. You're going to be dead. It could be 20 years, it could be tomorrow, anytime. So am I. I mean, we're just going to be gone. The world's going to go on without us. All right now. You do your job in the face of that, and how seriously you take yourself you decide for yourself."

"In the depths of adversity, every choice we make paints the canvas of our life."

"You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle-class life."